Pathways of Distinction

Purpose:

The Academia Pharmacy pathway experience will emphasize an understanding of pharmacy education with a focus on the three pillars of academia – teaching, service, and research/scholarship.  Students will be exposed to a breadth and depth of topics that pertain to faculty and administrators at Colleges of Pharmacy. Combining theory and practice, students will apply each of the concepts to their own teaching project under the guidance of a faculty advisor.

Goals and Objectives:

Upon completion of the Academia Pathway, the student will be able to:

1. Discuss the three pillars of academia (teaching, service, and research/scholarship).
2. Describe the impact of three pillars of academia on various types of academic positions.
3. Identify opportunities for academic pharmacy career preparation. 
4. Interact with faculty in various areas of academia and leadership positions.
5. Complete and present an educational or academia-related project under the guidance of a faculty advisor.

Learn more about the Academia Pathway.

Purpose:

Inpatient pharmacy encompasses a variety of focuses – from hospital pharmacy to clinical pharmacy to focused team-based care. Nearly 26% of pharmacists work in healthcare facilities, and this number continues to rise. Our intent is for students within this pathway to be able to build their skills and improve their confidence in this patient population. Completion of the pathway will help provide the student with advanced knowledge in complex acutely and chronically ill patients.

The purpose of the Clinical Inpatient Pathway is to help improve the competency, exposure and skill level of pharmacy graduates interested in pursuing post-graduate education. With the didactic and clinical opportunities provided in this pathway, students will enhance their critical thinking skills, identify and prioritize clinical problems, and assess evidence-based and guideline-directed medication management. This will include additional knowledge of common diseases across age groups encountered in an inpatient setting, as well as more experience with daily chart reviews, identifying medication-related issues and appropriate monitoring, making appropriate recommendations to providers, serving as a patient advocate, and providing patient counseling/education as needed.

Goals and Objectives:

Upon completion of the Clinical Inpatient Pathway, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the various roles of a pharmacist in an inpatient setting.
2. Learn to provide efficacious, safe, and cost-effective pharmaceutical care to patients across the age continuum.
3. Utilize appropriate resources to provide evidence-based medication recommendations based on the disease state presented. 
4. Understand common diseases associated with systems such as, but not limited to, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, endocrine, pulmonary, and infectious diseases.
5. Compare and contrast various therapeutic approaches based on individual patient cases.
6. Prioritize medication management by evaluating the efficacy and safety of medications related to relevant chronic diseases, utilizing laboratory data, and the most up-to-date guidelines.
7. Apply appropriate treatment guidelines and resources for each disease state as it relates to specific patient cases and develop an appropriate treatment and monitoring plan.

Learn more about the Clinical - Inpatient Pathway.

Purpose:

Outpatient Pharmacy is a broad field that includes both community pharmacy as well as specialized clinical outpatient care. It is estimated that approximately 67% of pharmacists practice in an outpatient setting, with the majority in the retail setting. Nonetheless, knowledge and skills of chronic disease state management are imperative regardless of outpatient pharmacy type.

The purpose of this clinical – outpatient pathway is to help improve the competency and skill level of the pharmacy graduates. With the didactic and clinical opportunities provided within this pathway, students will be given the chance to enhance their communication skills, identify and prioritize clinical problems, and increase their critical thinking process. The goal is to set our students up for success in serving the community from an outpatient perspective, with an enhanced knowledge in various chronic diseases and management. 

Our intent is for students within this pathway to be able to build their skills and improve their confidence in this patient population. Completion of the pathway will help provide the student with additional skills and expertise in chronic disease state management. This knowledge will translate to outpatient settings.

Goals and Objectives:

Upon completion of the Clinical – Outpatient Pathway, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the various roles of a pharmacist in an outpatient setting and the various practice models in which pharmacists may work in an outpatient setting.
2. Demonstrate successful approaches to patient counseling on materials and topics commonly encountered in outpatient pharmacy.
3. Identify pertinent information from a patient’s medical record, including, but not limited to, medication history, subjective information, and objective history.
4. Prioritize drug therapy problems by evaluating efficacy and safety of medications related to relevant diseases, utilizing laboratory data and most up-to-date guidelines.
5. Apply treatment guidelines for each disease state discussed to specific patient cases in order to develop an appropriate treatment and monitoring plan.
6. Explain advanced concepts in community pharmacy management, including, but not limited to, operational, personnel, and financial management. 
7. Discover delivery of pharmaceutical care in a community pharmacy setting.
8. Apply principles discussed to develop and sustain a successful outpatient pharmacy practice, including developing a business plan, billing, marketing, and tracking the outcomes of the service.

Learn more about the Clinical - Outpatient Pathway.