Dr. Latasha Weeks is new director of UNC/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program

Kesha Williams
September 07, 2010

Dr. Latasha Weeks is the new Director of the UNC/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, NC.&ampnbsp In this position, she oversees the daily operations of the partnership program in addition to serving as the Chair of the Department of Pharmacy and Health Professions.&ampnbsp&ampnbsp She also holds a joint faculty appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor with Elizabeth City State University and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill, NC.

Weeks arrives five years after the UNC/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program was launched. In 2009, 13 students completed the program and in 2010, 10 completed the program and earned degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She arrives just weeks before a ribbon cutting for the new, 52,500 square foot-pharmacy building. There are five faculty and five staff working with the UNC/ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program. The goal of this partnership is to increase the number of pharmacists and pharmacy faculty practicing in North Carolina especially those in the northeastern part of the state.

Weeks obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (2003), a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology (2003), and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (2007) from the University of Maryland.&ampnbsp She also completed an ASHP-accredited post-graduate Community Pharmacy Practice Residency in June 2010 at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Kerr Drug in Durham, NC.

Prior to completion of her residency, Weeks served as a Clinical Account Manager with First Health Services Corporation where she provided clinical and managed care services to the District of Columbia and Montana Medicaid Programs.&ampnbsp She was also a Clinical Assistant Professor and Pharmacist Coordinator for an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) course at the University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy.&ampnbsp The focus of the course was the delivery of pharmaceutical care and medication therapy management (MTM) services to the community.&ampnbsp To complement her experience, Dr. Weeks worked part-time as a staff pharmacist with Wal-Mart in Baltimore, Md.&ampnbsp

Weeks has held a number of professional leadership positions in a variety of pharmacy organizations.&ampnbsp Her professional affiliations include the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA), American Pharmacists Association (APhA), North Carolina Association of Pharmacists (NCAP), Maryland Pharmaceutical Society, and Phi Lambda Sigma (PLS) Leadership Society.&ampnbsp At the present time, Weeks is the Bridging the Gap (BTG) Coordinator and member of the executive committee for NPhA.&ampnbsp In 2008, she introduced the New Practitioners Caucus at the 61st Annual NPhA Convention an innovative professional development initiative geared toward new and recent pharmacy school graduates.&ampnbsp For her leadership and dedication to the pharmacy profession and her community, Weeks has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2009 NPhA Young Pharmacist Award.&ampnbsp