2021 Grad Stories: Brooke Jacobi
May 11, 2021
Kingsburg Native Becomes Pharmacist to Improve the Health of the Community
Dr. Brooke Jacobi, CHSU College of Pharmacy graduate and Kingsburg native, always knew she wanted to be a part of the medical field, and she saw the opportunity to become a pharmacist and help provide patient care. She completed her undergraduate requirements at Fresno Pacific University and has now earned a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree.
She was born and raised here in the Central Valley and her family is involved in agriculture. Kingsburg is her home and where she plans to practice as a pharmacist. She also has several family members who are pharmacists, who sparked her interest in pharmacy when deciding what career path to take.
“I have quite a few family members who are pharmacists and I saw what they did and it was interesting to me. So I decided to do some shadowing,” said Dr. Jacobi. “I always wanted to be involved in the medical field, but didn’t want to become a physician, so pharmacy was a better fit.”
Pharmacists have direct contact with patients both in the community pharmacy setting and in clinical settings, like a hospital or clinic. As Dr. Jacobi went through her fourth-year clinical rotations, it became apparent that as a pharmacist she would be able to interact with patients and help them improve their health and overall wellbeing – not only through medicinal therapies, but through developing relationships with patients to promote a healthy lifestyle.
One health topic that hits close to home for her is the opioid epidemic. She has had family struggle with opioid addiction and when she had the opportunity to take an elective course at CHSU about pain management and opioid overuse, she jumped on the opportunity.
The class taught students how to spot red flags of addiction and other things you can do to help in that situation. She completed the NARCAN training course that reinforced how to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose and administer the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone, a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an overdose. She also was a part of the Lock It Up Project, a campaign to limit youth access to substances in home settings.
“I think pharmacists are able to make a positive impact on people’s lives who are addicted to substances or in progress of going down that route. My goal someday as a pharmacist is to promote other measures for pain other than opioids because I know that those can be addicting,” said Dr. Jacobi.
And as a pharmacist, especially in the community setting that she will be working in after graduation, developing relationships with their patients can allow them to help spot red flags for prescription addiction. But more than that, it’s an opportunity to help all their patients adopt a healthy lifestyle.
“I like that you get to see the patients each month. For any maintenance medications, like hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol drugs, you get to see them on a monthly basis and just check in on them, form a more personal relationship and encourage them stay on top of their health,” she said.
Her favorite memories of her time at CHSU revolved around the friendships she cultivated through working in a team learning environment and working on projects together with classmates. In addition to class time, student teams often spend a lot of time together studying and working on class projects. She also worked as an intern pharmacist at the Kaiser Permanente pharmacy in Fresno.
After graduation, Dr. Jacobi will start working at Walgreens and plans to stay in the Central Valley as a community pharmacist.
Dr. Brooke Jacobi will be graduating Summa Cum Laude this Saturday, May 15, 2021 with her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from CHSU.
The 2021 Grad Stories is a series dedicated to honoring our California Health Sciences University (CHSU) Doctor of Pharmacy graduates and showcasing their accomplishments throughout their time at CHSU while earning their PharmD degree.
