For More Information Contact:John C. Glenn, (402) 280-1786 [email protected]
CREIGHTON RESPONDS TO CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF PHARMACISTS
For Immediate Release:
OMAHA, Neb. -- What if a pharmacist wasn't available when you needed a vital prescription filled, or when you had an important question about potential drug reactions? That scenario is possible because of a nationwide shortage of pharmacists.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are an estimated 10,000 pharmacist vacancies across the country. The federal study says that the shortage results in less time for pharmacists to counsel patients, job stress, and the potential for fatigue-related errors.
Creighton University is responding to this critical shortageby offering a creative and high-tech program to boost the number of highly qualified pharmacists.
In the fall of 2001, Creighton will provide an on-line Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree program that will be available via the Internet. This first-ever on-line Doctor of Pharmacy program will allow students to pursue a Pharm.D. degree without leaving home, except for several lab-based courses, annual outcomes-based assessments and clinical rotations.
The on-line Pharm.D. program is taught on a trimester basis (year round), which allows students to complete the program by taking the laboratory courses at Creighton University in a condensed manner during the summers.
This program will offer course materials via the Internet or CD-ROM from professors and a mentoring program utilizing community pharmacists. The mentoring will be accomplished using web-based chat rooms to develop further dialogue and answer student questions.
The School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions will add to its set of more than 500 clinical sites across the country by working with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) to identify new sites for clinical clerkships.
The Internet coursework program is expected to double the enrollment in Creighton's Pharm.D. Program to more than 800 students within five years.
Nationwide, the number of pharmacy applications has declined in double-digit proportions the last three years according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). The applicants to pharmacy schools across the country were down more than 13 percent from 1994-95 to 1995-96, down more than 10 percent in 1995-96 to 1996-97, while the numbers fell more than 11 percent in 1997-98 to 1998-99.
The School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions was awarded a $1 million grant from the Institute for the Advancement of Community Pharmacy (IACP) to develop an on-line degree program. The IACP grant to Creighton is part of $4.7 million being awarded over five years to 21 pharmacy schools.
For more information on Creighton University's on-line Pharm.D. program call 800-325-2830 or 402-280-2662, or visit on-line at http://spahp.creighton.edu/
Creighton University is an independent, Catholic, comprehensive university operated by the Jesuits, who have a 500 year tradition of excellence in education. Creighton has been ranked No. 1 for the past five years among Midwestern universities in the U.S. News & World Report magazine's "America's Best Colleges" edition.
Creighton enrolls more than 6,200 students of diverse faiths and races from across the United States and 65 countries. The student body is taught by 700 full-time faculty members in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, the Graduate School, University College, and schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, Law, Medicine, Nursing and Summer Sessions.
The University is located in Omaha, Nebraska (pop. 800,000 metro area) on a 92-acre campus adjacent to the downtown business district.
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