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UWSOP Professor Allan J. Ellsworth Retires

Allan J. EllsworthAfter 39 years of distinguished service to the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, Professor Allan “Al” Ellsworth retired June 30, 2020.  Over the course of his career, Professor Ellsworth made many notable contributions to the Department, School, University, profession and community. He has been an outstanding educator and colleague, devoted to providing exceptional clinical instruction to the many students and residents he has trained. We are sincerely grateful for his years of service to the Department and School of Pharmacy.

A graduate of Brigham Young University, University of Utah, and the University of Washington School of Medicine, Professor Ellsworth earned Bachelor of Science degrees in the fields of Zoology (1972), Pharmacy (1975) and a Masters of Clinical Health Services degree through the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program (2002). Following graduation from the University of Utah, Al went on to complete his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1977 at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. Additionally, he completed internships as a pharmacy intern at Payless Northwest in Portland, Oregon (1974), the Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah (1972 – 1975), and served as a Commissioned Officer (COSTEP) at the Seattle Public Health Service Hospital (1974.)  His career in education as a faculty member begin at the Cedar Rapids Medical Education Program in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1977, where he concurrently served as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the University of Iowa’s College of Pharmacy through 1981. Upon relocating to Washington state, Al joined the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor in the School of Pharmacy in 1981, and progressed to Associate Professor in 1989. He was promoted to Professor of Pharmacy in 1997. While at the University of Washington, Al also maintained appointments with the UW School of Medicine and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska as an Assistant Clinical Professor (1985- 1989), Associate Clinical Professor (1989-1996) and Professor (1997-2016). He has also recently retired from medical practice as a Physician Assistant with the EvergreenHealth Primary Care, Sultan group, which was originally Sky Valley Family Medicine.

In the area of scholarship, Professor Ellsworth has made many contributions to our understanding and treatment of altitude sickness, diabetes and hypertension.  He has served as the Principal Investigator (19) or co-investigator (3) of 22 clinical trials, the results of which have been the subject of numerous publications including 27 peer-reviewed articles.  In addition, he has contributed to the publication of over 50 clinical trial reports and authored 12 books and six book chapters.

Over the course of his tenure at UW, Professor Ellsworth has received numerous awards including: 1994 Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; 1994 UW Department of Family Medicine Teacher of the Year Award;  1995 Bristol-Myers Squibb Family Medicine Research Award; 1997 Fellow of The American College of Clinical Pharmacy; 2000 Clinical Practice Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy; the 2007 Golden Apple Award from the UW School of Medicine MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program; 2009 MEDEX Northwest 40th Anniversary Program Award from the UW School of Medicine MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program.

Throughout his noteworthy career, Professor Ellsworth served the University, School, Department and Community with distinction, and played an integral role in the education of the next generation of healthcare providers including his leadership of the PharmD-PA concurrent Program. Most recently, Al served as Co-Course master of Pharm 558, and Lecturer in Pharm 301, 560, 561 and 562, providing valuable instruction with focus in Therapeutics, Contraception, Diabetes, Rheumatology and Men’s Health. Additionally, Al served as Preceptor for PharmP 573 Advanced Practicum. In his role as a clinical mentor, Professor Ellsworth has mentored 11 Pharmacy Practice Residents in Family Medicine and served as an advisor to six Family Medicine Residents. He has also been actively engaged in mentoring the research projects of six PharmD and five Medical Students and served as a supervisor to 22 Physician Assistant Capstone Projects.  Through this work, Professor Ellsworth’s legacy as an educator and mentor will be felt for decades to come.

In service to the Pharmacy Community, Al is currently a member of the Washington State Pharmacists Association and Washington State Medical Association, and his previous appointments include Chair (1995) and Vice Chair (1994) of the Primary Care Pharmacy Practice Special Practice Group of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and President (1975) and Vice-President (1974) of the Student Chapter of the American Pharmaceutical Association. Al has also served as a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy over the course of his career.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Ellsworth on the tremendous impact he has made as an educator, scholar and valued colleague throughout his career.