Interview with CDR Kendra Jenkins, PharmD - Public Health Pharmacist

Happy New Year! 🎊 This is my first podcast interview of 2024. 

CDR Kendra Jenkins is a pharmacist and Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. During our interview, we discuss her career as a public health pharmacist, settings she has worked in, roles she has served, deployments she’s been on, being a “boy mom” (she and her husband have two sons), advice for students and pharmacists who are considering their career options and more.  If you’re interested in a residency or career in public health, you need to listen to our conversation.  

Thank you for listening to episode 260 of The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast!

To read the FULL show notes, visit https://www.thepharmacistsvoice.com/podcast.  Select episode 260.

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Bio (January 2024)

CDR Kendra Jenkins is a pharmacist and Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. She completed both her Doctor of Pharmacy degree and Specialty Drug Information Pharmacy Residency at Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Dr. Jenkins subsequently completed a PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency with the Department of Defense/TRICARE, Pharmacoeconomic Center in San Antonio, TX. After completing the residencies, she was re-assigned to the Defense Health Agency in Falls Church, VA where she supported the Pharmacy Operations Division and the TRICARE Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) Contract. She’s also held assignments at the Department of Homeland Security in Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the Chief of the Pharmacy Benefits Unit for the World Trade Center Health Program supporting 9/11 responders and survivors. CDR Jenkins joined the Bureau of Prisons in August 2022 and is now the Chief of Pharmacy Logistics Support. 

Kendra can most often be found spending time with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and community service. She is passionate about mentoring and takes every opportunity to discuss opportunities in managed care with pharmacists.

List of topics discussed in our interview

• CDR Jenkins’ journey from pharmacy school to her current role
• Her career goal when she started pharmacy school
• Her job responsibilities now/a day in the life of CDR Kendra Jenkins
• Comparing her direct-patient care roles to her non-patient care roles (PHS)
• Deployments
• The Commissioned Corps mission, flag, and song
• Family life
• CDR Jenkins’ uniform
• Government service runs in the family
• Plans for retirement
• CDR Jenkins’ impact on pharmacy students
• Opportunities for students
• Challenges
• Promotions
• Relocating 
• Advice for pharmacy students, currently practicing pharmacists, and new grads
• Would she recommend her job to others?
• Favorite things about her job
• Hobbies and interests

Links from this episode

LinkedIn Kendra Jenkins, PharmD

Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

JRCOSTEP and SRCOSTEP Programs

United States Federal Bureau of Prisons

6 Other podcast episodes featuring PHSCC pharmacists:

The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 123 with LCDR Renu Lal, PharmD

The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 185 with RDML Pam Schweitzer, PharmD

The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 187 with CDR Stephanie Begansky, PharmD

The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 209 with CAPT Marisol Martinez, PharmD

The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 239 with CDR Stephen Chang, PharmD

The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast Episode 251 with Pam Schweitzer, PharmD 

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Thank you for listening to episode 260 of The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast!  If you know someone who would like this episode, please share it with them!