College of Pharmacy

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Dean:
 John M. Pezzuto, Ph.D.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo

34 Rainbow Drive

Hilo, HI 96720

Email: pharmacy@hawaii.edu

Tel: (808) 933-2909
Web: pharmacy.uhh.hawaii.edu

Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences: Andre Bachman, Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice: Ronald Taniguchi, Pharm.D.

Professors:

• Edward Fisher, Ph.D., R.Ph., Associate Dean, Academic Affairs
• Kenneth Morris, Ph.D.
• John M. Pezzuto, Ph.D., Dean of College
• Rose Tseng, Ph.D.

Associate Professors:

• Andre S. Bachmann, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Robert P. Borris, Ph.D., FLS, Associate Dean, Research
• Luoluo Hong, Ph.D.
• Susan Jarvi, Ph.D., Director of Pre-Pharm.
• Deborah T. Juarez, Sc.D.
• Carolyn Ma, Pharm.D., BCOP, CHTP/I
• Anthony D. Wright, Ph.D., Director Ph. D. Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Assistant Professors:

• Julie Ann Luiz Adrian, D.V.M.
• Forrest Batz, Pharm.D.
• Leng Chee Chang, Ph.D.
• Benjamin Chavez, Pharm.D.
• Mok Chong, Pharm.D.
• Mahavir B. Chougule, Ph.D.
• Anita E. Ciarleglio, Ph.D., R.Ph.
• Linda Connelly, Ph.D.
• Frank R. Ernst, Pharm.D.
• Roy Goo, Pharm.D.
• Daniela Guendisch, Ph.D.
• Aaron Jacobs, Ph.D.
• Eugene Konerev, M.D., Ph.D.
• Dana-Lyn Koomoa-Lange, Ph.D.
• Yaw Owusu, Pharm.D.
• Dianqing Sun, Ph.D.
• Candace Tan, Pharm.D.
• Ghee T. Tan, Ph.D.
• Gary Ten Eyck, Ph.D.
• Sheri Tokumaru, Pharm.D.
• Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit, PharmD, Ph.D.

Instructors:

• Anthony Otsuka, Ph.D.
• Mimi Pezzuto, R.Ph.

Clinical Specialists:

• Anna Barbato, Pharm.D.
• Caitrin E. Vordtriede, Pharm.D.

Director of Clinical Education:

• Lara Gomez, Pharm.D.

Clinical Education Coordinator:

• Patricia Jusczak, B.S.

Director of Community Partnerships:

• Ronald Taniguchi, Pharm.D., M.B.A., Interim Chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice

Director of Continuing Education/Distance Education and Strategic Planning:

• Karen Pellegrin, Ph.D., M.B.A.

Director of Pharmaceutical Innovation and Faculty Planning:

• Robert Summers, R.Ph.

Pharmacy/Health Sciences Librarian:

• Amy Knehans, M.L.I.S.

Laboratory Manager:

• Tamara Kondratyuk, Ph.D.

Director of Student Services:

• Liz Heffernan, M.A.

Program Description

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo College of Pharmacy (UH Hilo-CoP) is a four-year educational and experiential program through which students pursue the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. UH Hilo’s CoP Pharm.D. program prepares the student for entry into the pharmacy profession. During the four years at UH Hilo-CoP, students will complete a total of 137 semester hours of credit; 87 hours in required courses, 8 credit hours in elective professional courses, and 42 credit hours in clinical/experiential education.

Mission Statement

The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo College of Pharmacy is the traditional mission of academic healthcare—education, research, and service with emphasis on patient care. More specifically, our mission is:

• To educate pharmacy practitioners and leaders.
• To serve as a catalyst for innovations and discoveries in pharmaceutical science and practice for the promotion of health and wellbeing.
• To provide community service, including quality patient care

Program Goals

The College of Pharmacy mission is predicated on four overarching goals:

• Implement academic curricula that lead to a flagship Pharm.D. program, which produces graduates committed to serving people via science-based practice.
• Accountability to the Institute of Medicine’s core competencies for the health professional workforce.
• Conduct research that advances pharmaceutical sciences and makes a difference for humanity inclusive of effects on global health.
• Cultivate culturally competent, intellectually inquisitive, self-directed, caring pharmacists who are critical thinkers, problem solvers and life-long learners in a changing healthcare environment.

