Strategic Plan
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PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY STRATEGIC PLAN
The faculty of the Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy has developed and approved on January 20, 2009, a strategic plan which incorporates strategies to achieve critical programmatic goals as generated by our mission. The strategic plan has also been reviewed and endorsed by the Presbyterian College administration. In the future, the continual development and annual review of the strategic plan will include all faculty, students, and select preceptors and alumni. It will be included on the school’s website and thus available to all stakeholders.
I. THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL: ASSUMPTIONS AND PROJECTIONS
The strategic plan of the School of Pharmacy is based on assumptions and projections regarding the external environment and on factors that affect the health care field in general and the state of South Carolina and the rural areas in particular. The assumptions and projections are influenced by the issues of population, government, finance (constancy of funding), the health care system, and competition.
Although currently representing only 12 percent of the population (but projected to be 21 percent by the year 2030), the elderly account for over 1/3 of the prescriptive drug use in the United States. South Carolinians over the age of 65 filled 72,429,487 prescriptions in 2007. On the average, 35 prescriptions were filled for each individual over 65 in South Carolina, while only 29 on the average were filled per individual in the US overall, spending more on average for prescription drugs each year than others in the United States. The anticipated expansion of those over 65 of the population causes significant concern that the supply of pharmacists would be inadequate to meet the future demand for pharmaceutical care. Further, the growing number of South Carolinians with chronic disorders, including diabetes and obesity, gives increased urgency to address healthcare and calls for an increased pharmacy workforce. In addition, a consistent disparity in the provision of pharmacy care to minority populations within the state calls for an increase in the enrollment of students from underserved areas into pharmacy educational programs. Although the state is approximately 28 percent African American, less than 10 percent of the state’s pharmacists are African American.
Preparing pharmacists for the State of South Carolina and the southeast area who can provide comprehensive care is the primary mission of the School of Pharmacy. Traditionally, the pharmacist’s role has been that of a dispenser of medications. However, this traditional method of practice is no longer adequate to ensure safety and effectiveness in the use of medications and health devices. The focus of practice is changing from one of product distribution to a more expansive duty: assuming the responsibility for patients’ drug therapy outcomes.
II. MISSION OBJECTIVES, GOALS, AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
A. PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVE ONE: EDUCATION
To educate students with an unwavering ethical foundation who will positively impact the delivery of quality equitable pharmacy care
Goal 1: Encourage the intellectual and creative development of a diverse group of students
Strategy for Implementation:
1) Emphasize the development of a diverse faculty and student body to meet the needs of the region and to strengthen the experience of enrolled students
2) Develop an educational blueprint for faculty and students, identifying learning maps, educational objectives, and learning outcomes for the curriculum; conduct faculty workshops and solicit input for blueprint implementation
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school; partnerships with regional and community groups that represent underserved populations; outside funding (See Update A).
Initiating Activities:
1) Studies: Encourage a greater variety of national and international perspectives—cultural, ethnic, and intellectual—in courses across the curriculum
2) Hiring and Admissions: Actively seek diversity within our faculty and student body
3) Admission Standards: Conduct ongoing assessment of our admissions standards, in the contexts of meeting the needs of pharmacy manpower and in graduating the pharmacist that is most suitable to meeting the community needs
4) Scholarships: Develop a strong scholarship program to improve access and encourage scholastic achievements, particularly within underserved populations; implement scholarship policies that encourage increased participation in the community.
5) Partnerships: Create and sustain relationships with historically black colleges in the state and region to identify academically strong students; develop strategic partnerships with school districts and other community-based entities to enhance health care in rural areas of South Carolina. Presbyterian College, in an effort to enhance student/faculty diversity on campus, has developed the Diversity Leadership Council, a group of faculty, students, and staff that, in keeping with the college’s mission statement and its diversity aspiration statement, is committed to supporting a college culture that respects and includes all constituents of this college; promotes the presence and voice of groups that have been historically marginalized; and promotes understanding of and respect for human diversity throughout our society.
6) Summer Program: Develop a comprehensive summer program that seeks to a) provide instruction in basic skill sets that have been identified as measures of success in the first year of pharmacy school (communication proficiency, critical thinking, and general math and science ability); b) deliver training and test-taking tips and pointers for taking the sole standardized entrance examination for pharmacy school, the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT); c) provide a method for significant interaction and mentoring by under-represented minority pharmacy students and provide a venue for observing the activities of a pharmacist (shadowing) in real-life pharmacy practice environments; and d) support participation and experience in the delivery of health care in an actual pharmacy practice environment.
