Get a head start on a career in pharmacy

Members from a program in College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo will be on Saipan Oct. 27-28 to present information on how students in the Pacific region can get a head start in preparing for a career in pharmacy.

The representative from UH-Hilo’s Pacific Pre-Pharmacy Program are talking with leaders of colleges in the U.S. American Affiliated Pacific Islands who are on Saipan for a meeting of the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council. In addition, UH-Hilo program director Susan Jarvi and advising assistant and project coordinator Elizabeth Ryan will meet with healthcare professionals and students to explain the curriculum and solicit ideas.

“The program is designed to help students in the Pacific region who plan to apply to the College of Pharmacy,” Jarvi said. “Through mentorship, guidance and tutorial programs, we can provide a truly tailor-made educational experience.”

The visit to Saipan is the culmination of tour of the Western Pacific, including Guam and Palau, where Jarvi and Ryan met with students, parents and administrators. Jarvi is developing the pre-pharmacy program along with co-investigator Anthony Wright, chair of pharmaceutical sciences, who met with pharmacist and students in Guam prior to her visit here. The program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

“This grant allows us to expand our existing pre-pharmacy program to meet the needs of rural areas of the Pacific that might not have access to formal training opportunities,” said Pharmacy Dean John Pezzuto. “These students are integral to the continued success of the College of Pharmacy as we will be building a base from which to recruit top-notch future doctoral students.”

The existing pre-pharmacy program of UH-Hilo is a two-year program that provides individual guidance, mentoring and advising to Hawaii’s students, on campus or through distance learning. The new program broadens accessibility by funding Pacific Rim students to be trained through a combination of online and on-campus courses through UH-Hilo.

The new program extends and expands a distance learning program for pharmacy technicians begun four years ago by then program director Jerry Johnson in partnership with the University of Alaska. Johnson, who is the former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will continue to work on the project. He said the program gives people in this region a level of training they never had an opportunity to get before.

Jarvi said the team plans to begin reviewing potential candidates by the first of the year with the hope that students will be entering the system by next summer. Students will take courses in basic sciences, including biology, chemistry, and human anatomy as well as general education courses.

The College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo seated its inaugural class in fall 2007 with 90 students and 18 faculty and staff. The college now has 178 students and 38 faculty and staff. Over the next two or three years, plans call for the addition of 80-90 students per year for a total of four classes and reaching a total staff of 75.

For contact information during their visit to Saipan, call 323-5000, PHI Pharmacy. For more information about the College of Pharmacy, call (808) 933-2909 or email pharmacy@hawaii.edu. [B][I](PR)
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