Marsha F. Crader

Marsha F. Crader is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice Education & Training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy. She is affiliated with St. Bernards Medical Center (SBMC), where she serves as co-director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and actively participates in clinical rounds and interdisciplinary initiatives. Her teaching roles include coordinating and lecturing in UAMS Pharmacy Practice courses, focusing on therapeutics, infectious diseases, and stewardship. She also contributed to nursing and pharmacy programs at Arkansas State University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM), delivering guest lectures on topics like diabetes and nonprescription medications.

Dr. Crader earned her Pharm.D. from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in May 2003. Her research emphasizes evidence-based interventions to improve patient outcomes in community hospitals, particularly through pharmacist-led stewardship and clinical protocols.

Her work spans antimicrobial optimization, infection prevention, and medication management in high-risk populations. She has pioneered clinical services such as the SBMC pharmacokinetics dosing program and warfarin management initiatives. Her contributions include developing physician order sets, antibiograms, and IT alerts for antimicrobial usage compliance with Joint Commission and CMS standards.

• Awards:
  • Arkansas Association of Health-System Pharmacists Clinician of the Year (2010)
  • ASHP poster featured on Quality Improvement Initiative Resource Center (2008)
  • Arkansas Association of Health-System Pharmacists New Practitioner of the Year (2008)

In advising, she has mentored numerous PGY1 residents and postgraduate students, including Sarah Steely, Linh Nguyen, and others, supporting their research projects and clinical training. She has also been a preceptor for residency programs at SBMC and UAMS, focusing on antimicrobial stewardship, academic preceptorship, and internal medicine.

Her clinical practice includes leading SBMC’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and interdisciplinary rounds. She collaborates with critical access hospitals, infection prevention teams, and microbiology labs to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic stewardship. She also participates in national and local healthcare quality initiatives and community education events like U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week.