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On Aug. 21, 111 students donned the traditional white coat and signed the Code of Ethics, signifying their entrance into the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program on the USC campus of the new South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP). The following day, 80 of their counterparts at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) campus in Charleston repeated the ceremony.
This simple but poignant convocation was a culmination of two years of discussion and collaboration between the previously independent colleges of pharmacy at USC and MUSC and introduced the inaugural class of the SCCP. In 2004, the boards of trustees at MUSC and USC agreed to combine the strengths and resources of their two pharmacy schools to create a single, stronger entity.
"This is an exciting time for pharmacy education. The demand is expanding dramatically in community pharmacy and health-system pharmacy, as well as in managed health care and in the pharmaceutical industry," said Joseph T. DiPiro, executive dean of the SCCP.
"Applications for pharmacy colleges nationwide have increased threefold in the past few years. We are now in a position to place the South Carolina College of Pharmacy at the forefront of national pharmacy education. The inaugural class of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy is very strong academically and compares favorably to previous classes at MUSC, USC, and other well-respected pharmacy schools across the country. Our students are prepared for the rigors of the Pharm.D. program and excited about the opportunities available to serve the healthcare needs of South Carolinians and beyond."
The SCCP received more than 700 applications to the Pharm.D. program through a single on-line process. While applicants were offered their choice of campus, more than 80 percent were willing to attend either campus. And almost all received their first choice.
With an enrollment of 191 students and the granting of precandidate status by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education in June, the school is moving forward to become one of the nation's premier institutions for the education of pharmacists.
The class of 70 women and 41 men at the USC Campus share the same demanding curriculum as their counterparts in Charleston. They also share faculty as both campuses interact in select courses through synchronous video technology. This high-tech approach allows students on both campuses quick access to faculty experts and courses they did not have as separate entities.
"The profession of pharmacy now demands a more comprehensively trained practitioner who is patient-centered, business savvy, and adept culturally to serve a diverse and aging population as the number and use of prescription and nonprescription medications continues to rise dramatically," said Randy Rowen, interim USC campus dean. "Combining the resources of a comprehensive University and a large medical center enables us to enlarge our scope of training and puts us on a footing with such esteemed programs as UNC Chapel Hill. Add to that the additional clinical facilities and our future teaching opportunities with the Greenville Hospital System and other entities in the Upstate, and we truly are a statewide source of pharmacy expertise and leadership."
"Admitting the first joint class of pharmacy students was accomplished in a time frame that I consider remarkable, and our faculty deserve to be congratulated," said Harris Pastides, vice president of research and health science. "We are certainly a stronger Division of Health Sciences due to the work of Dean DiPiro, Dean Rowen, and the entire South Carolina College of Pharmacy."
Students just beginning their second, third, and fourth years at either MUSC or USC pharmacy school will continue in, and ultimately graduate from, their respective colleges.
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Wayne Buff, right, a clinical associate professor and associate dean in the S.C. College of Pharmacy, works with first-year students Christopher Bachochin and Sherita Thompson.
