Page 5 - Rx Bound - Summer 2014
P. 5
Message from the Dean
Over our eighteen year history, the WesternU College of Pharmacy has become recognized for the quality of our graduates and
our innovative educational initiatives. We were the first program in California to extend advanced experiential training beyond
one year. We were the first in the nation to deliver a block curriculum, allowing students to master one subject at a time while
integrating prior learning into each subsequent block. We have become national leaders in interprofessional education by having
students in all nine colleges participate together in case-based problem solving starting in the first year, and we utilize more
objective structured clinical exams (OSCE) and standardized patients in our curriculum than perhaps any other program in the
nation. As a result, our students are graduating with the necessary skills and confidence to meet both the challenges and
opportunities they will face in our evolving health care environment (97% of the 2013 College of Pharmacy graduates secured
employment within the first six months of graduation – see info-graphic at the bottom for more details).
On the research front, the College has reached a new milestone. During 2013-2014 our external funding, including National
Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, reached $2.3 million. This is extremely noteworthy because our Pharmaceutical Sciences
faculty has been able to compete successfully for elusive research dollars during one of the most challenging times in history. For
nearly 45 years Congress saw research as a priority, and funding increased appropriately over time. However, funding over the
past 5 years has leveled off and even declined, including an across the board 5% cut associated with the “sequester” of 2013. It
is clear, therefore, that our current funding success speaks volumes about the quality of our faculty and the importance of their
research. Although I do not yet have the official numbers, this should place us among the top 10% nationally for research
funding among private colleges of pharmacy. You can read more about our research and faculty achievements in the “Research
Spotlight” section of this issue.
Daniel C. Robinson, PharmD, FASHP
Dean, College of Pharmacy
Western University of Health Sciences
97% of 2013 WesternU College of Pharmacy Graduates
Employed Six Months Post Graduation
78% Employed in Field
47% Community Pharmacy (chain)
12% Hospital Pharmacy
11% Community Pharmacy (independent)
5% Armed Services, Regulatory Agency, other Government
2% Long-term Care Pharmacy
1% Managed Care Pharmacy
19% Residency or Fellowship
3% Unemployed/not in school
WesternU, College of Pharmacy 3
Over our eighteen year history, the WesternU College of Pharmacy has become recognized for the quality of our graduates and
our innovative educational initiatives. We were the first program in California to extend advanced experiential training beyond
one year. We were the first in the nation to deliver a block curriculum, allowing students to master one subject at a time while
integrating prior learning into each subsequent block. We have become national leaders in interprofessional education by having
students in all nine colleges participate together in case-based problem solving starting in the first year, and we utilize more
objective structured clinical exams (OSCE) and standardized patients in our curriculum than perhaps any other program in the
nation. As a result, our students are graduating with the necessary skills and confidence to meet both the challenges and
opportunities they will face in our evolving health care environment (97% of the 2013 College of Pharmacy graduates secured
employment within the first six months of graduation – see info-graphic at the bottom for more details).
On the research front, the College has reached a new milestone. During 2013-2014 our external funding, including National
Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, reached $2.3 million. This is extremely noteworthy because our Pharmaceutical Sciences
faculty has been able to compete successfully for elusive research dollars during one of the most challenging times in history. For
nearly 45 years Congress saw research as a priority, and funding increased appropriately over time. However, funding over the
past 5 years has leveled off and even declined, including an across the board 5% cut associated with the “sequester” of 2013. It
is clear, therefore, that our current funding success speaks volumes about the quality of our faculty and the importance of their
research. Although I do not yet have the official numbers, this should place us among the top 10% nationally for research
funding among private colleges of pharmacy. You can read more about our research and faculty achievements in the “Research
Spotlight” section of this issue.
Daniel C. Robinson, PharmD, FASHP
Dean, College of Pharmacy
Western University of Health Sciences
97% of 2013 WesternU College of Pharmacy Graduates
Employed Six Months Post Graduation
78% Employed in Field
47% Community Pharmacy (chain)
12% Hospital Pharmacy
11% Community Pharmacy (independent)
5% Armed Services, Regulatory Agency, other Government
2% Long-term Care Pharmacy
1% Managed Care Pharmacy
19% Residency or Fellowship
3% Unemployed/not in school
WesternU, College of Pharmacy 3
