Appalachian College of Pharmacy

Last updated
Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Appalachian College of Pharmacy logo.jpg
TypeThree-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy school
Established2003
President Michael McGlothlin
Dean Susan L. Mayhew
Academic staff
28
Students150
Address
1060 Dragon Road,
Oakwood, VA 24631
,
Oakwood
,
Virginia
,
USA
Campus Rural
Website http://www.acp.edu/

The Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP), formerly known as the University of Appalachia, College of Pharmacy, is a private doctoral pharmacy school located in Oakwood, Virginia. The school, established in 2003, is Virginia's only three-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program. [1] ACP's mission is to improve the health outcomes of rural and underserved communities, particularly those in Central Appalachia, through education, service, and scholarship. [2]

Contents

History

In 2003, citing a need to address a higher than normal age adjusted mortality rate (42% higher locally as opposed to the rest of Virginia) and a national pharmacist shortage, local leaders in Buchanan County, Virginia began to explore the possibility of founding a new pharmacy school in the region. Spurred by the existence of the Appalachian School of Law, the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors commissioned County Attorney Frank Kilgore to found the University of Appalachia, College of Pharmacy. The school matriculated its first class of students in August 2005, with Edgar R. Gonzalez as president and founding dean, [3] and graduated its first class in May 2008. [4]

In March 2009, in order to facilitate its application for accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the school changed its name from the University of Appalachia, College of Pharmacy to the Appalachian College of Pharmacy. This change was made because the previous name did not "accurately represent the singular stand-alone nature of the College’s operations." [5]

ACP, like the Appalachian School of Law, was envisioned to become an economic redevelopment tool for the region. Since the college opened, an apartment complex, multiple multi-family housing units, restaurants, and a Walmart have opened less than fifteen miles from the college. The school has been estimated to have added $20 million per year to the local economy. [6]

Academics

ACP is one of fewer than twenty colleges of pharmacy in the United States that offers a three-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program (Most Doctor of Pharmacy programs take four years to complete). A minimum of 140 credits and more than 1,700 hours of experiential coursework are required for graduation. The majority of experiential coursework occurs during the third year of study, while didactic coursework is conducted during the first two years. [7] [8]

Accreditation

ACP received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) in January 2010, [9] after becoming eligible after the first class of students graduated in May 2008. The college was awarded full accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in December 2011, [10] rendering students eligible to apply for Title IV federal financial aid. [7] Additionally, ACP is certified by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to operate in Virginia and confer the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. [11]

Admissions

ACP requires that applicants apply online via PharmCAS (the Pharmacy College Application Service). Each applicant must also complete and submit a supplemental application directly to ACP. [12] Beginning in April 2014, international applicants, not living in the United States, became eligible to apply. [13]

Facilities

The college's first campus, known as the Slate Creek campus, was located four miles (6 km) east of Grundy, Virginia. This facility opened in 2005 to the inaugural class as their primary facility for study and closed in June 2009 when the college moved all operations and activities to its present location.

The college's Garden campus, located in Oakwood, Virginia, opened in the fall of 2006 as the academic facilities for the second class of students enrolled at ACP. Garden Hall, a building constructed in the Georgian architectural style by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1940 and the former site of Garden High School (1940-2000), comprises 25,000 square feet and was fully renovated in 2005 with a new student laboratory, library, offices, boardroom, faculty and student lounge, and student gymnasium.

In January 2008, construction of an adjoining building began at the Garden campus to consolidate the college onto one campus. McGlothlin Hall, now the primary academic building, opened in June 2009, adding two student lecture halls, eight breakout rooms, and a faculty laboratory, more than doubling the size of the college campus, with an additional 30,000 square feet. An Office of Research opened in June 2013 in McGlothlin Hall, at which time additional laboratory equipment was purchased to support research involving cancer biomarkers and drug targets.

Two nearby buildings of more than 10,000 square feet, former sites of the Hagy Café and United Central Industrial Supply Company, were purchased in September 2013 and are being renovated to expand overnight accommodations and research and medication management services to Central Appalachia. The campus now totals more than eight acres.

NAPLEX Pass Rates

The class of 2021 had a 66% first attempt pass rate compared to a national rate of 84% and placed the college in lowest 5% of all pharmacy programs. In 2019, 79.4% of students from Appalachian College of Pharmacy passed the NAPLEX on the first attempt compared to a national rate of 87.9% The Class of 2015 achieved the highest first-attempt pass rate for the North American Pharmacists Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) thus far for Appalachian College of Pharmacy graduates, at 95.89%, higher than the national average (92.64%) for 2015 and the highest of all colleges of pharmacy in Virginia (94.44%). The Class of 2015's first-time pass rate for their professional licensure exam is the second successive year of record-breaking NAPLEX first-time pass rates for ACP and again the highest first-time pass rate for all Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs in the state of Virginia. ACP's Class of 2015 achieved the second-highest NAPLEX® first-time pass rate of all accelerated, three-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programs and in the top-third of all colleges of pharmacy in the United States.

