Kristina De Los Santos, PharmD
Alumna, Class of 1999
Kristina De Los Santos wasn’t content just being the first college graduate in her family. She also had to graduate magna cum laude from The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy with her PharmD in 1999.
The Phoenix native came to UA for her prepharmacy work because she “never liked” Arizona State University, the other large Arizona university. During her first three days of pharmacy school, she met her husband, Lloyd De Los Santos.
“I’m very fortunate in my serendipity,” she says. “It’s the only school I applied to!”
De Los Santos said the faculty helped draw her in.
“I still have relationships with many of them,” she says. “They’re always very supportive and very willing to answer questions.”
During her fourth year at COP, De Los Santos completed a clerkship at the Southern Arizona Veteran Affairs Health Care System.
“I really believe in the VA healthcare system,” she says. “The people are what keeps me here. It’s a place I feel I can really serve them. It’s patriotic for me.”
De Los Santos, who has been working for the system since she graduated from pharmacy school in 1999, recently received a promotion to clinical coordinator and residency program director.
As clinical coordinator and residency program director, De Los Santos oversees all clinical services in the hospital and coordinates all education for her department, such as student clerkships and the eight residency training positions. She also helps facilitate the research in the department and serves on various committees.
“It’s still a pharmacy job, but in an advanced role,” De Los Santos says.
The 2007 Arizona Pharmacy Alliance "Pharmacist of the Year" award winner says she will always be in the VA system, but it’s up to her husband whether or not they leave his native Tucson.
In her free time, De Los Santos is a member of the Junior League of Tucson, an organization that trains volunteers to serve in the Tucson community and provides community service with a focus on women's and children's charities.
She’s also a member of the Arizona Pharmacy Association and loves reading. She says the best two books she’s read in the past year are “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova and “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger.
Kristina De Los Santos is shown on the home page with a VA display during a residency-clinical rotation showcase held at UA.