Faculty and staff from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the UNC Medical Center Department of Pharmacy held a planning retreat for the Partnership in Patient Care at the Friday Center on Feb. 21.
Launched in 2010, the Partnership in Patient Care combines the resources of the School and the pharmacy department to increase the pharmacy services available to patients at UNC Hospitals, the amount of experiential education that pharmacy students receive at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the amount of point-of-care research being conducted.
Since the start of the partnership, the hospital’s department of pharmacy has become tightly integrated into the School’s teaching and point-of-care research mission, and students and residents have helped expand and enhance the patient-care services of the department.
The theme of this year’s meeting was “Revisiting the Partnership Forward Focus.”
Rowell Daniels, Pharm.D., M.S., system vice president of pharmacy services for UNC Health Care, kicked off the morning session with a review of the history and importance of the partnership. Kamakshi Rao, Pharm.D., associate professor of clinical education at the School and clinical manager at UNC Hospitals and Clinics, and colleagues followed his remarks with a presentation on the results of the partnership and lessons learned to date. Scott Savage, Pharm.D., M.S., regional director of pharmacy for UNC Medical Center and the School’s executive associate dean for pharmacy clinical practice, and Mary Roth McClurg, Pharm.D., M.H.S., the School’s executive associate dean for academic affairs, then lead a presentation and group discussion on the current state of the partnership and opportunities for improvement.
Attendees reviewed and discussed the results from a pre-retreat assessment to identify shared priorities and potential new initiatives prior to break out sessions. The afternoon was dedicated to small group breakout discussions to develop potential initiatives in three areas: service and practice, education and research. After breakout sessions, the full group reconvened to review the developed initiatives and prioritize those with the highest impact, urgency and interest.
The Partnership in Patient Care Steering Committee will meet in the weeks following the retreat to review the input from the retreat and determine how to prioritize the strategic initiatives identified along with a plan to move forward.