College of Pharmacy establishes Memorial Pharmacy Practice Center
Janel Shoun |
Lipscomb University will establish "The Memorial Foundation Pharmacy Practice Center" to support Middle Tennessee's first College of Pharmacy in response to a major grant from the Hendersonville-based foundation.
| Memorial Foundation Pharmacy Practice Center, under construction this summer. |
Memorial's $600,000 grant will establish a patient assessment laboratory, where students learn to examine and assess patients; a compounding laboratory, where students learn methods to compound and prepare drugs; and an integrated biomedical sciences laboratory, where students will carry out laboratory experiments and simulations to enhance their first-year classroom and textbook instruction, said College of Pharmacy Dean Roger Davis.
“The additional laboratory experiences required in our curriculum will prepare our graduates not only for diverse professional opportunities including community or hospital pharmacies, but also medical research areas, if they wish.” said Davis.
“The Memorial Foundation Pharmacy Practice Center, and particularly the biomedical lab, will set a new standard for integrating hands-on laboratory work into the pharmacy curriculum. Students will not only learn about a drug’s effect on the body from a textbook, but will actually carry out the process in the laboratory,” he said.
“Because of the shortage of pharmacists to meet the needs of the health delivery system, The Memorial Foundation supports this educational program. We believe it is a good investment for the community and for those students who want to prepare for a career in pharmacy,” said, J.D. Elliott, president of The Memorial Foundation.
The Lipscomb College of Pharmacy has accepted 75 students in its first class, scheduled to begin studies in the Pharmacy Practice Center in Burton in August. More than one-third of the students in the first class are from outside of Tennessee.
“The academic quality of the inaugural class is quite impressive from every perspective. The Admissions Committee has been truly impressed with the commitment and passion of these students to the College, and more importantly, to serving the health care needs of their fellow man,” Davis said.
In response to a growing need for highly qualified pharmacists throughout the nation, Lipscomb University announced in November 2006 that it would create the first pharmacy college in Middle Tennessee and the third in the state. The College of Pharmacy received its on-site visit from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) this past month.
The Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy has signed more than 50 affiliate agreements, representing more than 125 different locations, with Middle Tennessee hospitals, pharmacies and health care agencies to provide experiential education and research partnerships for students. In addition, Lipscomb pharmacy professor Scott Akers, holds a joint appointment at Vanderbilt University’s Division of Clinical Pharmacology, which opens up additional research opportunities for Lipscomb students.
The Memorial Foundation was established in April 1994 with an endowment fund generated from the sale of the assets of Nashville Memorial Hospital in Madison, Tennessee. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for people through support to nonprofit organizations in four Middle Tennessee counties. The Memorial Foundation responds to diverse community needs, assisting agencies that focus on: health, human and social services, education, senior citizens, youth and children, community services and substance abuse programs.