Values

A values framework underpins the College of Pharmacy mission and vision in its commitment to building a culture of quality and excellence in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences via enactment of five values:

• Ethics underlies responsibility and accountability to standards in ensuring safe, quality, healthy environments for education, conducting research, providing pharmaceutical healthcare services, and sustaining livelihood. The CoP thrives upon ethical decision-making and morality.
• Community is cultivated through spaces of collaborations and places of meaning, respect, openness, freedom and creativity. The CoP is rooted in humanism.
• Diversity among people, cultures, theories, practices, institutions permeate 2lst century healthcare. The CoP embraces and celebrates diversity, with a niche in cultural diversity.
• Scholarship is the passion and outcomes of academic and professional life. The quest of the CoP for quality and excellence affirms scholarly pursuits.
• Life-long learning is the pathway to stimulating pharmacy practice on a continuum of development and advancing pharmacy as a science and profession. The CoP is nurtured via the continuum of lifelong education.

Vision

The vision of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is to drive improvement in the quality of healthcare in Hawaiʻi and throughout the Pacific Basin.

We are achieving this vision by focusing on Hawaiʻi’s unique cultural, physical, and geographic features, by employing world-class faculty, and by graduating exceptional professionals.

Prospects for Graduates

Graduates of the Pharm.D. program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo will be able to seek employment as pharmacists in a variety of professional settings. Their professional duties may include, but are not limited to, distribution of drugs prescribed by physicians and other health care practitioners, providing information about prescriptions and their use to their patients and customers, advising health care professionals on the prescription and interaction of drug therapies, compounding, pharmaceutical research, hiring and supervision of staff, business operations of pharmacies, administering of vaccinations, etc. The job outlook for pharmacists remains strong nationwide and in Hawaiʻi. There is currently a shortage of community, clinical and research pharmacists. It is expected that the field of pharmacy will grow at a “faster than average” rate over the next decade (www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm). In order to practice as a registered pharmacist (R.Ph.), state licensure is required.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admissions into the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo College of Pharmacy, students must meet the following requirements:

• Completion of the prerequisite courses including:

Pre-Requisite Category	Credits
Biology I and II with Labs	8
Microbiology with Lab	4
General Chemistry with Labs	8
Organic Chemistry with Labs	8
Human Anatomy & Physiology with labs	8
Calculus	3
English (3 composition)	6
Humanities	6
World Cultures	3
Social/Behavioral Science	6
Economics	3
Speech	3
Total	66

Please Note: the most current listings of prerequisite courses can be found on our website (pharmacy.uhh.hawaii.edu/admissions/). Prerequisites are subject to change at the end of each application cycle.

• Completion of the PCAT (www.pcatweb.info) and submission of official scores to PharmCAS (www.pharmcas.org).
• Completion and submission of the PharmCAS application (www.pharmcas.org) and completion and submission of the supplemental application to be sent by UH Hilo-CoP to applicants meeting the minimum qualifications.
• International Applicants must also complete aminimum of 30 semester hours of coursework in the United States at any regionally-accredited college or university. Of the 30 require semester hours, 15 semester hours must be allocated to non-remedial science courses.

Note: Meeting the minimum qualification requirements does not guarantee admission. All eligible applications are reviewed by the UH Hilo-CoP Admissions Committee which applies multiple criteria for the assessment of applications and selection of candidates to be interviewed.

UH Hilo-CoP annually accepts 90 students for Fall admissions.

Application Procedure

UH Hilo-CoP operates on a competitive, rolling application basis. In order for students to be eligible for consideration, the students must meet the minimum requirements listed above and complete the following application procedure.

• Students complete, or are in the process of completing, their prerequisite coursework.
• Students take the PCAT. UH Hilo-CoP suggests that students take the PCAT at least the year prior to seeking entry. Please note that PCAT scores must be processed by Harcourt and submitted to PharmCAS in time to meet the designated application deadline.
• Students complete and submit the PharmCAS application and fee(s) (www.pharmcas.org) along with official transcripts from all attended regionally-accredited colleges and/or universities, two (2) letters of recommendation, and PCAT scores by the designated application deadline posted on the PharmCAS website.
• Students complete and submit a supplemental application and application fee from UH Hilo-CoP (pharmacy.uhh.hawaii.edu/admissions/).

Upon submission of all required application components, the complete file and applicant profile will be reviewed by the CoP Admissions Committee. At said time, the committee will decide to invite the candidate for an interview, place the candidate on hold for further review, or reject the applicant. All candidates who are invited for an interview will be contacted via email. After the personal interview, the applications and interview scores are presented to and reviewed by the Admissions Committee for final admissions decisions.