ACADEMIC REPORT FOR 2007-2008
College of Pharmacy
Wayne Kradjan, Dean and Professor
2007-2008 Highlights
1. Programmatic Achievements—List initiatives undertaken and outcomes achieved in the following areas:
a. Student engagement and success
Admission to the College of Pharmacy professional doctoral (Pharm. D.) program plateaued at 90 students per year during the last two years (total head count 339 students currently), compared to the target of 75 per year (total head count 330) at the conversion to the professional doctor of pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree program in 1999 (see metrics tables attached separately.) The total head count will rise to greater than 350 per year within the next two years. While demand for admission remains strong, matriculation is limited by practice laboratory size in Corvallis, lecture hall capacity in Portland, and clinical practice sites for the fourth year advanced practice experience program.
Eight new graduate students were admitted in the fall of 2007, bringing the total graduate student head count to 26. We anticipate a relative flattening of graduate student head count at 25-26 for the next biennium, with a long range target of 30 or more as new faculty are hired and more stipend funds become available.
Seventy four (74) candidates were jointly awarded the Pharm. D. degree by OSU and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in 2008. Of the cohort of 83 students entering the program in the fall of 2004, 67 (81%) completed the program in the requisite four years, with a projected five year completion rate of 76(92%).
First time passing rate on the national pharmacists’ licensing exam (NAPLEX) for the 78 graduates of the class of 2007 was a remarkable 100%. The college ranks in the top 10% in the nation for passing rates over the last five years.
Two Ph. D. and one MS degree were awarded to graduate students in the college of pharmacy during 2008. College of Pharmacy faculty also served as the major professor for two graduating Ph.D. students in the MCB and biochemistry programs, respectively.
Listed below are the goals for student engagement and success from the 2007 annual report and a brief progress report on each of the goals
· Goal 1: Continued curricular review with an emphasis on integrating basic science courses and therapeutics in the second professional year and also coordinating the pharmacy administration/health outcomes course series.
Progress to date: The curriculum committee and the entire faculty are engaged in a continual evolution of the curriculum. Internally administered assessments using surveys of students, faculty and preceptors; and external mandates by our accrediting agency (ACPE) provide direction in addition to ongoing reviews by the committee. Three areas dominated the work of the committee over the past year. The first area involved a previously planned restructuring of the first professional year. The second and third areas were stimulated by mandates from ACPE. They involved the addition of electives to the professional program and changes to our introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE). These three areas are distinct issues, but the solutions overlap significantly since each involves, at least in part, the first professional year.
The committee assessed the need for students to develop a greater understanding of genomics, immunology and other foundational concepts pertaining to drug products created through biotechnology. Concurrently, students and faculty believe that students would benefit from an earlier, broader exposure to drug action and a more methodical progression of topics in the pharmaceutical sciences. To this end, the “Foundations in Drug Action” course in the first professional year has been expanded to three terms (formerly fall quarter only.) This allows additional foundational topics previously presented in the second year to be taught in the first professional year and for inclusion of additional topics that support an understanding of biotechnology applied to drug development. Space in the curriculum for the expanded Foundations sequence was created by requiring that all students complete anatomy and physiology prior to enrollment in the College of Pharmacy.
Changes to accreditation standards in July of 2007 require that all professional programs include elective course opportunities for students throughout the curriculum. The committee has worked to identify opportunities to streamline or consolidate course content to open space for the inclusion of electives in the curriculum. In changes that will be enacted in the 08 – 09 academic year, students will be expected to select at least one course from an approved list of electives during the spring term of the first professional year and, beginning 09-10, the second professional year. Elective coursework will be drawn from a combination of courses currently offered by other departments on campus and new courses developed by college faculty members. Future discussions will define a similar requirement for the third professional year. We currently anticipate that a total of four elective courses will be required prior to the fourth professional year.
Finally, changes to accreditation standards now require a minimum of 300 hours of experiential education prior to beginning the fourth professional year. The committee crafted a student driven process to meet this requirement and submitted it for approval as a pilot project to ACPE in late 2006. The proposal was denied by ACPE and, therefore, a more traditional approach has been designed and is being implemented. Students that were admitted in the fall of 2008 will meet the new IPPE requirements. In the process of redesigning IPPE, we have also taken the opportunity to more clearly define the goals of the IPPE component of the curriculum. IPPE requirements are discussed further on page 7 of this report.
The priority of the curriculum committee and faculty has been to continue to strengthen our students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes; regardless of whether change is driven by our own evaluation or mandates from ACPE. Changes developed over the past year and enacted in 08 – 09 will clearly enhance the knowledge base of our students and provide for an easier progression from basic concepts to application of knowledge and synthesis of creative solutions for patient care. During the coming year, discussions of the curriculum committee will focus on carrying forward changes to allow for a similar evolution of the P2 and P3 years of the professional curriculum.
· Goal 2: Review the Academic and Professional Standards documents to better articulate the admission, retention, and graduation requirements
Progress to date: A committee under the direction of Associate Dean Gary DeLander and Director of Student Services Angela Austin Haney drafted new guidelines for admission, retention, and graduation, as well as for criminal background checks and illegal substance testing. These documents are currently under review by the general counsel in the legal affairs office and will be made available when finalized in the fall of 2008.
· Goal 3: Relocate the Director of Alumni and Student Relations to Portland
Progress to date: The Director of Alumni and Student Relations (Megan Hoffart) relocated to the Portland office in August 2007. Ms. Hoffart comes to Corvallis as needed to oversee multiple student and alumni events throughout the year. The OS-2 staff support person for the Director of Alumni and Student relations (Cassandra Crawford), resigned in June 2008. A new OS-2 support staff person (Nicole Lanphear) started July 2008 and is also located in Portland.
