The UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and UCI Health Department of Pharmacy have established the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan for UCI Pharmacy, a continuation of initiatives that began upon the founding of the School. The re-evaluated strategic plan will guide the processes and collaboration of the two units and the growth of pharmacy education and clinical pharmacy practice at UCI for the next few years.
The strategic plan arose from meetings between leadership from each unit. The UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Leadership Team consisted of Dr. Alexandre Chan, Founding Dean Jan Hirsch, Dr. Erin Knox, Dr. Sarah McBane, Dr. Megan Nguyen, and Dr. Jonathan Watanabe, with Dr. Melanie Joe, Dr. Alan Phan, Dr. Robert Eastin, Dr. Martin Torres, Dr. David Kim, Dr. Jennie Ung, and Dr. Steven Atallah representing the Department of Pharmacy at UCI Medical Center Leadership Team.
“This new strategic plan follows up our initial three-year strategy that was established in 2020 when the School was first formed,” said Dr. Alexandre Chan, Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice. “We are very pleased with our progress and excited about how the two units will continue to grow together synergistically in delivering excellent patient care, education, and clinical research.”
From 2020-2023, the two units accomplished their strategic goals of creating an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) for P1-P3 students and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) for P4 students; creating a Residency Teaching Certificate Program; establishing a regular pharmacy presence within Internal Medicine teams; conducting a survey of unmet pharmacy needs; developing short- and long-term visions for ambulatory care pharmacy services; and co-creating a population health program.
The updated initiatives for 2023-2027 include:
- Facilitate the integration of UCI student pharmacists within UCI Health
- Provide standardized support to all preceptors (staff, faculty, and residents)
- Develop clinical experiential learning experience focused on general medicine at UCI Medical Center
- Envision innovative pharmacy care models/services at UCI Medical Center Irvine
- Strengthen and expand community/ambulatory care pharmacy services within UCI Health
- Develop a vision for the population health program, with a focus on education, practice, and research
“As we move forward with the collaboration between the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and the UCI Health System, the strategic plan provides a framework to focus growth and develop and implement best practices that support clinical pharmacists working at top of license,” explained Dr. Melanie Joe, Chief Pharmacy Officer of the Department of Pharmacy at UCI Medical Center. “With this partnership, we are able to have a focused approach to target patient care needs that support both School and Medical Center goals.”
