Education
- Doctor of Pharmacy, Washington State University
- Academic Fellowship, Washington State University
About Me
Born and raised in the state of Washington, I have always had a love for science and helping in the community. My passion for both of these led me to be a pharmacist. As a Washingtonian I am proud to say I graduated from the Washington State University (WSU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS) in 2016 with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. After graduation I completed a two-year academic fellowship at WSU CPPS. At the end of my fellowship, I was hired on as an assistant professor in experiential services, where I have happily worked since.
I have a lot of career passions. If I had to narrow it down, I would say experiential services, international APPE experiences, advancement pharmacy practice and health technologies, promotion of pharmacy technician advancement roles and continued efforts towards improving teaching and learning practices.
In 2018, WSU CPPS and WSU College of Nursing had the privilege to go to Peru and help those in need of health care services. During this three-week joint mission, we helped provide several clinics for the underserved population of Iquitos.
Currently I teach three courses:
- Fall: Pharm 533 Community Pharmacy IPPE debrief course
- Spring: Pharm 513 Community Pharmacy IPPE prep course
- Spring: Pharm 501 Applied Patient Care: Physical Assessment (Lab course)
In my spare time I like to…
I enjoy dirt biking, mountain biking, snowboarding, gardening and reading.
Why WSU?
I went to WSU as an undergraduate, for my Doctor of Pharmacy degree and for a two-year post-graduate fellowship. During that time, I had a great bond with my professors, loved the culture that I was a part of and wanted to lead with those same values. I hope that my impact on students here at WSU will transcend into their practice setting. I want to pay it forward to others in the community.
My Favorite Quote
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
Selected Publications
Bertsch T, Denton T, Perea N, Ahmed A, McKeirnan K. “Drug Development and the Process of Introducing Team-Based Learning in a Qualitative Way” Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.
Bertsch T, McKeirnan K. “Perceived Benefit of Immunization-Trained Technicians in the Pharmacy Workflow.” Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.
Perea N, Bertsch T, McKeirnan K. “Considerations in training student pharmacists to perform physical assessment.” Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.
Bertsch T, Frazier K, VanVoorhis L, Le K, Shin S, McKeirnan K. “Perceptions of Pharmacists’ Using Immunization Trained Pharmacy Technicians.” J of American Pharm Assoc.
McKeirnan KC, Czapinski JC, Bertsch TG, Buchman C, Akers JM. “Training Student Pharmacists to Perform Rapid Strep, Influenza, and HIV Point-of-Care Testing.” Am J Pharm Educ.
Bertsch TG, McKeirnan KC. “Clinical Pharmacology Update: ITCA 650.” Clinical Diabetes.
McKeirnan K, Bertsch T, Arnold J, Panther S. “Training Student Pharmacists to Perform Tuberculin Skin Testing Utilizing Team-Based Learning.” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.