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| Vol. 24, No. 16 |
| September 1, 2002 |
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Pharmacy Degrees Upgraded to Doctoral Level By PAGE RANDER Texas Southern University A revolutionary technology that for years enabled pharmacy graduates to advance their education by using telecommunications technology to earn a doctorate degree in pharmacy is being discontinued. The reason for its discontinuation is a good one, however. Ten years ago, U.S. pharmacy schools and colleges voted to move toward awarding the Pharm.D. degree (Doctor of Pharmacy) as the only professional degree in pharmacy, thereby eliminating undergraduate pharmacy degrees and “upgrading” the professional ranking of pharmacists throughout the country. Over time, the focus of pharmacy has expanded from distribution of drugs to a more all-encompassing role. Pharmacists are now an integral part of the patient care team and consult with other health care professionals on the clinical management of patients. The doctorate degree reflects the significance of the pharmacists’ expanded role. When the decision was implemented to make the awarding of bachelor’s degrees obsolete, many bachelor-degreed pharmacists were desirous of obtaining doctoral level degrees. The solution was an Internet-based, distance learning program knows as TxPharm. The program was designed with the working pharmacist in mind. Students only came to campus two times during the two-year program: orientation and graduation. All classes were offered via video, and in Texas, professors from Texas’ four pharmacy schools were available to assist students online. Paula Johnson, distance-learning coordinator for Texas Southern University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, said students in TxPharm have had the best of two worlds. “TxPharm students enroll through one of the four universities, but have the benefit of all the institutions’ instructors. They really have received the best possible education because of this cross exposure,” she said. In January, Texas colleges of pharmacy admitted their last candidates for this state-of-the-art program, since almost all pharmacists now have been upgraded to doctorate degrees. TSU’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences began offering the Pharm.D. degree in 1984 and awarded its last bachelor of pharmacy degree in the late 90s. Students in the final TxPharm class will graduate in the 2004–2005 school year.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/09_01_02/page_11.html |