The Class of 2014's overall pass rate for the North American Pharmacists Licensure Examination was 95.83%, with 95.65% of students passing in their first attempt. The Class of 2014 also achieved overall and first-attempt pass rates that were higher than the national averages (94.48%, 94.88% respectively) for 2014 and the highest 2014 pass rates of all colleges of pharmacy in Virginia. [14]

Post Graduate Year 1 (PGY-1) Pharmacy Residency Program

A PGY-1 community-based residency program began in July 2011 and was expanded in July 2012 from one residency position to three. It received full accreditation from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in spring 2014. As of 2022, nine pharmacists have completed residencies. [15]

Student life

Community service

The college implemented the innovative Pharmacists in Community Service (PICS) student program, where each student must volunteer a total of one-hundred and fifty hours of community service during their three years of enrollment (fifty hours each academic year) as a requirement for graduation. [16] Students are required to complete one hundred hours of community service before beginning Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotations their third year. With approval from the Experiential Education Director prior to service, students can choose or develop their own volunteer activities and serve at their own pace, granted that one hundred hours have been completed by the end of their second year. Of the total one-hundred fifty hours, one hundred community service hours must be health-related, fifty of which must provide patient care, as part of the college's mission to improve the health-related needs of rural and underserved communities. Among the activities students have contributed to are the Appalachia Service Project, Blessings in a Backpack, March of Dimes' March for Babies, Open Airways project, Relay For Life, Remote Area Medical clinics, and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

In July 2011, the college opened the Mountain Care Center, a community clinic that provides health screenings, medication therapy management, and a prescription assistance program for community residents who are uninsured and unable to afford their medications. In addition, health and wellness programs such as smoking cessation and nutrition counseling are available. A nurse practitioner, affiliated with the Health Wagon, joined the clinic in 2014 on a part-time basis.

Student organizations

ACP has eleven student organizations: [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharmacist</span> Healthcare professional

A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in order to dispense them safely to the public and to provide consultancy services. A pharmacist also often serves as a primary care provider in the community and offers services, such as health screenings and immunizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Lloyd College</span> Private work college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, US

Alice Lloyd College is a private work college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, US. It was co-founded by the journalist Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd and June Buchanan in 1923, at first under the name of Caney Junior College. Founded as an institution to educate leaders in Appalachia locally, it became a bachelor's degree-granting institution in the early 1980s. Alice Lloyd College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

A Doctor of Pharmacy is a professional doctorate in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a proficient graduate degree to practice the profession of pharmacy or to become a clinical pharmacist. In many countries, people with their Doctor of Pharmacy are allowed to practice independently and can prescribe drugs directly to patients. A PharmD program has significant experiential and/or clinical education components in introductory and advanced levels for the safe and effective use of drugs. Experiential education prepares graduates to be practice-ready, as they already have spent a significant amount of time training in areas of direct patient care and research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwestern University</span> Graduate university in Illinois and Arizona, US

Midwestern University (MWU) is a private medical and professional school with campuses in Downers Grove, Illinois and Glendale, Arizona. As of the 2022–23 academic year, a total of 2,758 students were enrolled at the Downers Grove campus and 3,782 were enrolled at the Glendale campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine</span> Osteopathic medical school in Virginia, USA

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is a private osteopathic medical school on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with branch campuses in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, and Monroe, Louisiana. VCOM also recently added Bluefield University to its list of campuses. Founded in 2002, VCOM graduated its first class of 139 students in June 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Ohio Medical University</span> Public university in Rootstown, Ohio, US

Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) is a public medical school in Rootstown, Ohio, United States. It specializes in graduate education in medicine and pharmacy but also has a College of Graduate Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian School of Law</span> Private law school in Grundy, Virginia, US

The Appalachian School of Law (ASL) is a private law school in Grundy, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and offers a three-year Juris Doctor degree to approximately 128 full-time students. The school was founded in 1994 and admitted its first class of students in August 1997. ASL was started and brought to Buchanan County, Virginia as a tool of economic development for the region. ASL emphasizes professional responsibility and alternative dispute resolution in its curriculum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western University of Health Sciences</span> Private medical university in Pomona, California

Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a private medical university in Pomona, California. With an enrollment of 3,724 students (2022–23), WesternU offers more than twenty academic programs in multiple colleges. It also operates an additional campus in Lebanon, Oregon.

