UB Programs At-A-Glance

Pharmacy

Department of Pharmacy Practice
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Office of Admissions
112 Cooke Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-1200

Phone: 716.645.2825
Fax: 716.645.3688
Web: www.pharmacy.buffalo.edu
Email: pharm-admin@acsu.buffalo.edu

Wayne K. Anderson
Dean

Gayle A. Brazeau
Associate Dean (Academic Affairs)

Eugene D. Morse
Associate Dean (Clinical Research and Education)

Karl D. Fiebelkorn
Assistant Dean (Student Affairs and Professional Relations)

Cindy F. Konovitz
Assistant Dean (Admissions and Student Services)

About the Program

*This is not a baccalaureate degree program; instead, it is a graduate level doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.)

The PharmD program at the University at Buffalo is ranked among the top pharmacy programs in the United States, and is the only program of its kind available in the State University of New York system. The Department of Pharmacy Practice offers graduate/professional-level courses in pharmacy. The department is responsible for the instruction of all professional courses offered in the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) professional program, which is administered by the Office of the Dean.


About Our Degrees

Throughout this professional curriculum, students are expected to be actively involved in the learning process. They are asked to work in settings ranging from large lecture halls to small groups to individual instruction, and need to develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities to assist in providing pharmaceutical care. They must also apply knowledge in a variety of settings as compared to simple memorization and regurgitation.

The pharmacy profession requires practitioners to constantly communicate intricate oral and written information to patients, care providers and other health-care professionals. Effective communication not only requires an ability to use the language fluently and write clearly and concisely, but also requires clear thinking and an awareness of when there is understanding or lack thereof. It is essential that students become active listeners.

Our goal is to provide a strong educational foundation with knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable the graduate to successfully practice as a pharmacist, and to embrace the concept of being a life-long learner.

Acceptance Information

Approximately 115 students are selectively admitted to the program each fall after completion of the pre-pharmacy course requirements. While a bachelor’s degree is not required, applicants having earned this degree are encouraged to apply. Applicants must complete the certain undergraduate courses to be considered for admission. These pre-pharmacy courses may be taken at the University at Buffalo or at any other accredited institution of higher education. To qualify for admission, applicants must also complete the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT). Please contact the Office of Pharmacy Admissions for the most up-to-date information regarding this option.

The professional program in pharmacy encourages application from students who have attained a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their pre-pharmacy science and math courses to apply for admission. Note, however, that in recent years, admitted students have performed at a higher level.

The program seeks well-rounded students who motivated towards providing the highest levels of pharmaceutical care. As such, an applicant’s entire portfolio is reviewed. In addition to grades and PCAT scores, letters of recommendation, personal statements, work and volunteer experience as well as other information, is reviewed.

It is critical that all students possess the ability to communicate effectively using both the oral and written English language. These competencies will be assessed of qualified applicants through an in-person interview and a written essay.

An “early assurance” option is available to qualified students who enroll in UB directly from high school and meet the other qualifications. Otherwise, applications are available through a central application service (PharmCAS) at http://www.pharmcas.org.

Deadlines: March 1 for fall entrance into the professional program. Applicants are advised to apply well in advance of this deadline. Supplemental applications (available directly from the Pharmacy Admissions Office after receipt of the PharmCAS application) also must be completed.

Number of applicants (2005): over 1000
Number of accepted majors (2005): 120
Total number of majors currently enrolled: approximately 460

Degree Requirements

See the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Facilities

The department assists in the development of pharmacy practice in Western New York. The continuing education division provides high-quality educational programs for area practitioners. The division also publishes the Pharmacy Law newsletter, which is edited by department faculty.

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is home to the Pharmacy Museum and Turn-of-the-Century Apothecary; these sites provide education to the public regarding the history of the school and the profession of pharmacy. Tours of the facilities are available.

About Our Courses

During studies in the Pharm.D. program, a student’s education consists of both lecture and seminar-type classes, as well as “professional practice” laboratories and experiential activities involving patients and other health care professionals.

The typical class size for:

Upper level/advanced courses is: approximately 115-120

In the Department of Pharmacy Practice, what do student teaching assistants (TA's) do?

They assist in laboratories and in recitations.

In additional to lecture halls and seminar rooms, the program provides instructional activities in our Pharmaceutical Care Learning Center (PCLC), which includes a simulated hospital pharmacy, a community pharmacy, a professional practice (compounding) laboratory, a sterile preparation laboratory, a professional practice conference room and lecture room, and an inpatient hospital room, which contains a “practice patient.”

Suggested Introductory Courses

  • BIO 200 Evolutionary Biology
  • BIO 201 Cell Biology
  • CHE 101-CHE 102 General Chemistry I-II or CHE 105-CHE 106 Chemistry: Principles and Applications I-II (or CHE 100 Introduction to Chemistry, if required)
  • MTH 121 Survey of Calculus and Its Applications I or MTH 141 College Calculus I (not recommended for first semester freshmen; instead substitute ENG 101 Writing, PSY 101 Introductory Psychology, or SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology)
  • PHM 201 Orientation to Pharmaceutical Fields


For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Faculty

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has two Distinguished Teaching Professors, and five faculty members have received the Chancellor's Awards for Excellence. Four of these faculty were honored for excellence in teaching. Many faculty members have also received recognition in their areas of specialization, including patents, grants, and national awards.

Faculty in the Department of Pharmacy Practice conduct research as part of the school’s Pharmacotherapy Research Center. Areas of study include patient care environments in adult medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, nephrology, transplantation, infectious diseases, HIV, oncology, neurology, and psychiatry. Clinical trials are performed, incorporating pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, employing the services of the department’s Pharmacometrics Study Unit.

