Greetings from the College of Pharmacy Dean
Tom Campbell |
This past year has been a year of many successes for the college. For example, we have one of the highest post-graduate match rates in the country. Our graduates are sought after for prestigious residencies and fellowships from all across the country.
Our faculty continue to excel both inside and outside the classroom with sustained growth in scholarship and mentorship of future practitioners and researchers. Our preceptors continue to fill an integral role in our student’s training. Our alumni continue to shine with the provision of exceptional patient care and leadership throughout different pharmacy sectors. There is so much to be proud of, and we are only at the tip of the iceberg of what we can become.
I am excited about the opportunities we have before us to grow this college to new heights. Our curriculum committee is looking at ways to innovate our educational offering in ways that will resonate with today’s learner while maintaining core competencies and skills that are important to the profession. Dr. Scott Akers continues to grow our Center of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetic Research with strategic partnerships with some of the most esteemed health care centers in the world. Our faculty are collaborating in cutting-edge clinical research within their practice sites and using these opportunities to expose our student pharmacists to novel treatment approaches.
While there is excitement about these opportunities, we cannot move forward in the pace we would like to see due to some ongoing issues within the profession. The work environment of the many pharmacists in community practice needs to continue to evolve to focus more on the patient relationship and less on performance metrics. We need reform in reimbursement models for pharmacists that are not just product-based, but also provide reimbursement for the vital cognitive services that a pharmacist provides to optimize health outcomes as members of interprofessional patient care teams. Our faculty and students are actively engaged in advocacy efforts to help create the necessary change for the profession. There is still much work to do.
While there have been many happy times on campus this past year, we did have one significant moment of sadness when Dr. Kevin Clauson passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Kevin was an absolute joy to work with at the college. We continue to pray for Angela and Ella Clauson during this very difficult time. We want Kevin’s legacy to continue to live on and have established the Kevin A. Clauson Memorial Scholarship to help future students who have interest in pharmacy and health care informatics.
Join us on Giving Day, 2/23/23, where all donations received by the College of Pharmacy will help fund this scholarship.
Sincerely,
Thomas M. Campbell, Pharm.D.
Dean