KELLY BRANHAM

Kelly Branham is the first Pharm.D./M.B.A. dual degree graduate from the VCU Schools of Business and Pharmacy, completing both degrees in December 2006 and May 2007, respectively. The degree was created in 2002 and since then multiple students from the VCU School of Pharmacy have applied to the program.

Kelly comes from a military family and has moved frequently; however, she has lived in Virginia for the past nine years. She graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2003 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and minors in Chemistry and Business. Upon her father’s advice, also an M.B.A. graduate, she decided to complete the business minor while at Virginia Tech. It gave her the opportunity to see if business was an area she would be interested in pursuing. “I liked my business classes in undergrad, so I decided to apply to a pharmacy program that offered a Pharm.D./M.B.A. dual degree program.” Kelly chose to complete a dual degree program because she knew she was interested in pharmacy, but was not sure which avenue of pharmacy she wanted to pursue.

“I wanted to develop a broad business knowledge in case I wanted to have a career in management or possibly start my own business some day. I was also interested in the pharmaceutical industry and a position in marketing. I believed that a business degree would help foster my growth in these areas of pharmacy, ” says Kelly.

At present, Kelly is a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, VA. The residency program is a year-long intensive pharmacy residency where she will be trained in multiple areas of hospital pharmacy. “The majority of my time will be spent working on teams composed of health care professionals, such as physicians, nurses, nutritionists and pharmacists. These teams are designed to allow for communication between different health disciplines and to determine the most appropriate healthcare plan for patients.” says Kelly. She will also complete a longitudinal rotation studying the managerial and administrative components of hospital pharmacy. Kelly’s ultimate goal is to pursue a position as a clinical pharmacist with a long term desire to play a role in hospital pharmacy administration.

“The dual degree program was very intense because I had pharmacy classes five days a week and evening classes at the business school twice a week. Juggling my classes and other activities was difficult at times, especially since I chose to finish both degrees within 4 years. Looking back, I am very happy with my decision to complete the dual degree program. I believe that the combination of my degrees will allow me the opportunity to pursue any job in pharmacy.”

Read more about the Pharm.D./M.B.A. Dual Degree program. http://www.gsib.bus.vcu.edu/DualDegree/pharmdmba.html