School of Pharmacy

www.pharmacy.unc.edu

ROBERT A. BLOUIN, Dean

Gary M. Pollack, Executive Associate Dean

Kevin L. Almond, Associate Dean

Pamela U. Joyner, Associate Dean

Dhiren R. Thakker, Associate Dean

Professors

Kim Brouwer, Michael Crimmins, Joseph DeSimone, Fred Eckel, B. W. Hadzija, Klaus Hahn, Anthony Hickey, Leaf Huang, Harold Kohn, David Lawrence, K. H. Lee, Howard McLeod, Russell Mumper, Michael Murray, Herbert Patterson, Gary Pollack, Bryan Roth, Betsy Sleath, Dhiren Thakker, Alexander Tropsha, Xiao Xiao.

Associate Professors

Kenneth Bastow, Susan Blalock, Stephen Caiola, Moo Cho, James Hall, Timothy Ives, Angela Kashuba, Richard Kowalsky, Andrew Lee, Celeste Lindley, Gordon Liu, Matt Maciejewski, Thomas O’Connell, Wayne Pittman, Ralph Raasch, Robert Shrewsbury, Scott Singleton, Philip Smith, Tim Wiltshire, Dennis Williams.

Assistant Professors

Lynn Dressler, Joel Farley, Richard Hansen, Roy Hawke, Michael Jarstfer, Craig Lee, Jian Liu, Rihe Liu, Mary Roth, Christine Walko, Qisheng Zhang.

Research Professor

Doyle M. Cummings, Stephen Frye, Clark Jeffries.

Research Associate Professors

Juan Li, Feng Liu, Susan Morris-Natschke.

Research Assistant Professors

Arlene P. Bridges, Lucila Garcia-Contreras, Alexander Golbraikh, Peiqu Hu, Rihe Liu, Kyoto Nakagawa-Goto, Mary F. Paine, Chunping Qiao, Abdelnaser Rezk, Xiang Wang, Donglei Yu, Hao Zhu.

Clinical Professors

Bruce Canaday, Allen Cato Jr., Peter Gal, Beverly Holcombe, Heyward Hull.

Clinical Associate Professors

Kimberly Deloatch, Robert Dupuis, John Early, Pamela Joyner, Peter Koval, Elizabeth Michalets, Susan Miller, Deborah Montague, Karen Oles, Philip Rodgers, Mollie Scott.

Clinical Assistant Professors

Melissa Blair, Valerie Brooks, Mary Elizabeth Bryant-Shilliday, Suzanne Harris, Kristen Campbell, Stacy Campbell-Bright, Huyla Coker, Amanda Corbett, Wendy Cox, Rowell Daniels, Tammie Davis, Paul Dombrower, Stephen Eckel, Lisa Edgerton, Rebecca Edwards, Elizabeth Farrington, Stefanie Ferreri, Joan Settlemyer, Deborah Futrell, Michael Gabriel, Bill Hitch, Jane Hughes, Martha Jones, Melanie Joy, Dionne Knapp, Barbara Kostic, Kim Leadon, Robert Malone, Elizabeth Michalets, Mary Ann Oertel, Howard Peckman, Adam Persky, Dawn Pettus, Dennis Pfeiffer, Britt Ritter, Jennifer Robertson, Jo Ellen Rodgers, Tracie Rothrock-Christian, Edward Sredzienski Jr., Jennifer Stegall-Zanation, Traci Suber, Carl Taylor, Tracy Thomason, Kimberly Thrasher, Toyin Tofade, John Valgus, K.T. Vaughan, Kyle Weant, Carla White Harris.

Clinical Instructors

Kevin Almond, Lisa Dinkins, Jenna Ivey.

Professor Emeritus

George Cocolas.

Introduction

The School of Pharmacy was established as an academic unit of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1897. For the past 50 years the school has occupied Beard Hall, named in honor of the school’s second dean, John Grover Beard. In 2002 the Banks D. Kerr Hall annex was opened, doubling the space of the school and providing a modern research wing along with outstanding new teaching facilities. The School of Pharmacy is located on the UNC–Chapel Hill Division of Health Affairs campus with the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Public Health, and Nursing. Additionally, a satellite campus of the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program, operated in partnership with Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), enrolled its first students in August 2005. This partnership program provides students the opportunity to complete requirements for the UNC–Chapel Hill doctor of pharmacy degree while living on the ECSU campus. The doctor of pharmacy program, including the ECSU satellite, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Graduates of the school’s Pharm.D. program may sit for the state licensure examination for pharmacists.

