Thomas Jefferson
University Meeting
March 22, 2012
Pharmacy Interest at UD
 Talk to your advisor to add pharmacy interest onto your
major. Pharmacy interest is not a major.
 If you do add pharmacy interest, you can always remove it,
you are not committed to it. It only indicates that you have
an interest in pharmacy.
 If you are currently in pharmacy interest and decide you're
no longer interested in pharmacy, please notify Professor
David Usher so he can remove you from the interest group.
 You can be any major to go into pharmacy. Most
frequent majors are biology or chemistry.
Biological Sciences with a
Concentration in Pharmacy
 This program is 3 years at UD and 4 years at Thomas
Jefferson
 If you are admitted to Thomas Jefferson, your major gets
changed to Biological Sciences (BS) with a Concentration
in Pharmacy. This is a special program between UD and
Thomas Jefferson, it does not happen with any other
school.
 Being admitted to UD does not mean you are admitted into
Thomas Jefferson.
Once you are admitted to Thomas
Jefferson
 Bring your acceptance letter to Ramona Wilson and she will
change your major from Biological Sciences with a Pharmacy
Interest to Biological Sciences with a Concentration in
Pharmacy. After 4 years at Thomas Jefferson, if all goes well
you will receive your Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD).
 Your first year at Thomas Jefferson will fulfill your last
year at UD. After your first year at Thomas Jefferson
you get your BS with a Concentration in Pharmacy from
UD.
 Again this does not happen with any other schools, only
between UD and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
University (TJU)
Pharmacy Education in the U.S
 Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)- required for licensure as
a pharmacist.
 PharmD requires a minimum of 6 academic years of a
student.
 2 years pre-pharmacy + 4 years pharmacy school
 Total of 6 years of pharmacy education
 Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education
(www.acpe-accredit.org)
Pharmacy Education in the U.S
 Currently 125 schools of pharmacy in the U.S. with
accreditation status
 102 full accreditations
 17 with a Candidate Status (TJU)
 8 with Pre-Candidate Status
 Other info for students- www.aacp.org
 www.pharmacist.com
Thomas Jefferson Schools of
Health Care
 Jefferson School of Pharmacy
 Jefferson Medical College
 Jefferson College of Graduate Studies
 Jefferson School of Nursing
 Jefferson School of Health Professions
 Jefferson School of Population Health
 There is great integration between these professions,
students at Thomas Jefferson often interact with each
other.
Why Thomas Jefferson University?
 Leading health science university and healthcare system
 Opportunities for interdisciplinary education and training.
 One of the most outstanding hospital pharmacy programs in the
country.
 Faculty that bring expertise from many schools of pharmacy and
practice settings.
 Graduates for all Jefferson programs are highly recruited by
health profession employers.
 First Graduating Class: 75% students matched with residency to
many top hospitals. Many other students accepted into graduate
school and research fellowship.
About Thomas Jefferson
University School of Pharmacy
 Class size is about 75
 First class entered Fall 2008
 Degree- Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
 4-year professional program Awarded Candidate status-June
2009
 First Graduating Class-May 2012
 White coat ceremony- when you are accepted and start
school at Thomas Jefferson, there will be a ceremony where
you will receive a white coat and take the pharmacy oath.
The Thomas Jefferson Student
 Pharmacy students are great communicators.
 Taught leadership as well as being a team player.
 Students are encouraged to have cultural competency, being
able to understand the different values and cultures and
thoughts of patients and their healthcare.
 Community service is very important.
 Maintain professional competence throughout their careers.
 Drugs are constantly changing and so pharmacists must be life
long learners.
 Curriculums are closely tied to professional life, there will be
a lot of active learning.
 Graduates are very aware of the many pharmacy professions
out there.
After Pharmacy School
 Graduates are known for great patient care, taking care
of the pharmaceutical means of patients and taking
care of the health of community.
 Many graduates will pursue post-graduate training and
research. Post-graduate programs are often one to two
years and can help start you in a higher health
profession.
Overview of Curriculum for
PharmD
 Curriculum has a lot of science, has some social science, some
math, some administrative and communicative classes.
 Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE)- is experiential
course work. For example: 3 hours in a pharmacy in the 1st year.
In the 4th year, most of the work will be in the pharmacy.
 2nd year classes you learn:
 How to make drugs
 How drugs work in the body
 How to use each drug on a certain patients (how to decide the right
drug and dose)
 Pharmacokinetics
 Involves problems such as figuring out how fast it takes a drug to affect a
certain area
Overview of Course Work cont.
 3rd year has pharmacoeconomics, where you learn how
to decide which drug will give results and will be most
economical and cost effective.
 4th year is mainly experimental course work. You will get
to try ambulatory care (clinical pharmacist), community
(retail), hospital/health system, and inpatient/acute
care.
 You are given 2 open pharmacy practice experiences where
you can choose which kind of pharmacy care you want to
work in for class.
 Formal law course.
ATTENTION
 Only a couple courses are described on these slides, just
to give a general idea.
 You can find the whole curriculum here:
 http://www.jefferson.edu/jchp/pharmacy/Curriculum.cfm
Admissions
There are two steps to apply
 Apply to PharmCAS and submit required materials
 Complete an online application for admission through
PharmCAS at www.pharmcas.org
 Send PCAT scores to PharmCAS using code 104
 Complete the Thomas Jefferson supplemental
application
 Deadline: March 1, 2012
 TJU has rolling admissions.
Prerequisite Requirements
 Follow the schedule and prerequisites on the UD website:
 http://www.bio.udel.edu/bs-degree-biological-sciencesconcentration-pharmaceutical-sciences
 Or TJU’s website:
http://www.jefferson.edu/jchp/pharmacy/AdmissionsReq.cfm
 All prerequisite classes have to be completed before you start
at TJU but not when applying. Science and math have to be
taken within 5 years.
 PharmCAS application may be submitted prior to completion of
all prerequisites, however all prerequisites must be completed
prior to matriculation.
 If you plan to take classes at a community college, verify with
the admissions office at TJU.
Application Criteria
 Expected GPA of an accepted students: 3.0
 Minimum overall cumulative GPA desired: 2.7
 Minimum prerequisite science and math GPA
considered: no grade less than a C in any of the
required basic science and math courses.
 PCAT scores in the 70th percentile are considered
competitive
 Number of entrants expected: 75
Application Criteria cont.
 Pharmacy-related experience is not required but
recommended.
 Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply
 Letters of Reference: you must have a minimum of 2
letters, and can have a maximum of 4.
 You will have to do a face-to-face interview with
Thomas Jefferson Admissions.
PCAT
 PCAT is required for the application to Thomas Jefferson
School of Pharmacy.
 Application will not be reviewed until PCAT scores and
letters of recommendation are available to the
Admissions Office.
 PCAT is administered in January, June, August and
October.
 You can take the PCAT up to 5 times
 Oldest PCAT considered: within 2 years
You can apply to other pharmacy
schools even if you are under
Pharmacy Interest.
 Note however, that with any other
pharmacy school you will not be able to
achieve your Bachelors if you only go to
UD for 3 years. You must do 4 years to
get your Bachelors if applying to any
other pharmacy school.
 Make sure to check their requirements
because they can be different from
TJU’s.