Pharmacy scores perfect pass rate on national law exam
Janel Shoun-Smith |
College of Pharmacy among ten colleges nationwide with perfect law exam pass rate
Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy was listed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as one of only ten colleges of pharmacy nationwide to obtain a 100 percent pass rate in 2015 on the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination, a standardized exam created by the NABP to assess competency and knowledge of pharmacy law and ethics.
In March, the Pharmacy Times recognized nine of the colleges of pharmacy with the 2015 100 percent pass rate in an article, including Lipscomb (According to the NABP, the Pharmacy Times article left out one college.). The 2015 pass rate reported by the NABP and noted by the Pharmacy Times is based on the 44 members of Lipscomb’s Class of 2015 who took the MPJE in Tennessee.
While the article mentions the past three years, in fact, the College of Pharmacy has achieved a 100 percent first-attempt pass rate on the MPJE for the past four years.
“It’s very exciting to see where the college stands among our peers, especially since our program is still young,” said Dean Roger Davis, Pharm.D., on the accomplishment. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work of Dr. (Kevin) Eidson and the college’s top-quality faculty that we rely on to teach our student pharmacists not only the skills they need but the knowledge to apply those skills legally, ethically and effectively.”
For a student pharmacist to become licensed as a pharmacist, he or she must successfully pass two separate examinations administered by the NABP: the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination and the MPJE or equivalent state-administered jurisprudence exam.
Lipscomb has also had tremendous success with the second portion of the licensure examination process with a NAPLEX pass-rate of greater than 95 percent.
Every Lipscomb College of Pharmacy student is required to take a pharmacy law and ethics course taught by Dr. Kevin Eidson, former executive director of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy, current member of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy and assistant professor at Lipscomb.
“In the spring of their second professional year, Lipscomb student pharmacists are taught the State of Tennessee laws, federal laws and board of pharmacy rules that play an important role in protecting the public health, safety and welfare of patients who receive the professional services of pharmacists,” said Eidson.
He has taught the course for the last five years, bringing his knowledge of several years in state government and community pharmacy practice to students as a resource for understanding and applying the law to their practice safely and ethically.
Eidson routinely takes student pharmacists in the law and ethics course to Board of Pharmacy meetings, showing them firsthand the interpretation of the laws and rules that impact pharmacy and the consequences of not following them.
“I strive to provide Lipscomb’s student pharmacists with more than a textbook experience, drawing on my personal experience to teach them how these laws and rules play out in real-life situations,” said Eidson.
Click here to read the Pharmacy Times article
About Kevin Eidson
Kevin Eidson joined Lipscomb as an assistant professor of pharmacy practice in 2010. Prior to that, he worked eight years with the State of Tennessee, Department of Health, as the state strategic national stockpile director, the director of pharmacy for the health department, and the executive director of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy. He is a member of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy having been appointed by Governor Bill Haslam in September 2013 for a six-year term and serves as vice president of the board.
Prior to his leadership in state government, Eidson was a pharmacist and pharmacy owner in community practice. He also gained experience in a long-term care pharmacy practice setting as manager of pharmacy operations. Eidson completed his pre-pharmacy education at Middle Tennessee State University in 1989, and graduated from Mercer University, Southern School of Pharmacy in 1993.