7) External Funding: Organize efforts to solicit external funding to support academic initiatives; seek external partners and solicit funds from multiple sources
Responsible administrators: Dean; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Assistant Dean for Professional and Student Affairs
Measurement: Demographic data of student and faculty populations; curricular coverage of culture sensitivity
Benchmark: Enroll a student body that reflects the racial and population demographics of the state of South Carolina. Currently the population of the state is 24 percent rural; 52 percent female and 48 percent male; 67 percent white, 28 percent black, and 3 percent Hispanic.
Goal 2: Develop a culture of honor and high ethical standards within the school
Strategy for Implementation: Create an environment that fosters the highest ethical behaviors
Resources: Presbyterian College (PC) honor council
Initiating Activities: Hire faculty that support ethical standards; establish policies and mechanisms that are consistent with ethical behavior; consistently reward ethical behaviors in students and faculty; establish curricular emphasis; utilize PC ethics faculty for support.
Responsible administrators: Faculty and staff of the school
Measurement: Monitor data on occurrences of violations of non-professional behaviors of students
Benchmark: Honor violations by less than 5 percent of the student population
Goal 3: Encourage scholarship by students, faculty, and administrators
Strategy for Implementation:
1) Create a stimulating academic environment that connects practice with learning
2) Institute a residency program to meet the mission of the school in the area of community and ambulatory care and to create an interest in academia
Resources: Instructional Design Specialist; Director of Research; Director of Residency Education; primary preceptor and residency clinical sites
Initiating Activities:
1) Develop an advisory group to solicit input with regard to pharmacy needs
2) Create plan for engaging the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and an instructional designer with the faculty of the school
3) Appoint a Director of Research
4) Develop appropriate site prior to the arrival of the inaugural class within the new facility that fosters community practice and advanced use of practice technology; appoint a Director of Residency Programs prior to 2013; recruit residents prior to July 2013; and seek ASHP accreditation
5) Implement a post-doctoral pharmacy practice residency with 2 students beginning July 2013
Responsible administrators: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Chair, Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences; Chair, Pharmacy Practice
Measurement: Monitor the number of publications, presentations, and grant proposals as part of the pharmacy annual report.
Benchmark: An average of one publication/faculty member yearly and the Rufus A. Lyman award to one of our faculty members by year five of the program.
Goal 4: Foster the development of critical thinking to move students from dependent to independent learners
Strategy for Implementation:
1) Utilize technology in the program to move from a model of delivering information to one of mentoring and coaching students as they actively discover information
2) Create faculty development opportunities to foster teaching to change the paradigm of teaching to learning
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities: Adoption of a faculty development plan by the Executive Committee; administration of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) to P1 students
Responsible administrators: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Measurement: Monitor National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) scores from each class; monitor (CCTST) scores from each class
Benchmark: 95 percent reported engagement by students in required courses on the NSSE; 20 percent enhancement on CCTST scores for P3 students over individual P1 scores
Goal 5: Provide opportunities for students to achieve curricular outcome skills from life experiences
Strategy for Implementation: Incorporate longitudinal application experiences within professional curriculum
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities: Adoption of experiential curricular component; adoption of programmatic service learning component
Responsible administrators: Assistant Dean for Experiential Education
Measurement: Monitor compliance of program with ACPE experiential guidelines; preceptor evaluation of experiential component
Benchmark: Compliance with ACPE experiential standards
Goal 6: Integrate the technologies of our age—computer-based multimedia as well as specialized automation in pharmacy—into our system of learning
Strategy for Implementation:
1) Utilize technology in the program to move from a model of delivering information to one of mentoring and coaching students as they actively discover information
2) Incorporate technology in teaching and patient care to allow students to infuse technology and automation as a part of their professional culture (See Update B)
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities:
1) Laptop Initiative for Students: Establish leasing arrangement for constantly refreshing technology; hire appropriate technology staff to support mission
2) Embrace: Where appropriate, devise technological solutions that improve communication, facilitate teaching and learning and scholarship, and enhance administrative efficiency
3) Opportunities: Because technology plays a major role in instruction in the modern pharmacy curriculum, provide the equipment and training necessary for the effective use of modern instructional technologies in the classroom and laboratory and at the experiential site; seek innovative ways to provide access to the equipment and training necessary for the effective use of modern automation technology in pharmacy; create experiential clerkships that are focused on technology in pharmacy; explore the use of internet-based video/audio to bring our faculty expertise to remote practitioners within the state of South Carolina.
