College of Pharmacy Unveils Six New PharmD Concentrations
With the addition of six new concentrations to its heralded PharmD program, the UIC College of Pharmacy is unlocking new opportunities for its students and strengthening its profile as one of the nation’s premier colleges of pharmacy.
Providing students an enhanced and focused academic, research, and practical PharmD experience, the concentrations cover each of the college’s three academic departments and focus on diverse areas, such as bench science, outcomes research, acute or ambulatory care, and leadership. By doing so, they position students for competitive postgraduate residencies and fellowships as well as career opportunities to practice at the top of their license.
“This is a big deal for students,” says Dr. JoAnn Stubbings, clinical associate professor emerita in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and a prominent player in the concentrations’ formation. “The concentrations enable students to effectively focus their efforts in a specific area of interest and receive formal recognition for it.”
PROVIDING STRUCTURE AND RESOURCES
Recognizing pharmacists’ ever-expanding role across the healthcare landscape and accelerating marketplace demand for advanced knowledge and specialized skills beyond the traditional PharmD degree, College of Pharmacy leadership has consistently sought ways to elevate training and the student experience.
Given its success with existing concentrations in rural pharmacy (RPHARM) in Rockford and urban pharmacy (UPHARM) in Chicago, college leadership viewed establishing additional concentrations as a way to deliver progressive curriculum offerings that would empower students, leverage faculty talent, and differentiate UIC. Among Big Ten institutions, only three offer concentrations or specializations within their PharmD program.
“By adding additional concentrations, we are broadening academic opportunities for students and giving them a competitive advantage in postgraduate and career opportunities,” says Dr. Kristen Goliak, PharmD ’98, the college’s associate dean for academic affairs.
For years, UIC PharmD students have been informally creating their own focused areas of study by compiling elective courses and research opportunities aligned with their personal interests and career objectives. The new concentrations eliminate any such scrambling by bringing structure and resources to the most sought-after areas in which students pursue residencies and fellowships, if not immediate employment
ENHANCING THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Each of the six new concentrations features a combination of didactic coursework, practical experience, mentorship, and research, the latter being something both students and employers are increasingly prioritizing. Goliak believes the concentration format provides novel opportunities for leadership, scholarship, and learning that will pay dividends in students’ post-UIC lives.
“For students going into residencies or fellowships, the concentrations provide a head start on the focused training they will receive in a given area,” Goliak says. “For those heading straight into the workforce, the concentrations offer a competitive advantage and open the door to different career possibilities.”
UIC will be rolling out the concentrations to first-year PharmD students this fall with a full activation in fall 2023.
“These concentrations provide a breadth of areas of specialized practice or research-focused education and experiences,” UIC College of Pharmacy dean Dr. Glen Schumock says. “It is a major accomplishment for students and signifies a knowledge base and experience that is unique and valuable.”
College leadership anticipates that 20–30% of PharmD students will graduate with a concentration, which will appear on their diploma and transcripts as an official college certification. Even for students who decide not to pursue a specific concentration, however, Goliak sees benefits.
“With these concentrations, we developed several new elective courses, so we’re strengthening our already robust elective pool and giving our students opportunity to explore and learn even more,” Goliak says, adding that the concentrations also serve as a compelling tool to attract prospective students as well. “For those evaluating UIC for their PharmD education, these concentrations make us that much more appealing.”
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THE SIX NEW CONCENTRATIONS
ACUTE CARE PHARMACY
One of four concentrations offered by the Department of Pharmacy Practice, the Acute Care Pharmacy concentration focuses on advanced topics in the inpatient settings, including in-demand hospital environments such as intensive care units and emergency departments.
“Acute care pharmacy is both a major need in the profession and an area of strength for the UIC College of Pharmacy,” says Dr. Edith Nutescu, PharmD ’94, head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. “With this concentration, students will be that much more prepared to walk straight into practice in an acute care setting or earn a spot in competitive residencies or fellowships focused on acute care.”
ADMINISTRATION AND LEADERSHIP
With a need for leadership training in colleges of pharmacy, something few of UIC’s peer institutions provide, the Administration and Leadership concentration will explore advanced topics in pharmacy practice leadership regardless of the practice area–hospital administration, ambulatory care, managed care, specialty pharmacy, pharmaceutical industry, or government.
“In contemporary pharmacy practice, health sciences leadership training helps our students stand out, and this concentration will help our students become innovative self-starters who can take the lead on projects, collaborate, and execute,” Nutescu says. It has long been said that there is a “leadership void” in the profession. This concentration will help fill that by giving students interested in administration and leadership needed education and experience to purse that career direction.
AMBULATORY CARE PHARMACY
Much like its acute care sister in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy concentration seeks to position students for sought-after postgraduate residencies or positions in outpatient clinics or community pharmacy. The concentration will pay special attention to the prevention and management of chronic disease states, such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and congestive heart failure.
“Here’s another area where the job market is in need of well-trained practitioners, particularly for those caring for underrepresented populations,” Nutescu says of ambulatory care settings, such as general and specialty clinics, outpatient surgical facilities, and dialysis centers.
HEALTH ECONOMICS AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH (HEOR)
Offered by the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes, and Policy (PSOP), the HEOR concentration will teach key aspects of health economics and outcomes research, such as pharmacoeconomics, patient-reported outcomes, and decision analysis. While a seminar-based course provides an HEOR overview, students will select courses on HEOR topics of particular interest to them and complete the concentration with an applied experience overseen by a PSOP faculty member.
As costs of new medications continue to increase, PSOP department head Dr. Todd Lee says it is important manufacturers “provide evidence on the value of their medications” and managed care providers “understand the cost-effectiveness or value of new treatments.” The “outcomes pharmacist” is also an emerging career option in the community pharmacy setting—especially at chains and in hospitals. This concentration will make students very competitive for such positions and for fellowships in pharmaceutical industry or managed care.
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
The Pharmaceutical Sciences concentration focuses on the lab sciences, such as chemistry, biology, pharmaceutics, and pharmacognosy, as well as genomics and bioinformatics. It will provide students interested in careers in research, industry, or academia key insights into contemporary drug discovery and development and, critically, an earnest appreciation for the challenges of creating a novel therapeutic from a target or compound.
“As we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is absolutely critical to develop new therapeutics quickly and efficiently, and this concentration opens up new opportunities for our students in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry,” says Dr. Nancy Freitag, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH
Intended to increase the competitive standing of PharmD students interested in pursuing postgraduate residencies, graduate degree programs, or academic or practicebased research careers, this Department of Pharmacy Practice concentration will explore advanced topics in practice-based research, including the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of novel pharmacy services or interventions, including clinical trials. Nutescu says providing students applied clinical research experience addresses a significant need in the profession and promises to drive improved patient care.
“This concentration will teach students how to use the scientific method to address clinically relevant questions and then bring that knowledge back to the bedside to impact patients in a positive way,” Nutescu says.