A Bachelor of Pharmacy is a graduate academic degree in the field of pharmacy. In many countries, this degree is a prerequisite for registration to practice as a pharmacist. Since both PharmB and PharmD are prerequisites to a license in most Western countries, they are considered equivalent. In many Western countries, foreign graduates with BPharm, PharmB, or BS Pharm practice similarly to PharmD graduates. It is analogous to an MBBS vs. an MD, where MBBS is the foreign equivalent of an MD. The degree provides training to understand the properties and impacts of medicines and develop the skills required to counsel patients about their use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy</span> Pharmacy college in Kentucky, USA

The University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy is a college of pharmacy located in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2024, U.S. News & World Report recognized the UK College of Pharmacy as one of the nation's top ten pharmacy programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South University</span> Private university based in Savannah, Georgia, US

South University is a private for-profit university with its main campus and online operations in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1899, South University consists of its School of Pharmacy, College of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Professions, College of Business, College of Theology, and College of Arts and Sciences. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

University of Cincinnati Health is the healthcare system of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. The system was formally affiliated via the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center (AHC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine</span> Private medical school in Erie, Pennsylvania, US

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is a private medical school and academic health center in Erie, Pennsylvania. LECOM has a Branch Campus in Bradenton, Florida and additional locations in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Elmira, New York. Founded in 1992, LECOM confers medical (D.O.), dental (DMD), podiatry (DPM), pharmacy (PharmD) degrees, as well as masters and doctoral degrees in the health sciences.

The University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) is a private, non-sectarian university in Cebu City, Philippines.

College of Pharmacy is part of the University of Arizona, a public university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is the only pharmacy school at a public Arizona university and one of four health professions colleges at the Arizona Health Sciences Center campus. The college is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences</span> American medical school in Yakima, Washington, USA

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) is a private osteopathic medical and health professional school in Yakima, Washington. The university focuses on educating health care professionals to serve "rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Northwest". Founded in 2005, the university's inaugural program was the first new medical school to open in the Pacific Northwest in sixty years. PNWU grants the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree and graduated its first class of physicians in May 2012. Since then, PNWU has continued to expand and now includes the School of Physical Therapy (SOPT), School of Occupational Therapy (SOT), and a School of Dental Medicine (SDM).

The basic requirement for pharmacists to be considered for registration is often an undergraduate or postgraduate pharmacy degree from a recognized university. In many countries, this involves a four- or five-year course to attain a bachelor of pharmacy or master of pharmacy degree.

Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of School of PA Studies in 2011 and College of Pharmacy in 2013. Along with Hope International University, the campus bookends the north and south sides of the Cal State Fullerton campus respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy</span> Pharmacy school in Hawaii, United States

The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy is one of six colleges within the public University of Hawai'i at Hilo. The school awards a four-year Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) and is by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Health Sciences University</span> University in Clovis, California, U.S.

California Health Sciences University (CHSU) is a private, for-profit university located in Clovis, California. Established in 2012, the university offers academic programs in the fields of medicine and biomedical sciences. Graduates of the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) will receive the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree, and graduates of the College of Biosciences and Health Professions (CBHP) will receive the Masters Of Science In Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree. Previously, CHSU offered a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree, but this program has since been discontinued.

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. ↑ "Serving the Underserved". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  3. ↑ Gonzalez, Edgar R. "School of Pharmacy Newly Opened in Southwest". Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine. Fall 2005.
  4. ↑ "First UACP Class Graduates 67, from ACP college newsletter, The Script" (PDF). Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  5. ↑ "University of Appalachia Changes Name to Appalachian College of Pharmacy". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  6. ↑ "Colleges bring coal country a fresh mine of resources". Roanoke Times. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  7. 1 2 "ACP Course Catalog". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  8. ↑ "ACP Awarded Full Accreditation article from ACP college newsletter, The Script" (PDF). Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  9. ↑ "ACPE Report of Proceedings". Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  10. ↑ "COC Colleges and Universities, Institution Details". Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  11. ↑ "Private & Out-of-State Colleges & Universities Certified to Operate in Virginia". State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  12. ↑ "Application Process". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  13. ↑ "International Application Process". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  14. ↑ "Appalachian College of Pharmacy is Leading the Way". WCYB.com. Archived from the original on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
  15. ↑ "PGY-1 Residency Program". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  16. ↑ "Pharmacists in Community Service Program". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  17. ↑ "ACP Student Organizations". Appalachian College of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.