Welcome to the College of Pharmacy

Don’t be alarmed if you see a person dressed in a biohazard suit Thursday afternoon outside the University of Rhode Island’s Memorial Union. That individual will just be watching for zombies and making sure they don’t get anywhere near the Ram’s Den while URI pharmacy students try to keep the virus that causes zombiism from spreading.

From 2 to 3:30 p.m on April 26th, 25 pharmacy students will be running a mock dispensing clinic, during which anti-viral medications mockingly named Zombivir and Gummivir (really just Sour Patch and Gummy Bears candies) will be given to individuals to prevent the disease’s spread. Full Story

Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/events/327473360653139/

The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and The Matty Fund are teaming up to help parents of children with epilepsy who want information about pharmaceuticals used to treat the disease.

URI Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice Brett Feret will answer questions at an Epilepsy Medication Parent Workshop April 24th at the Crown Plaza in Warwick.

“Pharmacy is an important piece of epilepsy treatment,” said Feret, explaining that a majority of children with epilepsy are on medicines that can be difficult to take and have side effects. Full Story

Abraham Kovoor was studying a brain protein, called RGS9-2, that he had previously related to the involuntary, random and repetitive body movements that are side effects of drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.

While studying these side effects, which are called dyskinesia, Kovoor, an assistant professor in the University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy, discovered that RGS9-2 also plays a role in regulating body weight.

Results of his study were published in the November issue of PLoS One, an interactive open-access, peer-reviewed scientific and medical research journal. Full Story

 

President Dooley has been formulating and discussing four key Transformational Goals during the first two years of his tenure. The Transformational Goals are ambitious. URI is not seeking to play catch up with its peers, or merely to equal them, but rather to become known and respected as a leader in each of the areas described. Published earlier this semester, the Transformational Goals for the 21st Century offers more details about these goals.

 

URI’s College of Pharmacy sees to that with its sponsorship of several post-graduate residencies, including its newest one, the pharmacy/oncology residency at Rhode Island Hospital.

Open to graduates nationwide, the residency allows licensed pharmacists who have completed a post-graduate year 1 residency — such as the university’s ambulatory care program, administered in partnership with Coastal Medical — to receive training in a hospital and ambulatory care setting focusing on the treatment of cancer patients. The resident also gets experience in an academic setting, partnering with the University to help teach current pharmacy students. Full Story

PharmD students graduating from the College are well known for their many accomplishments. The passage rates on the national licensing exams in pharmacy are very high for College graduates – our averages are in the 95-97% passage rate. The graduating class of 2011 achieved a 100% passage rate for both the NAPLEX (National Association Pharmacy Licensing Exam) and MPJE (Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam).

For the College, this is the first time that we have achieved a perfect result. We commend all of the graduates, faculty, preceptors, and staff who have worked hard in so many different ways to achieve this outstanding result.

Go Rhody!! Full Story

The University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy is taking part in a national competition titled Script Your Future Medication Adherence Advocacy Challenge for the month of October. Students will be competing to find the best methods for advocating medication adherence to the public, especially those with chronic diseases. These students are trying a variety of creative methods to get the message about medication adherence across to the public. Examples include health fairs, senior center visits, walks for the cause, wallet cards where patients can list their medications, and online video presentations.

The National Consumers League launched the student competition through the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores this month to help their three-year campaign that focuses on patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes, respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease. Rhode Island is sixth in the nation for the highest percentage of chronic illnesses.

Full Story