John Swegle, PharmD, associate professor (clinical) was recently installed as president of the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) for the 2014-2015 term. Dr. Swegle began his pharmaceutical career after receiving his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Drake University. He then practiced pharmacy in the community setting for two years before enrolling in the UI College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program. Upon graduation, Dr. Swegle went on to complete a residency at UI Hospitals and Clinics in family medicine. Dr. Swegle currently resides in Mason City, where he practices clinical pharmacy as part of Mercy Family Medicine. He remains close to the UI College of Pharmacy as associate professor (clinical) for the college.
Throughout his practice, Dr. Swegle has been avidly involved in the primary care and palliative care of patients. His residency allowed him to work side-by-side with physicians while providing team-based care. Dr. Swegle’s involvement with hospice care has developed into a number of roles throughout his career, including serving with Hospice of North Iowa, as well as later becoming part of the faculty for the Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Mercy Medical Center, North Iowa.
Dr. Swegle demonstrates a dedicated commitment to education throughout his roles as UI College of Pharmacy associate professor (clinical) and preceptor for the college, as well as through the residency at Mercy Family Medicine. He defines the blend of education and active practice as a positive experience, “The enjoyable parts include lecturing and helping students learn to apply their knowledge to patient care. This profession (like many in health care) requires one to make decisions that are based upon guidelines, practice, and patient characteristics. It's enjoyable to help students understand that and apply it.”
A charitable nonprofit organization originally established in 1960, the Iowa Pharmacy Association seeks to promote safe and effective medication use to improve the health of patients by serving the pharmacy profession. The organization upholds its mission through numerous outlets, including student support through scholarship, patient education and public outreach, programs in leadership pharmacy such as the New Practitioner Leadership Conference (founded in 1989), practice-based research, and more.
As president of IPA, Dr. Swegle looks ahead with a number of goals in mind. Such goals include increasing membership and engagement within the IPA, as well as addressing some of the barriers pharmacy faces as Healthcare continues to change. Further, Dr. Swegle expresses admiration for the organization’s legacy and hopes to build on its strong foundation, “The thing I am most looking forward to is continuing the strong leadership IPA brings. It has a rich history of pharmacy leaders and I hope to follow in their footsteps.”