How One Health Professional Finds Joy by Aligning Her Strengths With Her Values

Peggy Odegard, PharmD, honed a simple technique for overcoming workplace burnout in the healthcare field as a practicing pharmacist and Vice Dean at the UW School of Pharmacy. Dr. Odegard focuses on being aware of both her personal values and personal strengths while moving through her daily tasks. Aligning her values and strengths with the work she is doing allows her to consistently find joy. She shares details about her techniques for overcoming healthcare workplace anxiety and burnout in “How One Health Professional Finds Joy by Aligning Her Strengths With Her Values” as well as her insights into the working conditions for healthcare professionals working in pharmacies and medical students studying to work in the field of pharmacy.

“Finding Joy: The Health Care Professional’s Journey to Well-being" is a podcast resource developed by a team of interprofessional education researchers from Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane. They’re promoting well-being among students, faculty, and healthcare professionals during challenging times. Funding is provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The Interprofessional Education Research team wishes to thank the following individuals for their invaluable contributions to this project:

• Dr. Barb Richardson, nurse, educator, and interprofessional champion;

• Cameron Cupp, creator of the “Finding Joy” musical score and current enrollee at WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine;

• Washington State University staff from Marketing and Communications, Financial Services, and the Collaboration for Interprofessional Health Education Research and Scholarship; and

• Claire Martin-Tellis, Executive Producer, and Solen Aref, student intern, who developed the first five episodes of the “Finding Joy” podcast.

This episode of “Finding Joy” was produced by Doug Nadvornick, Program Director, Spokane Public Radio.

If you would like to reach out, please contact our team by sending an email to: [e-mail] We also encourage you to visit our podcast blog as well as our team's website at: https://opioideducation.wsu.edu/about/.