Andrea Kjos, PharmD, PhD

Biography

Andrea Kjos is a Professor in the Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Drake University, where she has been a dedicated faculty member since 2009. She is also currently serving as the University's Herb and Karen Baum Chair of Ethics in the Professions, which unites Drake faculty members with research and teaching interests in ethics, bringing them together in an ongoing forum on ethics and the world of practice to engage the campus in broader discourse.

Dr. Kjos’s academic work is rooted in the social, ethical, and systemic dimensions of health care. Before joining Drake, she completed graduate training at the University of Minnesota’s College of Pharmacy (2005–2009), where she served as a research fellow, research assistant, and teaching assistant. During that time, she also practiced as a staff pharmacist with Walgreens OptionCare, Inc., and Snyder’s Pharmacies in Minneapolis. Her professional experience in community and specialty pharmacy informs her scholarly and teaching interests in health systems, patient care, and the broader social forces that shape health outcomes.

A committed educator, Dr. Kjos’s teaching philosophy centers on helping students understand the complexity and nuance of health care. She emphasizes that health, illness, and prevention are deeply embedded in daily human experience and shaped by social and economic power structures. In her courses, she encourages students to examine health issues and research from diverse perspectives, recognizing the underlying factors that create practical challenges for providers and patients alike. By fostering critical thinking and an appreciation for complexity, she prepares students to advance and improve human health at both individual and societal levels.

Dr. Kjos is actively engaged in professional service and scholarship. She is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Sociological Association (ASA), the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP), the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH), and the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA). She has served as a peer reviewer for leading journals including the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Innovations in Pharmacy, and Pharmacy. From 2013 to 2017, she was an editorial board member for Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.

Within the University, Dr. Kjos has served as Affiliated Faculty in Bright College and has been a member of the Academic Freedom and Tenure (Faculty Senate) Committee since 2023. She has contributed to the Honors Program Advisory Board since 2011, mentored students in the Crew Scholars Program since 2015, and previously served on the Faculty Senate Admission/Financial Aid Committee from 2014 to 2018. At the College level, she chaired the Faculty Affairs Committee from 2019 to 2023 and the Academic Affairs Committee from 2017 to 2018, led the Health Sciences Faculty Search Committees from 2014–2016, served on the DEI Committee from 2023–2025, and has been a New Faculty Mentor since 2016.

Her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Nelson Fellow for Intercultural Learning at Drake University (2021), Top Peer Reviewer awards from Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (2017 and 2018), participation in the Iowa Pharmacy Association’s Leadership Pharmacy program (2016), and the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Mentor of the Year award (2016).

CURRENT/ONGOING RESEARCH:

Morality Under Fire: “The contribution of ethics to professional burnout in health care” (Part 1 Quantitative Survey), “Contextualizing the Role of Ethics in Health Professional Burnout” (Part 2 Focus Groups)

Areas of Expertise

• Individual Health Behavior and Sociology of the Health Professions
• Ethics
• Professional Identity
• Health Professions
• Qualitative Analysis
• Sociology of Health Professions & Health Professions Education
• History of Health Professions

Education

• PhD in Social and Administrative Pharmacy - University of Minnesota - 2009
• PharmD - Drake University - 2005

Courses Taught

• PHAR 091 - History of Health Professions
• PHAR 171 - Health Care Systems and Policies
• HSCI 172 - Evaluating Research
• HONR 80/SOC 81 - Medical Sociology

Selected Publications

Tarfa A, Kjos AL, Williams RM, Jackson L. “Impact of Teaching Social Determinants of Health on PIF in the Health Professions.” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 2023:100544-100544. doi:10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100544 (Special Issue in AJPE on The Intersectionality of Pharmacists’ Professional and Personal Identity).

Williams, Richelle M., Nicole K. Kuhl, Andrea L. Kjos. “Enhancing Professional Identity in A Multidisciplinary Healthcare Systems and Policy Course” New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 2021; 168, 47-58. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20467 (Special Issue on Cultivating Professional Identity Formation in the Health Sciences).

Drettwan, Jacob J., Andrea L. Kjos. “An Ethical Analysis of Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Practices.” Pharmacy. 2019; 7(2), Special Issue:65.  https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7020065

Kjos, Andrea L., Amy G. Vaughan, Anuj Bhargava. “Impact of a Mobile App on Medication Adherence and Adherence-related Beliefs in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.” Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. 2019; 59(2) Special Issue: Digital Health S44-S51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2018.12.012

Kjos, Andrea L. and Ginelle Schmidt. “Communication Networks of Medication Management in an Ambulatory Care Setting” Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. 2019; 15(2): 182-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.04.010

Martin, Linda Gore, Terri L. Warholak, Ana L. Hincapie, Tyler Gallo*, and Andrea L. Kjos. “Health Informatics Competencies for Pharmacists in Training.” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 2019; 83(2):180-188. doi.org/10.5688/ajpe6512