Title: 1) Pharmacist 2) Radio Show Personality 3) Pharmacist

Company: 1) University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy 2) KFOR 3) Walgreens

Location: Lincoln, NE, United States

Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson, RP is a Pharmacist serving the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy. Specializing in patient and public education, and bringing forth a refined background in health counseling, Dr. Dering-Anderson shines as a luminary in her current teaching position. “I’m one of those lucky people who don’t have a ‘job.’  I am part of a profession that feeds my soul,” she said in an interview with EliteAMERICAN Health Professionals . My favorite part depends on where I am.  When I’m at the University, my favorite part of my position is the students.  Helping them learn, feeding on their enthusiasm, just the sheer joy they bring to life.  When I’m behind the pharmacy counter it’s the patients.  They need information I have and they are thankful to have someone to listen to. In addition to her teaching role, Dr. Dering-Anderson offers her valued expertise to KFOR, a radio station based in Nebraska, where she gives listeners treasured insight in the form of health alerts, suggestions and guidance. “When I’m on the radio, it’s the listeners who trust me to give them advice.  Some of them feel like family, they write notes and send cards to my kids. It’s a great feeling,” she added. She feels blessed to have been on the air with 2-time Marconi award winner Cathy Blythe for over 15 years.  Together, they have done more than 320 shows, and they now broadcast in six markets covering four states.

Dr. Dering-Anderson has nurtured a diverse and ever-emergent skill set over the course of a career that has spanned more than 26 years, and she continues to strive for excellence in her every endeavor, rising to every challenge that comes her way. She attributes her success to her education, great role models and having a passion for her work. She also feels that her family has been paramount in her journey toward success, which she began with an exceptional education from the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy. Upon recalling the first time one of her children expressed his satisfaction in her doing what was right instead of what was easy, she reflected on the joy she felt in knowing she had her children’s support while facing a very contentious battle in the Unicameral. “The pharmacists of Nebraska were supporting a bill to protect people from a chemical that’s now banned nationwide,” she said. “The folks on the other side of the bill were vicious. They called our home at all hours of the night, they left dead animals in the driveway for our children to find, it was horrible and I wanted to give up, but my 10-year-old son encouraged me to keep fighting, because I was in the right.  That’s when I knew that my message had been received by my most important audience ever, my children.” She became a pharmacist because her father is the best pharmacist she has ever known. His joy and expertise in the profession inspired her to pursue her professional goals. Her father inspired more than a dozen of her colleagues to become pharmacists, including her daughter. Dr. Dering-Anderson also serves as a pharmacist for Walgreens, a trusted pharmacy that offers services around the nation.

Ever passionate about being able to help others through the services she offers as a pharmacist, Dr. Dering-Anderson makes every effort to offer beneficial solutions to each person with whom she comes into contact professionally. “I love what I do and I’m proud, every day, that I’m a pharmacist,” she said. “The rewards are reasonably simple and equally profound. I am rewarded to watch pharmacist interns succeed and go on to successful careers.  I am rewarded when a patient’s health improves. I am rewarded when the audience I’m talking with says that my message was received and appreciated.  I’m not a terribly complicated person, so simple and wonderful things touch me the most.” The University of Nebraska’s  College of Pharmacy Class of 1997 chose Dr. Dering-Anderson as the Outstanding Preceptor of the year. “For the students to recognize my passion was a true honor,” she said of receiving the award. In 2008, the Nebraska Pharmacists Association chose her as the winner of the Cora Mae Briggs Service to Pharmacy Award, and of this honor, she is also a grateful recipient. “It’s the highest award the association can give and it’s been awarded to people I’ve modeled my professional life on.”

Contact Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson, RP