Practical Experience and Special Academic Opportunities

The Department of Pharmacy Practice is active in many studies involving the use of drugs as treatment for disease states in certain populations. Students participate in community clinics answering questions and educating the public about the proper use of medications. First-year professional pharmacy students participate in the Poison Prevention Patrol program, visiting elementary schools to teach children how to prevent accidental poisonings in their homes.

Students attend professional meetings, both locally and nationally, to learn about the latest advances in medication and treatment for various disease states. Students are instructed in the proper techniques for providing immunizations and receive a cutting-edge education in pharmacogenomics. The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is also the location of one of a very few pharmacogenomics laboratories in the United States.

The Pharmaceutical Care Learning Center (PCLC) provides students with hospital and community pharmacy training through a simulated hospital pharmacy setting, complete with a drug information center, an IV preparation area, and an inpatient hospital room. There is also a professional practice lab for extemporaneous compounding and a sterile preparation laboratory. The community pharmacy area contains patient counseling rooms with videotaping equipment, computers, telephones, fax machines, and robotics. The PCLC houses a professional practice conference room and a lecture room for small-group lectures and meetings.

Undergraduate Research and Practical Experience

Internships
The state of New York requires students majoring in pharmacy to complete a six-month internship (1,040 hours) before taking the NYS Pharmacist Licensing Examination. These hours may be completed through the experiential component during the final year of the program; however, students are also required to gain pharmacy experience prior to this final year.

Clinical Experience
Pharm.D. students complete nine months (36 weeks) of clerkships during their sixth year of study. A formalized UB-affiliated residency program in partnership with ambulatory, acute care, and long-term care programs in the Buffalo-Rochester region has been initiated. Some of these programs include alcoholism, anticoagulation, antimicrobial studies, antiviral research, asthma, attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder, cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, clinical pharmacokinetics, critical care pharmacotherapy, diabetes, geriatrics, headache, immunodeficiency services, infectious disease pharmacotherapy, lipids, managed care, medication adherence, neuropharmacology, nicotine addiction/smoking cessation, oncology, pain management, patient education, pediatrics, pharmacology, pharmacoeconomics, pharmacometrics, thyroid disease, and transplant immunosuppression.

Honors, Awards, and Scholarships

Pharm.D. students are eligible for funding from many private and public sources, including Health Professions Loans, Alumni Association Scholarships, the CVS Scholarship, the Cecil & Violet Newton Scholarship, the Henry A. Panasci, Jr. Pharmacy School Fund, and a Pharmacy short-term loan fund.

Over thirty awards and prizes are presented to graduating Pharm.D. students. These include the Samuel J. Bauda Award for leadership and dedication to community health care, the Lilly Achievement Award for superior scholastic achievement and professional attitude, and the SmithKline Beecham Award for an outstanding student in Clinical Practice.

Extracurricular Activities

Student Organizations


See the UB Student Association.

Career Information and Further Study

Pharmacists are the "drug experts" among health professionals. They understand how a drug heals and how it can hurt, how it reacts with foods and other drugs. They know its desired effects and its side effects. More than 13,000 prescription drugs are available in the United States, and particularly because of the newer more potent drugs that have highly specific cellular "targets", the management of drug therapy is one of the most important challenges in health care.

Pharmacy is a well-respected profession for individuals with an aptitude in science and a desire to apply their knowledge of drug therapies when counseling patients or when consulting with other health care professionals.

Career Choices

  • Biometrics
  • Clinical
  • Community (ambulatory care)
  • Compounding
  • Geriatric
  • Home care
  • Hospital
  • Industrial
  • Legal research
  • Managed care
  • Neuropharmacology
  • Nuclear
  • Oncology
  • Pediatric
  • Phamacoeconomics


Other Areas:

  • Drug information specialist
  • HIV pharmaceutical care specialist
  • Infectious disease specialist
  • Long-term care consultant
  • Nutritional support pharmacist
  • Pharmacy benefit manager
  • Pharmacology
  • Transplant immunosuppression


Work settings include:

Two out of three pharmacy graduates are engaged in community pharmacy practices in professional pharmaceutical centers, neighborhood pharmacies, and stores in ultra-large shopping centers and malls. They also work in institutional pharmacy practice including private, government, and military hospitals. Additionally, opportunities are available in HMO's, long-term care facilities, and home health care.

Other graduates pursue careers in pharmaceutical manufacturing, or the chemical or cosmetic industries. Pharmacists are also employed in pharmaceutical journalism and as drug information specialists or drug therapy consultants. There are also job opportunities in law, research and new product development, management, marketing, quality control and sales. Some seek government employment with the Food and Drug Administration, Public Health Service, the military, or the Veteran's Administration.

What percentage of graduates goes on to find related employment?

Typically, all students are offered pharmacy positions prior to graduation. Most of our ‘pre-graduates’ have each received several employment offers.

Every fall, the school hosts a "Pharmacy Career Day" which attracts employers from organizations throughout the United States and Canada.

Salary Information

Salaries range greatly from one occupation, position, and work setting to another.

What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?

This is a graduate/professional program. An increasing number of graduates, however, are completing residencies and fellowship programs.

Some graduates enter medical, law school or go on to receive their Pharm.D. or Ph.D. in biochemical pharmacology. Advanced degree holders pursue research or teaching appointments in universities, hospitals, or research foundations.

Additional Resources

Links to Further Information About This Program

Last Modified: Tuesday, 7-Nov-2006 10:26:14 EST