Instruction in pharmacy at the University of Nebraska began in 1908 when the Board of Regents established the School of Pharmacy as a part of the College of Medicine. In 1915 the Nebraska Legislature created the College of Pharmacy as an independent college of the University, located on the Lincoln campus. In September of 1976, the college moved into new facilities on the Medical Center campus and began a Doctor of Pharmacy professional degree program, the third college in the United States to do so. The College does not offer a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy. The College’s Doctor of Pharmacy Program was granted continued accreditation by the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education through June, 2029.
The objectives of the College of Pharmacy are to prepare its graduates to assume the intellectual, legal, civic, and moral responsibilities of the profession of pharmacy in the delivery of patient care. The following paragraphs describe those responsibilities and attributes important to the practice of pharmacy.
The pharmacist is responsible for drug therapy and drug distribution and must possess the scientific and technical knowledge necessary to evaluate drug therapy for each individual patient. Equally important is the need for developing skill in personal relations with patients and members of other health professions.
The pharmacist must be qualified to assume the special responsibilities of instructing and supervising students and interns. They must show a keen interest in the affairs of the world about them, and share the benefits of special talents or abilities with fellow citizens. Above all, they must be able to make good use of acquired knowledge and experience in arriving at sound judgments and policy decisions. The pharmacist is legally authorized and responsible for the purchase, storage, processing, and dispensing of drugs. They recognize the responsibility that rests upon them by virtue of these special privileges, and understand that all legal controls provided by statute and regulation exist for the sole purpose of safeguarding the public health. Accordingly, full responsibility is accepted for strict compliance with the federal, state, and local laws and regulations dealing with the distribution of medicinal products.
The civic responsibilities of pharmacists are many. Not only must pharmacists be good citizens, but they must be active in civic and community affairs. They must provide leadership in public health education and in civil defense activities and participate actively in the affairs of organizations having charitable, educational, religious, and cultural functions. They must be qualified to serve either in or in cooperation with local or city government in solving community problems. They should inspire young people to enter the profession of pharmacy, thus assuring the community of continued pharmaceutical service.
The moral responsibilities include those obligations not necessarily defined by statute or regulations that have been established through long tradition and common practice. Foremost among these is the principle that every motivation and every act of the pharmacist must be in the interest of the public. The ethical relationship with the members of the health care team, capacity as a consultant to the public, constant availability for the dispensing of important drugs in time of emergency, and charitable services to the needy represent but a few examples of necessary dedication to the health, welfare, and safety of the public. Such dedication is not acquired through accident; it is, rather, the result of a systematic inculcation of the highest ethical and moral standards throughout the entire curriculum of the College of Pharmacy.
In addition to the Pharm.D. degree program, Nebraska Medicine and College of Pharmacy faculty offer advanced professional education through an accredited residency program. Graduate education in the pharmaceutical sciences at the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) levels is offered through the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program. (See Graduate College section and the Graduate College Bulletin of the University of Nebraska Medical Center at http://www.unmc.edu/gradstsudies/).
The College of Pharmacy actively seeks to fulfill the goals of the University through its professional doctoral and graduate programs. As one of the major academic units of UNMC, it participates in the patient care, research, and community service programs.
UNMC College of Pharmacy – Technical Standards
A primary mission of the College of Pharmacy is to prepare outstanding pharmacists to meet the health care needs of the state and society. The College expects that during enrollment in the program, students will be able to attain the core competencies delineated in our Doctor of Pharmacy Program Learning Outcomes & Competencies document. In addition, students must be able to meet the Technical Standards that follow with or without reasonable accommodations. Reasonable education-related accommodations will be provided, where possible and within federal and University of Nebraska guidelines.
The professional program leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree and eligibility for pharmacist licensure requires a certain level of cognitive, behavioral and technical skill and ability, and personal and professional integrity inherent in a professional education. These principles hold for admission, progression, retention and completion of the program.
The College of Pharmacy has a responsibility to maintain as safe an environment as possible for its students and the practice settings in which they receive education. Student pharmacists must reasonably contribute to a safe environment through their personal, physical, and mental health or social behavior.
Students must complete the academic program in a reasonable length of time, must be able to acquire a pharmacist intern license during their first semester in the College and maintain the pharmacist intern license during their educational program, and must be eligible for a pharmacist license after they complete the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Observation Skills
Observation necessitates the use of visual, auditory and somatic senses, with reasonable accommodation if necessary. Students must have the ability to observe and evaluate, in classrooms and patient care areas, demonstrations, experiments and patients, including performing physical assessments. The ability to observe the quality of pre-manufactured and compounded medications is essential.
