Over twenty-five years ago, the Distance Degrees and Programs (DDP) Office at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences changed how students access advanced education in healthcare with its breakthrough North-American Trained PharmD program. Recently, the DDP office was recognized for its work when it was awarded the Global Education SIG 2022 Outstanding Program Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) for its International Trained PharmD pathway. The award recognizes an established program or unit within a School or College of Pharmacy for their outstanding work and impact within the area of global education.
Across the world, COVID-19 pushed pharmacists into the spotlight with the ability to immunize, prescribe, and help a patient without having to see a primary care physician. In the nearly 10 years since its inception, the international PharmD program has set a precedent for other schools to follow in its commitment to sharing education.
“Part of why we won is because of our goal, to advance the profession world-wide, and how effective we have been in recruiting students globally and advancing their practice,” said Dr. Shaun Gleason, PharmD, Assistant Dean for Distance Degrees and Programs.
Each year, the incoming international PharmD class varies from 3-12 students. The incoming class this year is its most diverse; eight students representing nine different countries, with one student splitting time between two countries.
Members of the ITPD fall '22 incoming class at their White Coat Ceremony. |
“That is really common,” Dr. Gleason explained. “Many of our students hold dual citizenship. A great example is an alumna from Egypt, who also practices in Qatar, so both countries see the benefit of her work.”
Liza Grunkemeyer, from the Philippines, is part of the diverse incoming class this fall. She chose CU’s international PharmD program because she heard firsthand from alumni that it is an outstanding program.
“Other colleagues of mine from the hospital also gave it good reviews, and I wanted to see it for myself,” she explained. “As a foreign pharmacist, I know it is different than the United States healthcare system, and I want to learn here and apply it to my own country.”
Tran Hoang, from Vietnam, is currently working as a clinical pharmacist and would like to advance his degree to a doctorate level while still being able to practice in his home country.
Their reasons for getting a doctorate vary, but all of these students are opening doors and paving a path to make access to healthcare easier for all.
Built for Global Success
Dr. Shaun Gleason, PharmD |
The Distance Degrees and Programs office is comprised of two main departments; the North American Trained-PharmD program, which is for individuals with a license to practice pharmacy (also known as an RPh) in the United States but who need a doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD); and the International-Trained PharmD program, for individuals practicing pharmacy in a different country, usually with a bachelor of pharmacy degree, but who would like to both obtain a PharmD and to expand the field of pharmacy within their own country. The office also partners with other programs in the School and across the Anschutz Medical campus to offer, distance-based graduate certificates, and MS degrees in Cannabis Science and Medicine and Palliative care.
All of the course work in the Distance Degree Programs is built to be online, save for a few in-person meetings that are program-specific. While many schools did a last-minute pivot during the COVID-19 emergency, the original North American PharmD program has been training students for over 25 years, and the International PharmD program since 2014.
Many students are taking their knowledge and sharing it in their practices the next day or, with the advent of technology, via video conferencing.
“Today we have more and more students who are getting residencies after they graduate, allowing them to advance practice in their local areas to an even higher level. We also have students and alumni who are making connections in the clinical, academic and advocacy arenas, advancing our profession in so many ways; it takes my breath away,” said Dr. Gleason.
Opening Doors for International Education
Dr. Gleason recalls the moment CU Pharmacy decided to wade into the international online education waters.
“The North American program had had great success since 1998, and we were getting a lot of interest from international pharmacists, but we did not have a way for them to join us,” she recalls. “We were at a conference in 2011, speaking about the existing North American program, and learned of on-campus international programs,” Dr. Gleason explained. “So, I asked Dean Altiere, [CU Pharmacy Dean], ‘why can’t we do our online program for the world?’”
Dean Altiere thought Dr. Gleason was on to something. At the time, and still today, there is a huge movement for other countries to have a PharmD and not only a bachelor’s degree or RPh (registered pharmacist degree) to expand the pharmacy profession.
“Today we have more and more students who are getting residencies after they graduate, allowing them to advance practice in their local areas to an even higher level. We also have students and alumni who are making connections in the clinical, academic and advocacy arenas, advancing our profession in so many ways; it takes my breath away,” said Dr. Gleason.
“It (the international degree) was designed specifically to meet the professional need, and to guide the profession toward patient-centered care in the students’ local areas,” Dr. Gleason said.
The first international PharmD class started in July 2014, with three students from the same country.
“It was amazing we got three,” she said, “because we were accredited in January 2014, and we thought there was no way we were going to have a class by the July start date.”
All three students were from Qatar, and they were already practicing pharmacists and leaders in their field – they just did not have a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and they were looking for more. They were the exact students the program needed for its inaugural class.
“Years later, I was in Qatar for a conference, and one of our alumni from that initial class was organizing the entire conference,” Dr. Gleason shared. “The US accrediting body was there and working with her, so got to see firsthand how CU’s international program was advancing the profession in Qatar.”
Advancing the profession, creating and fostering global relationships, while developing alumni into mentors, just a few of the reasons the CU international PharmD program is recognized as the best established global pharmacy program in the world.
