When I first walked into Madison Park Pharmacy & Wellness Center
I expected what many people envision when they think of a typical community pharmacy: shelves overflowing with prescription medications, long lines of patients waiting to pick up refills, and a constant ring of phone calls.
What I found instead was a place that has the everyday buzz of community pharmacy while still taking the time to meet patient needs and bridging the gap between modern medicine and holistic healing.
Redefining the Pharmacy Experience
There is more than meets the eye at this pharmacy. While pharmacists focus on managing prescriptions and providing clinical support, patients also have access to herbalists and naturopaths in the front of house who offer guidance on supplements, probiotics, and other natural products.
This structure was inspired by the previous pharmacy, Pharmaca, that existed before Madison Park Pharmacy came to be. When asked about the transition, owner Matt Binder responded:
“The Pharmaca in Madison Park was beloved by the neighborhood. When their parent company went out of business, we wanted to bring back much of the same people who made Pharmaca so popular. We wanted a team that knew the neighborhood and had already proven they could work well together.”
The collaboration between disciplines creates a well-rounded, patient-focused approach to care.
Madison Park pharmacy manager, Haven Onewein, adds:
“The collaboration here is great because I haven’t had that at other places I’ve been. Someone can come up and ask me about a supplement that I know very little about and while I can go do a little bit of research, I have a naturopath or herbalist on staff that luckily knows that stuff really well. It’s amazing.”
As a student, this has been a valuable environment to observe how pharmacists can work as part of a larger team to optimize patient health. It has broadened my view of what community pharmacy can be when different approaches to care are respected and integrated.
Building Relationships in the Community
One of the most meaningful parts of this rotation has been the opportunity to counsel patients and answer their questions. Unlike the brief interactions that may happen in larger, understaffed retail settings, counseling here is personalized and in-depth.
It’s not unusual to hear our pharmacy technicians greet patients by name and ask about their family members. And whether I’m reviewing a new blood pressure medication or helping someone understand their new therapy, I’m encouraged to take the time to really connect.
My confidence in translating classroom knowledge into real-world conversations has steadily grown throughout the six weeks of this rotation.
This confidence is largely due to the support from the wonderful team at Madison Park. Haven shared:
“I’ve always liked being a mentor or some kind of support for students. I like giving an opportunity to learn how a pharmacy actually works. So I like to make sure students get to do stuff that you maybe wouldn’t get to do a lot of times before you graduate, that you’re going to need to do or at least want to have some experience doing before you’re kind of thrown into it.”
This mentorship has allowed students like me to form patient connections, verify prescriptions, and even participate in direct patient care.
Matt added:
“We try to give students a wide breadth of experience in community pharmacy—from traditional dispensing to vaccination to law/regulation to business management. Our preceptors have earned recognition as preceptors of merit with the University of Washington—and we have appreciated the fresh knowledge and energy students bring to us.”
Through this mentorship, three current student interns at Madison Park became finalists in a nationwide business plan competition, inspired by the pharmacy’s model.
Hands-On Healthcare
Providing direct patient care through vaccinations and B12 injections has been another highlight of this rotation. There’s something incredibly satisfying about walking a patient through the vaccination process and providing reassurance before administering the injection.
At first, this hands-on care was outside my comfort zone, but with the support of the pharmacists, I became more confident.
Despite uncertainty around the future of vaccines, like the newest COVID-19 vaccine, we stay informed and prepare for what’s to come. Frequent updates and shifting guidelines are part of the job, and our role is to be a reliable source of accurate, up-to-date information for patients.
A Pharmacy Rooted in Resilience and Purpose
My time at Madison Park Pharmacy has shown me that the future of pharmacy is not just about clinical guidelines or dispensing medications; it’s about collaboration, connection, and adaptability.
Coming from a hospital-focused background, I hadn’t fully appreciated the scope and impact of community pharmacy until this experience. Behind every labeled bottle and insurance claim, pharmacists and technicians are quietly saving lives and ensuring therapies are safe, effective, and accessible.
I will take what I’ve learned here into the rest of my pharmacy career—from every patient interaction to collaborations with other healthcare professionals.