For Steve Caiola, MS, being a pharmacist isn’t just a profession. It’s also a privilege.

Stephen Caiola, MS Associate Professor and Chair Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education Research Interests Adult education outcomes and pharmaceutical care outcomes in ambulatory patients.

“Healthcare professionals have a covenant with patients,” he says. “Patients give us the privilege of influencing their lives. Along with that privilege comes the obligation of maintaining competence, developing the next generation of people to be better than you are, and helping your profession grow.

Caiola, an associate professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy, has spent much of his career doing just that. Since coming to UNC in 1969, he has served in a variety of positions involved in training pharmacists. He has received his share of accolades for his contribution to pharmacy in the state, most recently being named the 2007 Acute Care Practice Forum Pharmacists of the Year by the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists.

“If you were educated at UNC, he improved your education. If you practice in the state, it is highly likely that you have attended a high-quality continuing education program that he produced,” John Kessler, president of the health-care software company SecondStory Health, LLC, said of Caiola when presenting him with the award.

Caiola, however, deflects such praise toward his colleagues.

“I didn’t do it myself,” he says. “I was privileged to have worked with others who made it happen. It’s pretty humbling that people would recognize that I had a part in it, but my part in it was really more of a cohesive coordinator role rather than doing it all myself.”

Click on the links below to read about Caiola's work.

Focusing on the Point of Care		Improving Continuing Education