Since the start of 2021, pharmacy leaders from the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) and the UCI Medical Center’s Department of Pharmaceutical Services have met to discuss the strategic direction of the two units.
The UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is part of the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which combines with the UCI Health clinical enterprise to form UCI Health Affairs. The synergy between UCI Health and the academic disciplines of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, public health, and integrative health, enables UCI to transform education, discovery, and patient care.
To expand the collaboration between the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and the UCI Medical Center Department of Pharmacy, leaders from both units will focus on six strategic initiatives from 2021 through 2023. The six initiatives will serve as the foundation for longer-term strategic planning that will begin in 2023.
“We are very excited about the strategic plans that we have developed with UCI Medical Center Department of Pharmacy,” said Alexandre Chan, Founding Chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice. “These strategic plans, along with concrete action plans, will strengthen our existing relationship and march toward our common goal as one.”
Melanie Joe, the Chief Pharmacy Officer at the UCI Medical Center and Founding Associate Dean for Pharmacy Professional Affairs at the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, added: “The collaborative approach taken by the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and the UCI Health Department of Pharmacy will strengthen and foster growth in clinical pharmacy practice, research, and education. This is an exciting opportunity to positively impact the pharmacy profession and future pharmacists!”
The six strategic initiatives include:
- Facilitate the integration of SPPS student pharmacists within UCI Health/UCIMC
- Engage UCI Health pharmacy residents within UCI SPPS
- Create a sustainable learning experience in Internal Medicine for SPPS student pharmacists
- Identify potential practice areas of growth within UCI Health
- Strengthen and expand community/ambulatory care pharmacy services within UCI Health
- Co-create a population health pharmacy program
The mission of the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is to be a driving force for the advancement of health and wellness of individuals and society. As the relationship with the UCI Medical Center continues to grow, the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty and student pharmacists will impact the community through collaborative pharmacy, education and research.
Through the integration of the academic side, the faculty and the UCI Medical Center Department of Pharmacy will also look for areas to expand the scope of clinical pharmacy practice within UCI Health.
The strategic plan can be accessed here: UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and the UCI Medical Center’s Department of Pharmaceutical Services Strategic Plan.
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About UCI Health
UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif. The 418-bed acute care hospital, listed among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for the 21st consecutive year, provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Founded in 2020, the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is the first public pharmacy school in the Los Angeles-Orange County region. Offering undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees, the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences spans a continuum from discovery, development, and delivery of new drugs, devices, and diagnostics all the way to optimizing medication therapy in patients and patient populations.
The UCI School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences encompasses two departments: Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy Practice. The school’s faculty provide exceptional education, expert clinical care and breakthrough scientific discoveries that translate into improved human health.
As part of the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences’ innovative and rigorous academic programs include Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Master of Science in Pharmacology, Doctor of Pharmacy, and PhD in Pharmacological Sciences. To learn more, visit pharmsci.uci.edu.