Member Spotlight

Autumn Steen

PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, CPP

Written by: Irene Park Ulrich PharmD, BCACP, CPP

The NCAP Ambulatory Care Academy is proud to highlight this the 2021 Ambulatory Care Practitioner of the Year Award Winner, Autumn Steen, Pharm, BCACP, CDCES, CPP. Autumn completed her undergraduate degree at UNC and received her PharmD degree from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2013. Upon graduation, she went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency in Ambulatory Care at Mission Hospital and MAHEC in Asheville, North Carolina. After spending two years as a clinical pharmacist in the Mission Medication Assistance Program, Autumn obtained a position as the a clinical pharmacist in the Mission Hospital Diabetes Education Center in 2016. She is Board Certified in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy (BCACP) and is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES). She is also a certified insulin pump trainer for many major pump devices and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). In her role as the only pharmacist at the Diabetes Education Center, Autumn has been instrumental in creating programs and services unique to her skill set. Clinical services she initiated include starting clinical pharmacist practitioner services, diabetes education classes at a Mission member hospital in rural Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and starting a new-to-insulin post-discharge monitoring program. She was also integral in implementing a professional CGM program at multiple hospital sites. In addition to her clinical efforts, Autumn has been heavily involved in the multidisciplinary Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES), formerly known as the American Association of Diabetes Educators. Her leadership roles have included serving as Chair of the local networking group in Western North Carolina, and she is presently serving as the North Carolina Coordinating Body Finance Leader. Her role as an educator has extended beyond patient care, as she is also a preceptor for UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy students and PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residents at Mission Hospital. She was selected by the residents for the Spirit of Residency Award in 2016. Autumn embodies all that it means to be an ambulatory care pharmacist. Autumn is from a very small town in rural, Western North Carolina and went into ambulatory care pharmacy because she wanted to ultimately help manage chronic diseases in communities of need. Ambulatory care pharmacy, at its core, is about relationships and increased access to care, and those principles have been Autumn’s guiding light throughout her career. Please join the Ambulatory Care Academy Executive Committee in congratulating Autumn on this well-deserved award!