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About Donald Plumb
Just Who IS This Donald Plumb?
 Donald
C. Plumb is a 1977 (BSPharm) and a 1981 (PharmD—he thinks he got it right this
time) graduate of the University of Minnesota's
College of Pharmacy.
Because he has allergies to horses, dogs, and cats he took a job in 1982 at the
University of Minnesota's College of
Veterinary Medicine to test their buildings' air
exchange systems and to serve as the pharmacist for their teaching
hospital. Because there had never been a pharmacist at the teaching hospital
before and he had the title "Doctor" in front of his name, the administration
believed him when he stated that "pharmacists don't dispense drugs anymore, they
dispense knowledge." This allowed him to hide out in his office more than normal
and write drug formularies and such.
In 1991, the Peter Principle ("People tend to rise in an hierarchical
organization to their highest level of incompetence") was in full play when he
was named Hospital Director for the University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
He was the first non-veterinarian to hold such a position in North America. This
should have been a warning sign to him, but it took another nine years for him
to realize that there is a reason administrators are disliked, particularly in
academic settings, even when they think they are nice guys. At the same time,
his books were still well received and people started to think of him as an
"expert" in veterinary clinical pharmacology. (An aside to
anyone still reading this: Never trust someone who is an "expert," particularly
if they categorize themselves in that light. An expert is just someone who
hasn't been found out yet.) In 2000, he stepped down from his administrative
post to return to what he enjoys most, doing pharmacy work and providing drug
information to health professionals.
Currently, he raises chickens
(well, kind of) on his farm in Stockholm, Wisconsin, with his exceedingly
understanding wife, Shirley. He continues to spend most of his time writing drug
references, and works as a Pharmacist part-time at
St.
Elizabeth's Medical Center in Wabasha, Minnesota. There, he works his magic
on that peskiest of Nature's creatures—humanity.
Last updated
May, 2008
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