July 26, 2007
The UNC School of Pharmacy has created a fifth academic division to focus on the needs of pharmacy practitioners at the point of care.
The Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education will house the School’s Professional Experience Program, the Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory, the Postgraduate/Continuing Education Program, and the Master of Science in Health System Pharmacy Program, 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 new division grew out of the in-depth discussions we had while creating the School’s strategic plan. Its purpose is to advance and improve the practice of pharmacy in North Carolina and the nation.” says Dean Bob Blouin. “The new division will work to support and strengthen our established network of faculty, clinical practitioners, administrators, and managers.”
Stephen Caiola, MS, is the new division’s interim chair. Bruce Canaday, PharmD, is the interim vice chair.
“The School has four divisions with faculty focusing their research in the various aspects of drug-development, but the faculty and programs that address pharmacy education and the treatment of patients were spread around the School in various offices and units,” Caiola says. “PPEE brings them all together.”
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.
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.
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