UF College of Pharmacy to offer Doctor of Pharmacy degree at off-campus sites

The University of Florida College of Pharmacy is actively addressing the pharmacist shortage that prevails in Florida and across the United States. The college is taking its four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program to Jacksonville, Orlando and St. Petersburg. Students will begin classes at the three locations in August 2002.

College officials hope the move helps offset the growing demand for qualified pharmacists. The number of unfilled full- and part-time drug store pharmacist positions across the country rose from 2,700 in January 1998 to nearly 7,000 in January 2000, according to a study by the Department of Health and Human Services released in December 2000.

“The demand for qualified pharmacists is not going to diminish; demographics show it is only going to continue,” said William H. Riffee, Ph.D., UF’s associate provost for distance, continuing and executive education and dean of the College of Pharmacy. “Enrollment at the Gainesville campus is limited to 131 entering students. Forming an alliance with the University Partnership Center at St. Petersburg College, for example, enables us to deliver a program with a top-10 national ranking beyond the boundaries of the Gainesville campus. Our goal is to double the number of graduates beginning in 2006.”

The College of Pharmacy will target students who cannot move to Gainesville for financial reasons or because of other personal circumstances. Each UF off-campus program will accept 50 students every fall, capping enrollment at 200 students per site after four years.

The educational program will be the same as on the Gainesville campus, including examinations, classification for professional years and month-long rotations in the fourth professional year.

Students will access the course material using compact discs and streaming video containing faculty presentations. They will be able to access study guides on the college’s Web site and will communicate with professors through videoconferencing and e-mail. During scheduled class meetings with the site facilitators, students will participate in discussions and review sessions, present group projects, complete laboratory assignments and take examinations.

The students will be required to complete clinical experiences in the community starting in their first professional year that will introduce them to patient interviewing techniques and physical assessment skills. They also will participate in health screenings or other educational initiatives at local pharmacies. The early clinical experiences will be held in the three metropolitan areas.

UF’s College of Pharmacy has considerable experience in creating and administering a successful distance-education program. Its Working Professional Pharm.D. program is a three-year program designed for practicing pharmacists seeking a doctoral degree. Under the leadership of Sven Normann, Pharm.D., the program has grown from 18 students in Tampa in 1994 to 550 across the United States.

Normann, the assistant dean of distance, continuing and executive education, will direct the new UF program.

“The UF doctor of pharmacy model will differ from other distance-learning situations, as does the Working Professional Pharm.D. program, by blending face-to-face interactions with technology-based study,” Normann said.