MCW PharmD Alumna Values Building Relationships with Patients as CVS Health Pharmacy Manager
Lauren Farnsworth, PharmD ‘20, knew she wanted to work in healthcare as a high school graduate. She didn’t necessarily want to deal with bodily fluids but enjoyed chemistry and realized its connection with pharmacy careers. She was hired at CVS as a pharmacy tech and later became an intern. What started as something she was good at – and a way to earn a paycheck – turned into a career path she values highly.
“I like being a part of the community – especially here, we’re a smaller CVS store so I get to know all of our patients. It’s more than just a patient-pharmacist relationship – they're also my neighbor, so it feels good to be the person they can call for help,” said Dr. Farnsworth, pharmacy manager with CVS Health.
Originally from Madison, Dr. Farnsworth has been part of the Milwaukee community since starting her undergraduate studies at UW-Milwaukee in 2013 and later joined the inaugural Doctor of Pharmacy Class of 2020 at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
After earning her PharmD, Dr. Farnsworth worked as a staff pharmacist at a busy CVS location to gain experience. The opportunity arose to become the pharmacy manager at a new CVS location opening in Glendale at Bayshore Mall and Dr. Farnsworth applied. Located inside a Target store, she knew the pharmacy would have fewer patients and she would be able to give more attention to each one. The store started with zero prescriptions and has grown to filling over 100 prescriptions per day, which is relatively slow compared to standalone CVS locations.
The pharmacy manager has the same responsibilities as a staff pharmacist (filling and verifying prescriptions, preventing harmful drug interactions and explaining concepts in patient-friendly terminology), with the addition of handling the business side of the pharmacy. Dr. Farnsworth monitors key performance indicators and profitability, tracking how patients are impacted.
She enjoys being in the community pharmacy setting because she is the most accessible healthcare professional for those who need help. Even if she doesn’t have all the answers for the patient, she knows how to find them or can brainstorm solutions. She gave the example of a patient whose medication was discontinued, and they were allergic to ingredients in alternative brands. Dr. Farnsworth got her connected with another pharmacy that does medication compounding.
The MCW PharmD curriculum was attractive to Dr. Farnsworth due to the small class sizes that allowed her to build connections with professors, three-year accelerated timeline and opportunities for hands-on experience. “I liked being on clinical rotations every Friday because you’re consistently getting practice experience and applying knowledge. I’ve heard from other schools that they’ll do one week straight on rotations and that’s it for the whole session,” said Dr. Farnsworth.
Dr. Farnsworth completed a longitudinal rotation at Froedtert Hospital during her third year of the PharmD program, thanks to the close partnership with the MCW School of Pharmacy and location in adjacent buildings. She spent five out of seven six-week rotations there.
“If I had a question that came up, I could walk across the skywalk after my rotation to ask a professor about it. And a lot of our guest lecturers were people I would work with on rotations the next week,” added Dr. Farnsworth.
Dr. Farnsworth is still connected to the MCW School of Pharmacy, serving as a preceptor who educates current students during rotations. She said the students keep her on her toes and she values moments where the student can teach her about new recommendations and research they’ve encountered in class.
“I enjoy picking the students’ brains about topics I remember learning in class and reminding them that the professor’s voice in their head will stick with them as they start their careers,” said Dr. Farnsworth.