Education
- Doctor of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
About Me
I was raised in Belleville, Illinois and my high school chemistry class sparked my passion for pharmacy. I began working as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens when I was 16 years old; I loved seeing how pharmacists were able to talk to patients and help patients understand their health and their medications better. I completed my Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy and went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Hospitals followed by a PGY2 ambulatory care residency at UNM College of Pharmacy. After residency, I joined the faculty at Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
My greatest clinical passions are diabetes management and improving the care for people who are transgender. I spend half my time at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane where I have an ambulatory care clinic to care for patients with diabetes and other chronic medical conditions. As a pharmacist-provider, I operate under a scope of practice which allows me to initiate, titrate and discontinue medications. My passion for transgender care began during my PGY2 ambulatory care residency when I worked in a gender affirming clinic. Through this experience I learned about medications for people who are transgender and heard first-hand from my patients how barriers to health care and stigma affected them. I became passionate about educating students and health care providers about medical care for people who are transgender as well as cultural competency to create affirming spaces for people who are transgender. I now teach transgender care in the WSU pharmacy curriculum and have presented on this topic at national pharmacy organization meetings. I am also a member of the Gender Resource Alliance of the Inland Northwest—a group that focuses on improving the care of transgender patients—and have given national presentations to pharmacy organizations on the use of gender affirming hormone therapy.
Additionally, I teach Pharmacotherapy IV, a course for which I am the instructor of record, and lead two elective courses, Residency Preparation and Advanced Diabetes Management. I also precept students for their final year of clinical ambulatory care rotation and serve as the site student coordinator for all pharmacy students at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center.
In my spare time I like to…
I love living in the Pacific Northwest with so many outdoor activities to enjoy year-round. I like to stay active by running during the warm months and have completed two half-marathons. In the winter you can find me snowboarding on one of the nearby mountains. I also love to travel to explore and learn about new places. I’m passionate about personal growth and healthy eating. I enjoy reading books and listening to podcasts on these topics.
Why WSU?
When I came to interview for my position at WSU, one faculty member was giving me a tour of the campus and while we were walking around many students greeted her and she greeted them back by name. That stuck out to me because I wanted to be somewhere where the students and faculty had close relationships, not where the students were numbers. I was also interested in working as a pharmacist in a state with a very advanced practice act for pharmacists, like Washington and was excited to get into academia because I love mentoring students and teaching students in the clinical setting to see their confidence grow as they are able to apply their knowledge to improve patient care.
My Favorite Quote
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” -Dalai Lama
Selected Publications
Neumiller JJ, Chen G, Newsome C, Hughes S, Lazarus P, White JR Jr. Assessment of Regular and NPH Insulin Concentration via Two Methods of Quantification: The Washington State Insulin Concentration Study (WICS). J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2019 Oct 22:1932296819883291.
Eckstein MA, Newsome CC, Borrego ME, Burnett A, Wittstrom K, Conklin JR. A cross-sectional survey evaluating transgender-related care Education in United States pharmacy school curricula, Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2019 Aug; 11(8):782-792.
Newsome C, Chen L, Conklin J. Addition of Care for Transgender-Related Patient Care into Doctorate of Pharmacy Curriculum: Implementation and Preliminary Evaluation. Pharmacy. 2018 Sept; 6(107).
Newsome C. Basaglar. Clin Diabetes. 2017 July; 35 (3): 181-182.
Newsome C, Collip L, Sharon N, Conklin J. Incorporating a Pharmacist in a Transgender Medical Home: An Innovative Practice Description. AJHP. 2017 Feb; 74 (3):135-139.