Website: www.unmc.edu/Pharmacy

Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Health care is changing….and with it, the pharmacy profession. Meeting the drug therapy needs of today’s patients requires special skills. A leader in pharmacy education, the UNMC College of Pharmacy offers a contemporary Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program. The curriculum develops the critical thinking, communication, and problem solving skills that allow students to apply their knowledge of drugs and therapeutics in a wide variety of pharmacy careers. You will learn how to:

• interact with patients;
• be a part of the health care team; and
• work in a variety of practice settings.

You will be well prepared for any specialty you may choose and you will be highly competitive for the entry-level job market. Pharmacists are needed in numerous settings…community pharmacies, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry and many others.

Key Faculty

Courtney V. Fletcher, Pharm.D.
Professor and Dean. Dr. Fletcher’s research interests are in the clinical pharmacology of antiviral agents, primarily those directed against the human immunodeficiency virus.

Charles H. Krobot, Pharm.D.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Assistant Professor. Faculty member since 2000. Teaches courses in pharmacy practice (e.g., Legal and Ethical Principles).

Gary C. Yee, Pharm.D.
Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Faculty member since 1998. Teaching responsibilities and research interests in the areas of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes assessment and clinical pharmacology of anti-cancer drugs and biotechnology agents

Michael F. Powell, B.S., M.S.
Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Hospital Affairs and Executive Director, Pharmaceutical & Nutrition Care and The Nebraska Poison Control Center.

Keith M. Olsen, Pharm.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice. Faculty member since 1993 and Critical Care Clerkship preceptor. Research interests in the area of antibiotic pharmacodynamics and response in critically ill patients.

Jonathan L. Vennerstrom, Ph.D.
Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Science. Teaching responsibilities in the area of medicinal chemistry, and research interests in the area of anti-malarial drug design and synthesis.

John E. Ridgway, B.S., R.Ph.
Instructor and Experiential Education Program Director and is responsible for the direction and management of the introductory and advanced pharmacy practice programs, the compounding laboratory and the coordination of the immunization certification course.

Videos

Dr. Wang

Dr. Krobot

Dr. Baldwin

Dr. Farho

Research and Labs

A major research focus in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences is innovations in the area of delivery and/or targeting of drugs and genes. In October 2004, the College of Pharmacy established a Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine cddn.unmc.edu This Center aims to further promote multidisciplinary research in drug delivery and nanomedicine with scientists on this campus, as well as with other universities and industry. Researchers in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences have interests in developing new drugs to treat malaria and diseases of the eye and in delivering and/or targeting small and large molecular weight drugs to treat cancer, ophthalmic, lung, bone and cardiovascular diseases.

A phase 2 study is in progress in Asia of a new antimalarial compound developed by researchers in the department.

Pharmacy dean a pioneer in HIV/AIDS drug research
Courtney Fletcher, Pharm. D., was there when an HIV/ AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence.

When the disease first came to light in the 1980s, Dr. Fletcher, armed with his pharmacology expertise, joined other researchers on the figurative ground floor of HIV/AIDS research.

“When we started, the best you could do for a patient was extend life about six months on average,” said Dr. Fletcher, dean of the UNMC College of Pharmacy. “Now we can think of HIV as a chronic disease — take your drugs and you can live a fairly normal life.”

“It’s fair to say there isn’t a child receiving HIV treatment today that hasn’t benefited from what Courtney has done.” Mark Kline, M.D.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice. The tuition rate does not vary with the number of credit hours taken by full-time students.

Tuition P-1,2,3,4 Resident: $9,164.00 per Semester
Non-Resident**: $17,798.00 per Semester

**Non-Resident Tuition Scholarships that waive much of the difference between resident and non-resident tuition are available

Fees including health insurance are a little over $1000.00 per Semester.

Recognition and Awards

The UNMC College of Pharmacy now ranks in the top 10 nationally among over 125 pharmacy schools in terms of National Institutes of Health research dollars per Ph.D. faculty member, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) has announced.

Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., and other College of Pharmacy researchers brought in $6.6 million in National Institutes of Health funds in 2009, which allowed the college to rank No. 4 among 125 U.S. pharmacy schools in research dollars per faculty member.

UNMC also moved up to No. 16 from No. 23 in terms of total awards received by its investigators.
“This is an outstanding accomplishment,” said Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy. “It is the result of the creativity, persistence and dedication to improving human health on the part of everyone in the college.”

The rankings — compiled annually by the AACP — show that the College of Pharmacy’s Ph.D.-level investigators collectively received more than $6.6 million in NIH funds in 2009. That is a 31 percent increase in NIH funds from 2008, when the college’s researchers collectively brought in about $5 million.

The $6.6 million in 2009 also means the college has more than doubled its NIH funding since 2006, when it brought in about $3 million.

The College of Pharmacy has seen its NIH research funding more than double since 2006 and nearly triple since 2005.

The college benefits from a system that matches the efforts of the faculty with their individual talents; an approach that allows those who are strong teachers to do the majority of instruction while strong researchers get more time for investigation, Dr. Fletcher said.

“This superb accomplishment in research funding is indeed the result of the collective contributions of the entire faculty,” Dr. Fletcher said.

And with developments in work such as plans for a potential Center for Drug Development the research future for the college looks bright, Dr. Fletcher said.

“We have the people in place to be a leader in pharmacy research for a long time,” Dr. Fletcher said.

School History

In 1907, Dr. Rufus A. Lyman, a professor and physician in the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, urged the University to begin a pharmacy school. On April 23, 1908, the Board of Regents established a School of Pharmacy within the College of Medicine, and approved the appointment of Dr. Lyman as Director. In 1915, the Nebraska Legislature created the College of Pharmacy as a freestanding college of the University of Nebraska on the Lincoln campus. Dr. Lyman was appointed founding Dean of the College of Pharmacy.

The College moved to the Medical Center campus in Omaha in 1976. At the same time, the College of Pharmacy initiated a new pharmacy curriculum, the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Program, becoming only the third pharmacy school in the nation to offer the Pharm.D. as the sole degree of the professional program when the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy was the principal professional degree offered by all of the remaining 69 colleges and schools of pharmacy. Today, there are greater than 125 accredited U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy, and the Pharm.D. is the only entry level degree of the profession.

The College’s Doctor of Pharmacy Program was granted continued accreditation by the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education through January, 2013.

Other Information

The UNMC College of Pharmacy has a long and exciting tradition of making a difference. From its beginning as a pharmacy school in 1908 to today, the college is a leader in pharmacy education. The College was the third school in the nation to offer the entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy degree. The College of Pharmacy educates students who will lead health care and pharmacy well into the 21st century. Basic sciences are emphasized, but today’s curriculum offers much more: learning skills, computer skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills. Our goal is to prepare students for the world of health care – now and in the future. No matter how health care and pharmacy change, UNMC pharmacy graduates have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to adapt and excel.

Keeping this in mind, the UNMC College of Pharmacy offers you:

• A progressive curriculum.
• Classes that compel you to interact with others and help you develop your own skills.
• Dedicated faculty who are concerned with your personal and professional development.
• Real-life practical experience gained through clinical rotations on the Medical Center campus, across the state and throughout the country.

Visit us on Facebook

Main School Email Address: copadmin@unmc.edu

View our Flickr photos!