A native of Hartley, Iowa, Carmichael spent much of her career serving veterans through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For the first 25 years at the VA, she provided direct care to patients; her clinical practice included award-winning primary care, population management, and outcomes studies programs. During the final decade, she managed the care of 650,000 veterans in Nevada, Northern California and Hawaii as the VISN 21 Pharmacy Executive for the VA Sierra Pacific Network. In March, she retired after 35 years of service to the organization.
“It’s been a privilege to spend most of my life in cutting-edge practice serving veterans,” Carmichael said. “I was able to improve patients’ lives, make the system better for them, and pass the torch to students and over 100 residents that I taught.”
While providing top-tier care to veterans, Carmichael also volunteered as a leader in state and national organizations. She a past president of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a former member of the Nevada Board of Pharmacy, past president of the Nevada Pharmacists Association and of the Nevada Pharmacy Alliance. She participates as a member of numerous professional boards and committees.
The years of service did not go unrecognized; Carmichael has been the recipient of some of the pharmacy profession’s most esteemed awards. She was named recipient of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2013 Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award, was named Federal Pharmacist of the Year by the American Pharmacists Association in 2012, and a UI College of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni in 2011. She is past chair of the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS), has chaired the BCPS Pharmacotherapy Council, and is an ACPE Practitioner Reviewer and ASHP Residency surveyor.
Carmichael has worked to share her expertise with students, having taught at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, the University of North Carolina College of Pharmacy, and the University of Nevada School of Medicine. She is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist, a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and a Fellow of the American Pharmacist Association. Carmichael has authored hundreds of professional papers, book chapters, and research projects. She is a frequent speaker on progressive pharmacy practice throughout the country.
The Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement is the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy’s pinnacle award, and honors Carmichael for advancing the pharmacy profession in profound ways. It is named after the former owner of the forward-thinking Osterhaus Pharmacy in Maquoketa, Iowa—Robert Osterhaus, ’52 BSPh—and his wife Ann Osterhaus.