Creighton launches Web-based Rx school

Drug Store News, June 9, 2003 by James Frederick

OMAHA, Neb.--In a bid to outflank one of the biggest hurdles to boosting the nation's pharmacist labor force--namely, the limited capacity of the nation's 84 schools of pharmacy to expand class sizes-Creighton University's School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has launched a groundbreaking, Internet-based course curriculum.

Creighton is calling the new course offering "the nation's first pharmacy program whereby all didactic courses can be taken via the Internet." Patrick Malone, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at the university and director of its Web-Based Pharmacy Pathway, characterized it as "a creative and cost-effective approach to expanding the education and training of pharmacists," as well as "the first Internet solution to the shortage of pharmacists."

The courses are being offered through the Internet and CD-ROM, with interactions between students and faculty occurring via e-mail, online discussions, chat groups, telephone and fax. Beyond an initial orientation program, students are not required to appear at Creighton to take and pass the courses.

To help them through the course work, pharmacy school faculty, as well as mentor practitioners--including online teaching assistants with professional expertise in the subject area--are available, according to Malone.

The long-distance educational pathway, Malone elaborated, allows Creighton to boost enrollment in its doctorate of pharmacy program over the next several years "without increasing the need for additional classrooms and laboratories.

"Furthermore," he said, "the program can be exported to other institutions and also further expanded at Creighton, based on future needs for pharmacists."

The program's biggest advantage, Malone noted, is its ability to reach a broader applicant pool that spreads well beyond the on-campus pharmacy curriculum. It's designed for "those who cannot readily [re]locate for various family, business, employment or other reasons.

"In general, applicants are older, more mature, technically more advanced and changing careers," Malone added. "The first two entering classes included students from more than half the states, plus Canada and the Bahamas."

Students entering the program spend eight days on the C reighton campus prior to beginning classes. That orientation includes a three-day technology boot camp where students receive a laptop computer with software, said Malone, as well as seminars on issues like professionalism, pharmacist communication skills and how to interact long-distance with faculty and mentors.

Students visiting the campus before beg inning online course work a 1 so are exposed to professional organizations, library resources, academic affairs and student affairs, financial aid and related topics, according to the school. Laboratory courses are provided during subsequent summers in concentrated, intensive two-week periods of time, Malone noted. Clinical rotations, he added, will be handled much the same as for on-campus students, with clinical practice sites available throughout the country.

Tuition and fees are the same for both Web-based and on-campus students, according to the university. For more information, visit a way Web site at webpharmdcreighton.edu.