· Goal 4: Continue to improve access to academic advising for students in Portland
Progress to date. This goal has been fully implemented. An advisor visits the Portland campus most weeks during the academic year. Students are notified in advance and can either schedule an appointment or meet with an advisor on a drop-in basis.
· Goal 5: Complete the search for a new faculty member to co-coordinate the second year pharmacy practice course sequence.
Progress to date. This goal has been completed with the hiring of Dr. Natalea Braden in the summer of 2008.
· Goal 6: Explore the resources needed to develop a graduate pathway in pharmacy practice with an emphasis on pharmacoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology.
Progress to date: This initiative is still in progress. As part of the larger process of refining the college research cores (see section b. Research and its impact on page 16), a team of faculty drafted a description of the Pharmaceutical Outcomes, Epidemiology, and Policy (POEP) Research Core (Appendix G). Implicit to carrying this research core to the next level is development of a parallel graduate degree pathway. It is projected that a minimum of two new faculty with expertise in pharmacoeconomics and/or drug policy are needed to bring this program to the desired critical mass. Searches for these new faculty positions will begin when funds become available. There will be strong linkages to the Department of Public Health in the College of Health and Human Science; the Departments of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University; the Kaiser Center for Health Research; the Oregon Evidence-Based Practice Center; the Oregon Practice-Based Research Network: and the Medicaid Pharmacotherapy Research Consortium.
· Goal 7: Begin a new community residency program in collaboration with Fred Meyer Pharmacies.
Progress to date: This goal has been successfully implemented. Under the leadership of Dr. Jeegisha Patel from the College of Pharmacy and Dr. Jennifer Davis from Fred Meyer Pharmacies, a residency was developed and the first resident recruited with a start date of July, 2008.
· Goal 8: Meet with advisors from the College of Science to identify efficiencies in advising of pre-pharmacy students at OSU.
Progress to date: These conversations are continuing as part of the Human Health Thematic Area planning described in the section immediately below.
In addition to the 8 goals that were part of the 2007 annual report described above, several other important activities affecting the future planning of the college were conducted during the academic year.
· University Strategic plan – Human Health Thematic Area
Over the last year, faculty from the College of Pharmacy and other colleges and departments across the campus met frequently to define the OSU health initiative thematic area and to make recommendations to build upon existing and novel programs focused on the prevention of disease and the promotion of health. In December, a steering committee appointed by the three health sciences deans (Bray, Clarke, and Kradjan) presented the Provost’s Council with an interim report (available upon request) addressing health applications in undergraduate, professional (Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine), and graduate education; collaborative research; and community outreach through public education and service. Preliminary recommendations for investigating the creation of a new School of Public Health were also provided.
Subsequently, the same steering committee was charged to continue their work, inviting others as needed, with a specific focus on interdepartmental graduate programs and cross-disciplinary research. This activity culminated in a proposal entitled, “Research Program on Microbes and Risk Factors for Chronic Disease: Advancing the OSU Strategic Plan in the Health Thematic Area” (available upon request.) It is impressive that the proposal not only links the research visions of the traditional health sciences colleges of OSU (Health and Human Science, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine), but also incorporates expertise and collaborations from the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Science. The concepts and collaborations proposed, many of which are already in various stages of engagement, truly represent a translational continuum from basic science development to clinical sciences and behavioral research. We believe these are the components of the larger program that are most likely to foster campus wide collaboration and bring national and international reputation to the university.
· ACPE accreditation
On November 5 and 6, 2007 the college hosted a three member ACPE focused on-site evaluation team that reviewed progress within the college in response to concerns raised during a regularly-scheduled, full accreditation site visit in 2005. Specifically the team assessed the financial health of the college, faculty size, faculty and staff salaries, administrative and educational relationship with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), assessment committee planning efforts, curricular development, and the introductory professional practice experience (IPPE) program. Subsequently, the ACPE affirmed continuing accreditation of the Pharm. D. program through June 30, 2010 at the January 2008 Board of Directors meeting.
ACPE requested that an interim report be provided in November 2008 addressing the bulleted items below. Incorporated within each item is progress to date in response to the issues.
¨ Assessment - While the College Assessment Committee was commended on its progress since the 2005 site visit, the site team recommends that “steps should be taken to advance the College’s assessment activities…, noting in particular efforts taken to assess the achievement of the College’s mission and goals. Examples of how assessment findings have been used in programmatic improvement should be included. “
Progress to date. The following assessment tools are administered at regular intervals in the spring:
1) American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) standardized “Graduating Pharmacy Student Survey”. This on-line survey, administered annually, includes 85 descriptors that assess attainment of professional competencies and outcomes, organization and effectiveness of the curriculum, organization and effectiveness of the professional practice experience program, student services (advising and financial aid), the student experience (support from the faculty and dean, student government, campus climate), facilities and educational resources, and overall impressions of the academic experience at OSU. AACP provides summary results from OSU and comparison to up to five peer universities that also participated in the survey that year. For 2008 we chose the following peer universities: Arizona, Idaho State, New Mexico, Cincinnati, Washington State. For the majority of descriptors, 85-95% of respondents rated their experience at OSU very high, equaling or exceeding the aggregate ratings from the peer institutions. OSU scored higher than peer schools in over 10 areas. Examples include: strategies to reduce medication errors; communication with patients and health care providers; retrieval and evaluation of health sciences literature; and interactions with diverse populations. One area in which we scored lower was related to elective courses. Elective courses will be introduced during the 2008-2009 academic year. The entire survey results are available upon request.