Pharmacy is an evolving profession with opportunities for generalist and specialist practitioners. Generalists may practice in a variety of environments, including community pharmacies, health-system pharmacies, and the pharmaceutical and health care industries. Specialty pharmacy practitioners pursue training beyond the Pharm.D. in the form of residencies and fellowships and may ultimately practice in medical areas such as pediatrics, geriatrics, cardiology, oncology, ambulatory/community care, and others. Pharmacists must be able to evaluate complex approaches to drug therapy and advise patients and other health care professionals on strategies to achieve optimum quality of pharmaceutical care. Other pharmacists are engaged in practices that involve monitoring, managing, and implementing policies affecting drug prescribing and use across large groups of patients, such as those enrolled in a health plan.

The School of Pharmacy offers graduate education and training programs in addition to the clinical practice (Pharm.D.) degree. The school offers the M.S. and Ph.D. in various disciplines within the pharmaceutical sciences, with concentration areas in molecular pharmaceutics, pharmacotherapy and experimental therapeutics, medicinal chemistry and natural products, and pharmaceutical outcomes and policy.

Program of Study

The degree offered is doctor of pharmacy. Students without an undergraduate degree may also be eligible to receive a bachelor of science degree in pharmaceutical sciences.

The entry-level degree into the profession and practice of pharmacy is the doctor of pharmacy degree, also known as the Pharm.D. degree. The Pharm.D. degree is neither an undergraduate nor a graduate degree program, but rather a professional degree program. Since fall 1996 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has offered the Pharm.D. as its sole professional degree preparing individuals for practice licensure.

The Pharm.D. curriculum requires a minimum of two years to satisfy requirements normally completed in the General College, followed by four years of professional course work. During the professional program, 10 months are spent in professional practice experiences under the direct supervision of practicing pharmacists. Eight months of these practice experiences occur during the final year.

Pharm.D. curriculum requirements and costs of attendance are the same for students on the Chapel Hill and Elizabeth City campuses. Pharm.D. students on the ECSU campus remain on the ECSU campus, with the exception of special events, for the first three years of instruction in the professional program. Instruction is delivered to students on the ECSU campus through synchronous and asynchronous video teleconferencing, Web-based instruction, and instruction by ECSU-based faculty. Students from both campuses complete the 10-month experiential requirements through the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) system.

Students graduating from the UNC–Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy must demonstrate professional practice competencies, including, but not limited to, the ability to

• Develop patient-specific therapeutic plans

• Select an appropriate route and method of medication administration

• Determine the appropriate dose and dosage schedule for a medication

• Provide and manage systems for delivering pharmaceutical products

• Counsel patients regarding the importance, nature, scope, and methods of delivery of the drug products and therapeutic plans being implemented

• Monitor drug therapy and educate patients with regard to self-monitoring to help manage disease

• Communicate effectively with patients, patient advocates, and other health care professionals

• Organize, plan, direct, and manage a pharmaceutical care practice/system

In addition, pharmacy graduates must pass national and state licensing examinations in order to practice as a pharmacist.

Pharm.D. students without a bachelor’s degree prior to admission are eligible to receive a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences. This degree is awarded in May after completion of the third professional year of the doctor of pharmacy program.

Admission Requirements

Students are admitted to the Pharm.D. program (the four-year program of professional studies) in the School of Pharmacy upon completion of at least two years (the prepharmacy years) of collegiate work in the General College of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or in any accredited institution of higher learning in the United States. Criteria for admission include satisfactory completion (with a grade of C- or better) of all prepharmacy courses prior to beginning the pharmacy program. Other considerations for admission include overall quality of academic performance in prepharmacy courses, Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) scores, interview scores, involvement in extracurricular activities, and two letters of recommendation.

Application Procedures

Students applying to the School of Pharmacy must submit complete applications to the Pharm.D. program through the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS) and the School of Pharmacy. For application deadlines, processes, and procedures, visit our Web site at www.pharmacy.unc.edu. Those who wish to be considered for admission to the partnership program on the ECSU campus should complete a PharmCAS application for the UNC–Chapel Hill program and note their campus preference on the required form in the School of Pharmacy supplemental application materials.

In addition, because pharmacy students are health care workers, the UNC–Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy requires that accepted applicants complete immunizations in addition to those required for the general population. To enroll in this program, a student must have been fully immunized against hepatitis B. Note that the hepatitis B vaccination series takes a minimum of six months to complete, so students should start the series no later than January 1st of the year in which they plan to enroll.

Prerequisites and Program Requirements

The General Education requirements and program prerequisites for the School of Pharmacy can be found on the school’s Web site at www.pharmacy.unc.edu.

