Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2019 - 12

Graduation :

ITPD SALUTES LARGEST
GRADUATING CLASS

N

ow in its fifth year, the International-Trained
PharmD (ITPD) Program is awarding doctorates to four students, its largest graduating
class so far.
"They've all been just a real joy to work
with," says Shaun Gleason, PharmD, director
of the Distance Degrees and Programs (DDP)
Office at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy
and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "We (the faculty) all really learn from
each of them."

FIRST CERTIFICATES
GIVEN IN IHM

E

ight people have earned the first certificates awarded
in Integrative Health and Medicine (IHM) by the
University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy
and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The IHM certificate is a nine-credit-hour, online
program developed to provide any practicing health
care professional or pharmacy student with a greater
understanding of herbal medicines, non-botanical dietary supplements, and
other related modalities in the treatment of human disease.
"It's exciting to have the first class graduated," says Monika Nuffer,
PharmD, senior instructor and program coordinator of the IHM program.
"I've been very impressed by our students. They are really focused on the

DISTANCE
DEGREES &
PROGRAMS
12

CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

The four ITPD graduates and their
home countries are:
* Ashraf Elmalik, Sudan
* Moe Kuroda, Japan
* Ahmed Shible, Egypt
* Nada Bashir, Sudan
The ITPD Program is open to pharmacists from around the world who hold
a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in
pharmacy from any locally approved or
accredited college or university program
outside of the United States. Applicants
must be licensed pharmacists and be in
good standing with the licensing agency
in their country. Successful applicants
must also demonstrate a desire and
commitment to expand patient-centered
pharmacy care in their home country.
Most of the coursework is online.

However, students come to the Anschutz
campus to complete some skills-based
courses, Introductory Pharmacy
Practice Experiences (IPPEs) at the
beginning and Advanced Pharmacy
Practice Experiences (APPEs) at the
end of their studies.
The ITPD Program, which began in
2014, is the only distance-based international PharmD program in the U.S.
that is accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Pharmacy Education
(ACPE). Since the launch, 26 students,
from 14 countries have enrolled in total.
One student graduated in 2017 and
three in 2018.
It grew out of CU Pharmacy's well-established online PharmD program for
North American-trained pharmacists.

knowledge (covered in the program)
and applying that in practice and in their
personal lives."
David Thompson, PhD, associate
dean for Academic Affairs, acknowledged the help of Henry Strauss, a 1951
graduate of CU Pharmacy and recipient
of an honorary doctorate from CU, and
Strauss' friend, Leonard Wisneski, MD,
in the creation of the program.
"Recognizing the growing role complementary and alternative medicines are
playing in health care, Henry provided
the critical support to get the program
up and running," Dr. Thompson noted.
CU Pharmacy launched the IHM
Certificate Program last fall. It can
be completed in one academic year
or up to four years. It teaches the safe
and effective use of IHM - and

potential interactions and pitfalls to
avoid for specific patient populations
- and exposes students to the wide
variety of products available and the
evidence-based skills to evaluate and
make recommendations about them.
It grew out of CU Pharmacy's
popular IHM elective. According to a
federal report, 59 million Americans
spent about $30.2 billion on alternative
medicines and treatments in 2012.
The IHM program is unusual in the
breadth and depth of information it provides about complementary modalities
and natural health products.
"Our program really gives students
the tools to address patients' questions,"
Dr. Nuffer says.
That's part of what drew certificate recipient Tracey Garone, a

26 PharmD degrees conferred
through the DDP program
4 August 2018 graduates

10 December 2018 graduates
12 May 2019 graduates

GRADUATES
BY NAME

(May candidates in bold )
Faseemo,Oluwaseyi Olajumoke
Iyengar, Adarsh
Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2019

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