March 17, 2006

The University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy (UACP) recently confirmed an affiliation agreement with Bristol Regional Medical Center (BRMC) to recruit and place an Assistant/Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the hospital as a pharmacy practitioner and educator. The UACP faculty member, in coordination with BRMC’s Department of Pharmacy, will establish a clinical patient care practice to train pharmacy students on-site. By joining the clinical pharmacy team at BRMC, the UACP faculty member will assist in expanding clinical pharmacy services in the areas of internal medicine, cardiology, and emergency medicine, while also serving as an additional resource for pharmacy education, student training, and community service. The College currently employs several clinical faculty positioned throughout Southwest Virginia, at private physician practices, Food City nursing stations and at the Salem Veterans Hospital near Roanoke. This is the first faculty position to be placed in East Tennessee by UACP.

The College’s accelerated three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program, the only one in the five-state region, is underway with its charter class poised to complete its first year in July. Applications for next year’s class of 65 students exceed one thousand. The pharmacy curriculum is divided into two parts, the didactic curriculum, or classroom instruction, followed by the experiential curriculum or on-site training. “The experiential curriculum gives students the opportunity for hands-on training in community pharmacies, hospitals, and non-traditional pharmacy practice settings such as rural outreach clinics,” explained Frank Kilgore, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University of Appalachia. “Our College of Pharmacy is committed to educating and training pharmacists to help address the challenges of rural health care. The clinical faculty position at Bristol Regional is one of several that we plan to add within the Appalachia Region this year in efforts to expand and advance health care services, outreach, and education.”

Kilgore added that as the College matures, the number of faculty positions is expected to expand significantly and he thanked Bristol Regional for its progressive attitude toward becoming a facilitator for medical education. Recruitment is ongoing for the UACP faculty position at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Qualified applicants for preceptor positions at Bristol and other sites should contact Dr. Susan Mayhew at 276-935-4277.

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