Honors in Pharmacy

The school offers a departmental honors program to provide professional growth to highly motivated students. The honors program of the school is an enrichment of the Pharm.D. curriculum designed to help develop critical thinking skills and expand the range of possibilities available to academically talented and motivated pharmacy students. Students are invited to participate in the honors program seminar during the fall semester of their first year of pharmacy school. Students have to complete an application and interview with the honors program committee. Once admitted into the program, the students must meet several requirements for retention into the program. Honors program students complete all required course work in the curriculum and have the additional opportunity to work closely with individual faculty members on topics of particular interest. In addition, they participate in a weekly seminar series and conduct original research in collaboration with a faculty member. Most research projects lead to publications in a professional or scientific journal, and students often find that the honors program is an avenue to expanded career opportunities. Approximately 10 to 12 students are admitted each year to the program.

Special Opportunities in the School of Pharmacy

Departmental Involvement

Pharmacy students are very active in campus and community activities. They belong to groups that link them to such national professional organizations as the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Pharmacy students provide medication reviews for elderly citizens, staff clinics for indigent patients, and participate in health fairs on campus and in local malls or corporations. Several times each year trips are planned to attend meetings across the nation.

Experiential Education

The Professional Experience Program provides entry-level doctor of pharmacy students with a structured, supervised program of participation in the practice of pharmacy. Students gain experience in problem solving and providing patient care services while applying the basic and pharmaceutical sciences learned in the classroom and practice laboratories. Under the supervision of faculty and selected preceptors, the student learns to make decisions based on professional knowledge and judgment. Broad exposure to as many pharmacy activities as possible, as well as significant personal study and reflection, facilitates this transition. The Professional Experience Program requires 10 months of full-time precepted practice, with early practice experience in the second professional year and third professional year, followed by eight months of advanced practice experiences in the fourth professional year. Students receive four hours of academic credit for each month of professional experience. The 10-month Professional Experience Program meets the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy experience requirement (1,500 hours) to sit for the licensure examination.

Laboratory Teaching Internships and Assistantships

Approximately 25 laboratory teaching assistantships, providing a modest stipend, are available for third professional year students to serve as course facilitators to students in the first-year pharmaceutical care laboratory courses. Students may apply for these assistantships in the spring of their second professional year. Eligibility criteria for these positions include excellent communication and problem-solving skills and completion of first- and second-year laboratory courses with a grade of B or better.

Residencies and Fellowships

To increase the depth of their education, a growing number of Pharm.D. graduates are seeking residency training in pharmacy practice. Pharmacy residencies, like medical residencies, provide stipends for further clinical training. There are approximately 800 pharmacy residency positions in the United States, with sites in hospitals, community pharmacies, and some specialized facilities. Residency programs may be taken in general pharmacy practice and in specialty areas such as pediatrics, drug information, infectious diseases, oncology, psychiatry, and many others. Some Pharm.D. graduates seek additional training in research methods in drug development, pharmacokinetics, pharmacoeconomics, or pharmacotherapy. Postgraduate fellowship programs involve advanced training in these areas and may occur at academic centers or throughout the pharmaceutical industry. Like residencies, they are paid positions.

Facilities

The School of Pharmacy houses state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratory facilities. Two lecture halls and two small group classrooms house cutting-edge video teleconferencing and recording equipment used primarily for delivery of instruction to the satellite campus at ECSU but also available to graduate and continuing education.

Graduate School and Career Opportunities

Graduate degrees offered through the School of Pharmacy are administered by the Graduate School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Students may pursue graduate study in pharmaceutical sciences with concentration in molecular pharmaceutics, pharmacotherapy and experimental therapeutics, medicinal chemistry and natural products, or pharmaceutical outcomes and policy.

Pharmacy offers a variety of opportunities for career advancement and job security. Because pharmacy education draws from the chemical, physical, biological, and behavioral sciences to develop its knowledge base, pharmacists can contribute to the rational use of medications in many settings. Pharmacists work in all areas of the health care system, including

• Community pharmacy, as a practitioner or a manager in a retail pharmacy, clinic, or office practice

• Health system pharmacy, as practitioner, supervisor, or manager in large or small hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities, and health maintenance organizations

• Pharmaceutical industry, in positions involving research, production, product development, product marketing, and drug information

• Government, in the United States Public Health Service, Veterans Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and Drug Administration, and military services

Contact Information

For further information, please visit the school’s Web site at www.pharmacy.unc.edu. For additional information about the UNC–ECSU Pharmacy Partnership Program, send inquiries to pharmacy@mail.ecsu.edu.