Local Pharmacy Schools Off to a Good Start on Nashville Medical News

Local Pharmacy Schools Off to a Good Start

By: KELLY PRICE

Rendering of Health Sciences Building at Belmont, future home of Pharmacy School

Belmont, Lipscomb Wind Up First Semester

As the first semester draws to a close at Nashville's two new schools of pharmacy, both Belmont and David Lipscomb are evaluating the evolution of their newly created programs, instituted in response to a growing nationwide shortage of qualified pharmacists.

Both schools are moving successfully along the track for accreditation from the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE), the official regulatory body that accredits all colleges of pharmacy in the United States.

Belmont University School of Pharmacy

Phil Johnston, PharmD, dean of the School of Pharmacy at Belmont, speaks with pride about the fact that every student accepted for the first-year class enrolled in the school with a belief in the future... something he pointed out that was done "with only a brochure and a Web site" describing the vision of the school.

Johnston observed the demographics of the 74 students in the first class are on par with the rest of the United States, with equal GPA averages and percentage of female students (64 percent). He noted that 24 percent of the class is made up of minority students, unusual because it is often difficult to attract minorities to this field. He said he is also very pleased that Belmont will have an opportunity to mentor and model these students, tying in with the school's "mission to help serve the underserved by involving and identifying ways to give back."

Students come from 42 states, but 50 percent of the class is made up of Tennesseans.

In addition to their academic studies, the first-year class has invested time in the mechanics of establishing traditions for the school: electing class officers and structuring the first student organization.

Johnston said the school has already received 250 applications for the next first-year class, although Belmont plans to keep class size at about the same number of students as this inaugural year. Students feel confident about coming, he added, even though the school has not yet completed all the steps for full accreditation. Belmont has been working closely with the ACPE as they go through the steps to achieve this status and have hit all the required marks to date.

The high number of applicants has enabled the school to add the next round of faculty to the program.

Johnston said, "We are at nine now and plan to add four, gradually filling out to a full faculty of 30." He added the school is also looking at the possibilities of "pairing" with other degrees, such a combined degree with Belmont's respected Massey School of Business.

This fall Belmont broke ground on a new $30 million Health Sciences Center that will become the permanent home for the Belmont School of Pharmacy and also house the School of Physical Therapy and expansion space for the Schools of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, as well as the Social Work and Psychology programs. This building will provide a consolidation of all the university's health science studies on the campus' northeast corner.

Called "a model 21st century academic facility," the 90,000 square-foot building, designed by Earl Swensson Associates, is one of the three or four colleges across America that integrate all health services studies into one building, allowing unique opportunities for co-teaching and simulation labs.

One of Johnston's enthusiasms is for the Pharmaceutical Faculty Research Lab that will be housed in the building. It is what he called "a real bench lab where faculty can be conducting their own scientific investigations of pharmaceuticals. This is very unique in a liberal arts setting."

The new building will also house a licensed pharmacy, offering retail services for the faculty, staff, students and families on campus. "This small clinic enables us to provide a model for training, nursing, PT/OT," the dean said, adding, "We hope to discover that this is another way to serve the underserved in Nashville with community clinics."

The curriculum for the Belmont School of Pharmacy has some unique aspects, Johnston explained. "We wanted ours to be a little different and be recognized as being above average."

He added that, based on the most rigid four-year programs, Belmont has "carved out 12 percent of the curriculum" so that they can include aspects of their distinctive 'Pharmacy Plus' program, based on skills that future employers have identified as desirable in potential employees: 1) management skills; 2) pharmacotherapy, which includes training in "bedside manner;" 3) pharmacy missions for public health and international affairs; and 4) informatics, which includes instructions for patients.

The College of Pharmacy at David Lipscomb University

Down "the boulevard," the College of Pharmacy at David Lipscomb University, also new this fall, is implementing pharmacy curricula that focuses on the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to deliver increasingly sophisticated drug treatments and patient-centered care as part of an inter-professional team.

Dean Roger L. Davis, PharmD, said Lipscomb's first class is developing a high academic bond that will strengthen as they study together and support each other over the next four years. The class has developed a student government organization and will soon elect class officers.

"They are interested in healthcare initiatives and have already begun a program to raise awareness about breast cancer since they arrived on campus," Davis commented. "They seem very eager and very much focused on things that give back," he added.

Students are already out in the community at 75 sites, where they are interacting with preceptors. "This is part of our plan to get students into a practice setting earlier — within the first two weeks of the first semester — to understand the tougher real life questions they will face," Davis said. "It will give them a more complete picture."

The first class at Lipscomb has 73 students. In line with the national trends, 73 percent are female, and the class has a 21 percent minority enrollment, which helped earn a Walgreen's grant to continue encouraging diversity. In the current class, 25 percent of the students come from outside Tennessee, but Davis said he expected that ratio would increase, especially since out-of-state applications for next year's class are already up 32 percent. The GPA and Pharmacy College Board scores are at the national average. Davis pointed out 56 percent of the class already hold an undergraduate degree.

Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy and CVS Caremark have announced the creation of the Pathways to Pharmacy Scholarship, which will provide several $1,000 scholarships to minority and student pharmacists from underrepresented areas. The first scholarship was awarded this fall to Aya Fukuda, a member of the inaugural class, and a native of Japan who came to Lipscomb from Johnson City. The scholarship is for one year, and the recipient is eligible to reapply for the next year.

The College of Pharmacy recently moved into their newly renovated building, the A. M. Burton Building, one of the oldest and most centrally located buildings on campus, now a model of "green" building technology. The 44,000 square-foot building was completely renovated to become LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It is one of eight LEED certified buildings in the state of Tennessee, and the only one on a college campus.

Davis said the building is recognized as "great place to study" and has quickly become a central part of the campus. "You can look around and see the emphasis on the green initiative — the building uses a smart geothermal heating and cooling system, low-emission building materials, energy-efficient windows and insulation. This is one of the healthiest pharmacy facilities in the nation," Davis added. As a bonus, studies show that buildings constructed according to LEED certification experience a 2 – 26 percent productivity increase.

The College of Pharmacy is still recruiting faculty to join the six members currently teaching the inaugural first-year class, with a future goal of 30-35 faculty members when all four classes are in place. Davis said he feels faculty members are attracted by an interest in a faith-based community and the intimacy of the atmosphere with a small student body of 3,000 on campus... and, he added, "They are having a good time with great community support."