A Conversation with Susan Cornell, PharmD

At the ADCES22 Annual Meeting, Distinguished Association of Professionals in Diabetes Care and Education Susan Cornell, PharmD, CDCES, FAPhAFADCESwith the Allene Van Son Award for Distinguished Service.

In 2011, Cornell served as president of the Illinois Pharmacists Association. She currently teaches and supervises students in the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dental and Health Sciences at Bolingbrook Christian Health Center and is an active member of the American Diabetes Association.

Helio spoke with Cornell about what drew her to work with people with diabetes, her role as a pharmacist on the diabetes care team, and her advice to students.

Hello: What was it the defining moment that made you pursue a career in your field?

Cornell: I have been a practicing pharmacist for several years. I have a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in pharmacy. For my undergrad, I worked with an endocrinologist during one of my clinical rotations, which was impressive, but probably not really the defining moment.

Then, while practicing in the community pharmacy, I began to notice more and more people with diabetes. But most importantly, my mother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This was in the early 1990s, before many of the landmark clinical trials were published. When my mother was diagnosed, I realized that the quality of care she was receiving was good, but could be better.

Then I became interested in diabetes, which brought me back to the endocrinologist I worked with at my pharmacy hospital. From there, I connected with other people and started pursuing what was then called the Certified Diabetes Educator credential and is now, of course, the Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist credential. The credentials evolved over the years, but at that point I realized, “Okay, Mom is not getting the quality care that she should be getting as a person with diabetes.” I also realized that a lot of other people are not getting quality care. Not that I’m blaming anyone, it’s just the healthcare system. A lot has to do with people’s beliefs, their motivations, etc. But over the years I have learned how to talk to people with diabetes, how to work with them, how to help them and guide them through the processes of change. And now we are 30 years later.

Healio: What advice would you offer students entering your field today?

Cornell: When I attend meetings, especially the ADCES Annual Meeting, I have brought students with me for the past 20 years. I joke that I have a small entourage. This year I will have three students with me. One of the things I always advise them is if they are interested in diabetes, try different experiences. Talk to different people, connect with practitioners in different fields so you can really learn about team-based care.

As pharmacists, we are a minority in the field of diabetes. We probably make up about 10% of the membership in ADCES and even less than that in ADA. There are often other healthcare professionals who ask, “What does a pharmacist do here?”

My advice to students is to step outside of their comfort zone and step outside the silo of pharmacy and work in the field of team-based care. Find out what other team members bring to the table. What does the doctor, nurse practitioner, assistant, nutritionist, nurse practitioner, audiologist, orthopedist, behavioral health specialist, dentist bring? I could go on and on. The main thing is that we’re all in this together and learning what everyone does in their role and responsibilities is one of the things I like to encourage students to do.

The other thing — more life advice than career-based — but the best advice I’ve ever been given was when choosing a job, a project, or even a marriage, always find the bad you can live with. There is good in everything, but there is also bad in everything. Find the bad you can live with because that’s what you’ll have to deal with. What is the negative about this position that you can deal with every day? Because if you can’t handle that, you’re going to be miserable in what you’re doing. Life is too short to be unhappy in what we do.

Helio: You have sometime witness or part of health care history in the making?

Cornell: Yes, looking back from when I did my undergrad, a long time ago, it was unheard of for pharmacists to do immunizations. Today, everyone goes to the pharmacy to get their flu shot, COVID shot, shingles, travel shots, etc. We are seeing pharmacists step up and become part of the healthcare team. In my current practice, I work side by side with a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner. We discuss patient cases, we discuss therapy. This collaborative team approach is truly in the making. I see it growing every day and I’m actually proud to be a part of it. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.

Helio: What‘does it follow for you?

Cornell: I don’t know what lies ahead. I’m always interested in new projects, depending on the time and what my workload is at the moment. One of the biggest projects right now is that I am one of the associate editors of the ADCES Diabetes Desk Reference and we are currently working on the sixth edition. I look forward to this. Then from a student perspective, the clinic that I work at has a lot of students that rotate. This is a very competitive position, so we will likely be hiring within the next month through the application and interview process for students interested in providing diabetes care and education in an underserved population.

Helio: Is there anything else‘i like add?

Cornell: One of the biggest things is that we all have to remember why we’re doing this, and that’s to help people. We often get so wrapped up in reimbursement and provider status and whose role it is to do what, that we forget that the affected person is the patient. That’s what we should be concerned about, what’s best for that person. We have to put the ego aside, myself included, and we have to address the patient and what we can do to help them. I’ve worked with people over the years who say, “Oh, some patients don’t want to be helped.” I’m not going to agree with that. I think some people don’t know any better. The way you approach and interact with people can have a positive impact and result. Again, going back to this team care, if we work together we can really make a difference and impact the lives of people with diabetes.