Marie DeBerry-Butler
Marie DeBerry-Butler, PharmD, is appreciative of many things, and people this holiday season. The family this Ventnor native raises with her husband now includes three wonderful children, ages 15, 12 and 8. Her family and AtlantiCare colleagues have encouraged and supported her in her healthcare career growth. And she is humbled to be making a difference as a pharmacist.
DeBerry-Butler is in the Pharmacy Residency Program at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s Graduate Medical Education Program. She shares the story of her career journey with appreciation for the opportunities she’s discovered along the way. She also hopes to increase awareness about the important role pharmacists play in community health and offers lessons about life and career that can help others.
DeBerry-Butler says she grew up thinking of the pharmacist as the person who provided medications she needed when she was sick. As an Egg Harbor Township High School student, she attended a career fair at the school. It was there that she met with representatives from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She eventually attended a career fair at the university, where she talked with faculty of the university’s Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.
“I remember how this changed my view of a pharmacist—and their role in healthcare,” DeBerry-Butler said. “The pharmacy profession encompassed so much more than I had realized. The idea that I could help so many people in such an important way as a pharmacist inspired me.”
DeBerry-Butler decided the pharmacy profession would be the right path for her. She obtained her certification as a pharmacy technician and soon thereafter began working in the field. By 2013, she was working at ARMC’s Mainland Campus in Pomona as a pharmacy technician. While she was working at ARMC, she attended Atlantic Cape Community College, where she earned her associate’s degree in biology in 2018. In May of 2022, she graduated from Creighton University with her doctor of pharmacy degree, becoming the first in her family to earn a doctoral degree.
Through the AtlantiCare Pharmacy Residency program, DeBerry-Butler is now attaining her teaching certificate at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She said she looks forward to serving as a preceptor for Rutgers students.
“Working at AtlantiCare has opened a world of pharmacy I had never imagined. I’ve experienced first-hand the role a pharmacist plays in everything from helping ensure that a premature baby has a safe dose of antibiotics to assuring that a patient in the critical care unit receives life-saving medications. I’ve prepared IVs for babies in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I’ve helped eliminate disparities in healthcare by volunteering at AtlantiCare’s Federally Qualified Health Center. Every day, I collaborate with my AtlantiCare colleagues as part of an interprofessional team that is dedicated to caring for the diverse communities we serve throughout southeastern New Jersey.”
DeBerry-Butler shares that her experience in the AtlantiCare graduate medical education program has been extraordinary.
“Having the opportunity to work alongside internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry residents has been especially rewarding. We share our experiences and knowledge, and we inspire each other in our shared goal of compassionately providing our patients with the quality care and services they need and deserve.”
DeBerry-Butler considers it her responsibility to increase awareness about the important roles pharmacists play.
“Pharmacists promote public health through providing medication counseling to our patients and administering immunizations. They create and execute research that leads to enhancements in care and patient safety. They help people avoid and manage chronic conditions. When members of the community are sick, pharmacists contribute to their healing. They offer a wide range of support for healthcare providers and patients.”
DeBerry-Butler says she is especially grateful this holiday season and in these final days of 2022.
“I am fortunate AtlantiCare is where I am expanding my career. My leaders and colleagues continue to encourage me to explore exciting paths I can take once I complete my residency. Throughout my career, they have assisted me in balancing what is important—my family, my career growth, and the important work we do at AtlantiCare.”
She says she is also grateful she could use AtlantiCare’s tuition reimbursement funds to pay for a portion of her prerequisite courses at ACCC. She also benefited from two scholarships for AtlantiCare employees and dependents of employees.
“My fourth child is on the way. I am halfway through my residency. And I’m considering enrolling in an MBA program after I finish my residency. I am thankful for the support and encouragement my AtlantiCare colleagues give me. The trust patients place in our team as we care for them humbles me. Whether we are behind the pharmacy counter, at the bedside, or in the community, we work with our fellow care providers and our patients to create a healthier world.”
