Karen Nakashiro, PharmD (she/her)

Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Ambulatory Care | Diabetes and anticoagulation clinics | Volunteer MMI rater

San Diego, California

About

I run pharmacist-led diabetes and blood-thinner clinics at a community health network in south San Diego, where many of my patients speak Spanish, Tagalog or Vietnamese and many juggle two jobs and a pharmacy benefit that changes every January. I spend a lot of my day on prior authorizations and on figuring out which pills a patient actually takes. I have rated multiple mini-interview stations for medical school applicants since 2018. I read nothing about the applicant beforehand; I care about how someone reasons through a hard situation in eight minutes, not what is on their resume.

Experience

Mesa Linda Community Health Network (San Diego, CA) - Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, 2014 - present - Manage insulin titration and anticoagulation for about 400 patients under collaborative practice agreements. - Started a continuous glucose monitor loaner program in 2022 for patients waiting on insurance approval. - Precept pharmacy residents and teach a monthly session for medical assistants.

Harbor Point Medical Center (San Diego, CA) - Staff Pharmacist, Inpatient, 2009 - 2014 - Night-shift pharmacist; served on the medication safety committee.

Education

PharmD, University of California, San Francisco, 2009
BS, Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, 2005
Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, 2015

Volunteering

Multiple mini-interview rater for medical school admissions, 2018 - present
Health fair medication reviews with a Japanese American community center in San Diego, 2011 - present
Saturday volunteer pharmacist at a student-run free clinic, 2016 - 2020

Languages

English (native), Japanese (conversational), clinic Spanish.

Interests

Plays in a taiko drumming group; open-water swims at La Jolla Cove on weekends; grows too many tomatoes; reads mystery novels.