Megan Undeberg: Making an impact in rural health care, research

Growing up in Lind was the perfect place for Megan Undeberg to find her love for medicine. The daughter of Oscar and Donna Undeberg, Megan discovered in elementary school she wanted to be a nurse, like her aunt Nettie.

Once in high school Megan decided she wanted to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and dove into courses in math, physics and chemistry to feed her interest and desire for the medical field. Oscar taught biology for many years at Lind High School, and helped Megan complete a series of advanced courses to study independently and to build her experience prior to beginning college.

Graduating from LHS in 1992, Megan enrolled at Washington State University (WSU) and graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in Spanish. With her degree in hand and no pending job prospects, Megan struggled with how to use a biology degree in a career.

“I will not be a teacher like my parents,” Megan described of her feelings at the time.

Instead, life had an unexpected plan for her. On a trip to the Odessa Pharmacy to pick up her dad’s prescription one day, Megan met pharmacist Ted Bruya, who had been previously discussing her educational path with Oscar. Ted gave Megan a tour of the pharmacy and discussed what it would be like to have a career as a pharmacist. By the end of their meeting, Ted offered Megan a position in Odessa for the summer of 1996. He gave her the appreciation for the industry and encouraged her to put in her application to pharmacy school. She worked as an assistant in a research lab and in the fall of 1997, she began pharmacy school at WSU.

“I don’t know why I never considered a career as a pharmacist, until I met with Ted,” Megan explained. “You find what fits and lab work was not a good fit for me.

“I like things tidy and orderly, and lab work had too much of the mess factor.”

While in pharmacy school, Megan worked as an intern at the WSU Veterinary Medical School and completed a bachelor’s degree in Spanish simultaneously. After graduating in 2001 with a Doctorate in Pharmacy, her first job was at Spokane Compounding Pharmacy making prescriptions. Megan worked for several years as a pharmacy manager for pharmacies or clinic locations in Moses Lake, Odessa, Pullman and Colfax before being encouraged by a mentor in the lab at WSU to apply for a professor position. Although teaching wasn’t her most desired interest, she applied and was offered a position as professor of the second year lab, in the Pharmacy Care Lab and remained there from 2004-08.

While at a conference in 2007, Megan met a group of professors from the University of Minnesota (UM) who were there discussing a new concept they wished to integrate called Medication Therapy Management, a topic of high interest to Megan. In 2008 she learned of a position opening at UM and applied. In May, she received an offer for a split position with three days a week teaching as professor and two days a week at a clinical site.

“I left everything I’ve ever known and went to do something that I’ve always wondered if it would work,” Megan described. “You always wonder… ‘Can I do it? Would it work? Is it really a possibility?’

“It’s the only chance you’re ever going to have, so just go!”

Five years later, Megan holds the esteemed title of Assistant Professor Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy in Duluth, Minn., a rural branch of the main College of Pharmacy in Minneapolis.

Two days a week she works as a pharmaceutical consultant at Community Memorial Hospital, a critical access hospital in Cloquet, Minn. Her specialty is working with patients in the extended care unit who are preparing to return home. Megan ensures the patients have the resources they need for continued care after leaving the hospital and follows up with home visits after the patient is home.

Three days a week Megan also teaches at the College of Pharmacy in Duluth. She says she enjoys teaching and finds it very rewarding to watch students grow and to be a part of their learning process. A major part of her work at the college is research and Megan’s current focus is researching the impact of accessibility to health care in rural areas.

“It has a lot to do with how I grew up,” Megan said about her connection to rural areas. “I admit it, I have a little affinity for farm families.”

Megan is heading the research project to investigate the impact of the health care changes that are coming and says governmental changes that go into effect on the first of January will determine which direction to go in the future.

One goal for Megan is to increase the ability for rural families to get health care and more importantly, quality health care. A major concern is how to make sure patients get their prescriptions. If affordability is an issue, the focus becomes on how to tap into free grants to make medications available to the patients.

“I work with the sector of the population that tends to get forgotten by the rest of society,” she said.

A typical patient she works with is disabled or unemployed with little to no insurance and often times at the end of their rope.

“If they (patients) can’t afford the medication then we can’t manage the condition and if we can’t manage the condition then the patient risks heading down the path to becoming more ill.”

Megan enjoys the challenges of her job and although she never imagined herself as a teacher, she said she absolutely loves what she does as a professor and a pharmacist. She describes it as being a very caring profession and she especially appreciates small town care so she is able to keep a better eye on patients.

Whether she is on a home visit, dispensing prescriptions or working in research, Megan values the connection with each patient.

“It’s been a huge learning experience for me,” Megan explained about pharmacy practice. “It has provided me with the reality of what life is really like for all types of people.”

“I’m making a difference in other people’s lives, and that’s the whole point.”