Communication Skills
As appropriate for each stage of their education, student pharmacists must communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written English; and have the proper use and recognition of nonverbal communication cues, with reasonable accommodation if necessary. They must be capable of completing professional communication activities in a timely manner.
Motor Skills
Student pharmacists must have the coordination of muscular movement with accommodation if necessary to undertake the preparation of all routine forms of medication orders, the use of diagnostic equipment for patient assessment, and the direct delivery of patient therapies.
Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative & Quantitative Abilities
As appropriate for each stage of their education, student pharmacists must demonstrate a fundamental and continuing ability to use analytical reasoning to independently, and in collaboration with a health care team synthesize knowledge, solve problems and explain health care situations. Information must be obtained, retrieved, evaluated and delivered in an efficient and timely manner. Students must be able to demonstrate good judgment in patient care and assessment and have the ability to incorporate new and changing information obtained from the practice environment.
Behavioral & Social Attributes
Students must exercise good judgment, behave in a professional and ethical manner and maintain professional appearance. Students must complete patient care responsibilities promptly and safely and must relate to others with courtesy, compassion, maturity, and respect for their dignity. Students must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in clinical situations. Students must be able to effectively function individually and in teams in situations of emotional and physical stress. Students are expected to attend and arrive punctually for each educational component, including laboratory and clinical experiences. Student behavior in the classroom is expected to adhere to professional standards and contribute in a positive way to the learning process. Students must be able to modify their behavior in response to constructive criticism. This requires responsibility for personal action and emotional stability under the stressful conditions which may come from their professional education.
Individuals with questions or concerns about their ability to meet these standards are encouraged to contact the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
Policy and Procedure on Student Complaints Concerning Violation of Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Accreditation Standards
The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) is the agency that oversees the accreditation of U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy. The Council requires each college or school of pharmacy to have a policy for handling student complaints in cases where such schools or colleges are alleged to be in violation of ACPE Accreditation Standards. This policy governs only those instances where students allege that one or more ACPE Standards have been violated (the standards are available at www.acpe-accredit.org).
Policy
The faculty, staff and administration of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy (hereinafter referred to as “College”) are committed to maintaining a pharmacy education program that meets and exceeds ACPE Accreditation Standards. In addition to a commitment to correct those areas where ACPE Standards are not being met, the College encourages student participation in assuring adherence to the Standards.
Students are encouraged to express and discuss concerns they have about the College’s adherence to ACPE Accreditation Standards. When a student (or group of students) desires to file a formal complaint regarding adherence to an ACPE Standard(s), the following procedure is to be followed.
Procedure
Student(s) alleging that the College is not adhering to ACPE Standards must present their complaint(s) in writing. Complaints must identify the specific standard(s), description of the violation, and evidence to support the complaint.
Written complaints should be submitted to the College Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
The Associate Dean for Student Affairs will investigate the complaint and provide a report to the Dean and to the College Executive Committee.
The Dean, with the input of Executive Committee, will make a determination of the validity of the complaint, determine the appropriate course of action, and provide a written response to the student (or students) making the complaint.
Complaints and responses that are determined to be of a substantive nature with regard to accreditation matters will be shared with the College faculty and student body.
If the student filing the complaint is not satisfied with the response provided by the College, he/she may contact ACPE at 135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 4100, Chicago, IL 60603-4810, (312) 664-3575 or www.acpe-accredit.org/complaints.
The Associate Dean for Student Affairs will maintain a complete file of all written complaints received about the College’s adherence to ACPE accreditation standards and their disposition. ACPE will have access to this information as part of the routine accreditation review process.
Approved: January 30, 2006
REV: June 2012
Learning Facilities
The UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education opened in the summer of 2016. The new 85,000 square-foot building has increased research and classroom capacity, housing 14 laboratories, a model pharmacy, ten exam rooms, two hospital rooms, two auditoriums, two large classrooms, two medium classrooms, study rooms, faculty offices, and the administrative offices of the dean and staff.
The facilities for clinical education are located on campus in Nebraska Medicine, the Durham Outpatient Center, the Meyer Rehabilitation Institute, the Lied Transplant Center, and the Durham Research Center. The hospital provides decentralized clinical pharmacy services and a diverse patient population to insure quality clinical education. Additional educational sites are located in community pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, mental health facilities and long term care facilities across the State of Nebraska and the entire country.
Library resources are provided through the McGoogan Library of Medicine which is located in Wittson Hall on the Medical Center campus.
Graduate College
The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska operates system-wide programs administratively located on each of the four major campuses. Graduate programs in the health sciences are offered at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska. Please visit http://www.unmc.edu/gradstudies/ for additional information.