One man moves to Eau Claire to further his education in the world of pharmacy

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Growing up in a small community in Mexico, Alejandro Del Rio Verduzco says the role of a pharmacist wasn’t well known.

“I grew up knowing and understanding the needs that a lot of people have and how difficult it can be to access proper health care,” Alejandro said.

Seeing the lack of healthcare knowledge motivated Alejandro to move to the United States for higher education where is now holds the title of Doctor of Pharmacy.

Recently, Alejandro joined Mayo Clinic Health System’s Pharmacy Residency Program in Eau Claire.

“My path essentially first led me to take a master’s of biomedical sciences,” Alejandro said. “That’s where I actually learned about the interplay between pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and how those things can be used to improve both the access and the way that we can benefit people.”

Doctor Richard Arndt is the senior pharmacy manager for clinical services for Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin.

Arndt says one aspect of the pharmacy residency program is to help improve access to providers in smaller communities.

“This is training our residents as medications experts in complex disease states and patient management,” Arndt said. “Really allows our residents to get exposure to some of the critical access hospitals in the more rural communities.”

That’s a goal Alejandro resonates with.

“I understand the importance of being able to make a difference and reach out to those who need help and maybe have a more difficult time accessing it,” Alejandro said.

Alejandro wants to be a role model for others in the Latinx community, but also use his own experiences to add diversity to patient care and the medical world as a whole.

“I’m hoping that that will then improve access and improve representation, which in turn is going to help both health outcomes and outreach in the community itself,” Alejandro said.

Down the road Alejandro says he’s considering specializing in oncology or studying how someone’s genes affect their response to medication.

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