September 26, 2007
Steve Caiola, MS, has been named chair of the new Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education at the UNC School of Pharmacy.
Caiola, an associate professor, has served as interim chair of PPEE since it was established on July 1. He first came to UNC in 1969 as an instructor at the School and assistant director of pharmacy services at N.C. Memorial Hospital. He has held numerous positions during his time at UNC and currently serves as the director of the School’s Postgraduate/Continuing Education Program.
“I cannot think of anyone more suited to this leadership position than Steve is,” says Bob Blouin, the dean of the School. “He has served this school for nearly forty years, and his dedication and commitment to pharmacy education and practice is unmatched.”
PPEE houses the School’s Professional Experience Program, the Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory, and the Postgraduate/Continuing Education Program. It will also be home to the MS in pharmaceutical sciences program with a specialization in health-system pharmacy administration, which will begin in the fall of 2008. The division will be a home for faculty who focus primarily on teaching and clinical practice.
“The School had four existing divisions with faculty focusing their research in the various aspects of drug-development and pharmacotherapy, but the faculty and programs that address pharmacy education and the treatment of patients at the point of care were spread around the School in various offices and units,” Caiola says. “PPEE brings many them together into one division.”
Through teaching and scholarship, the division faculty will develop and emphasize best practices for pharmacists in caring for patients, Caiola says.
“We need to teach our students how to apply their knowledge and skills to most effectively care for patients in real practice sites,” he says. “PPEE will allow us to concentrate our efforts at the interface between pharmacist and patient and between pharmacist and caregiver.
“My goal is for every patient’s experience with a pharmacist to be one of caring and support. I want to fuel the fire within our students to be that kind of practitioner every day.”
Currently, ten School-based faculty have joined the division, as have the clinical faculty in North Carolina’s Area Health Education Centers and the faculty in the clinics and inpatient facilities of UNC Hospitals. The number of School-based faculty members in the division is expected to double in the next three to five years. The division also serves as a home to the approximately four hundred preceptors of the School’s Professional Experience Program.
The responsibilities of the new division include
- providing and promoting safe and effective medication-use practices to the residents of North Carolina;
- educating students and practitioners, through didactic and experiential learning, on the optimal use of drugs by individuals and communities;
- developing, implementing, and evaluating innovative practice models and teaching methods;
- conducting scholarly activities related to practice and teaching;
- developing leaders in clinical practice, administration, and management;
- participating and serving in leadership roles in local, state, national and international organizations that focus primarily on pharmacist-provided care; and
- establishing partnerships, strategic alliances, and collaborations to advance pharmacy practice.
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