4) Infuse: Provide every student of the school with the opportunity to develop critical information skills that can be applied to solving problems in the provision of healthcare and preparation for lifelong learning; include in the curriculum the basic principles of drug information retrieval and the critical analysis of data as essential elements in critical thinking; incorporate electronic portfolios for documenting student experiences into the professional program
Responsible Administrators: Dean; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Measurement: Student technology satisfaction survey
Benchmark: 95 percent of students report effective use of technology within the program
B. PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVE TWO: PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
To develop students who will dedicate their lives to community service
Goal 1: Develop essential behaviors within students that will allow professionalization
Strategy for Implementation: Create a culture whereby structured experiences outside the classroom are viewed as crucial to the professionalization of students
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities:
1) Process: Provide structure of the professionalization process through the Office of Professional and Student Affairs
2) Peer Mentors: Develop programs that provide first- and second-year students increased contact with upper-division students who will serve as academic mentors, introducing them to the academic expectations of the third and fourth years and to career opportunities in pharmacy
3) Faculty Mentors: Develop programs that will bring first- and second-year students into regular contact with faculty and practitioners outside the classroom
4) Career Development: Provide resources and guidance to students as they pursue careers in pharmacy through the Office of Experiential Education
Responsible Administrators: Assistant Dean for Professional and Student Affairs; Assistant Dean for Experiential Education
Measurement: Incident reporting through the Professional Alert System
Benchmark: 5 percent or less of students placed on professional probation
Goal 2: Stimulate formation of student organizations and student support services that enhance professional education
Strategy for Implementation: Provide orientation to student rights and responsibilities as part of the Introduction to Pharmacy course; establish an honor code that is consistent with that of the Presbyterian College undergraduate program; utilize APhA Code of Ethics within the curriculum as a professional guide; address student concerns and grievances through the Office of Professional and Student Affairs who will serve as ombudsman and counselor; develop academic advising strategic plan; develop local pre-pharmacy clubs at university “feeder” schools and actively recruit student officers for those clubs; offer career counseling; develop job placement, resume writing, and interviewing workshops; establish mechanisms for student input in curricular, student, and faculty affairs; develop a pharmacy student governance structure; incorporate career informational sessions as parts of Dean’s Hour and Lunch-and-Learn series.
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities: Enrollment of students into the program
Responsible administrators: Assistant Dean for Professional and Student Affairs; Assistant Dean for Experiential Education
Measurement: Student Satisfaction Survey; Employer Satisfaction Survey
Benchmark: 95 percent student satisfaction with established organizations; 95 percent reported employer satisfaction with graduates
Goal 3: Develop an environment that encourages and rewards professional and community service from the faculty, staff, and students
Strategy for Implementation: Integrate learning with practice; implement and embrace the mission of the college, “While we live, we serve.”
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities: Create programmatic requirements for community service for pharmacy students; adopt faculty and staff reward structure that encourages community service
Responsible Administrators: Dean; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Assistant Dean for Professional and Student Affairs
Measurement: Annual report of number of students and faculty involved in community service and other health care initiatives in associated counties
Benchmark: 100 percent of faculty and student body participating in community service
Goal 4: Position the faculty of the School of Pharmacy as a repository of expertise in pharmaceutical care and pharmaceutical sciences for the region and state
Strategy for Implementation: Create a dependence of the region on the faculty and program for enhancing pharmacy care; develop an emphasis area within the program, e.g. rural pharmacy care
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities: Hire highly regarded faculty; appoint a Director of Research prior to 2011; establish an appraisal system that rewards scholarly efforts
Responsible Administrators: Dean and department chairs
Measurement: Monitor faculty activities in local, state, regional, and national healthcare as part of the annual report
Benchmark: At least 60 percent of faculty participates in local, state, regional, and/or national healthcare associations
C. PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVE THREE: HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP AND PATIENT CARE SERVICES
To provide enlightened leadership in addressing the health care needs of a diverse patient population
Goal 1: Make the school a community of scholars, both within the confines of the campus and with external constituents.
Strategy for Implementation: Build culture of inquiry
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school; Director of Research; Director of Residency Education
Initiating Activities:
1) Open Learning Environment: Create mechanisms to share the scholarly accomplishments of faculty with other faculty, administrators, and students
2) Visiting scholars: Fund visiting scholars and external speakers in order to stimulate both faculty and students
3) Partnerships and Collaboration: Create partnerships with healthcare providers in the community by developing a strong outreach research effort; develop collaborations with other schools and universities within the area for research as well as opportunities to provide healthcare to the region
4) Research Focus: Facilitate the organization of research groups that include researchers from a variety of disciplines to study different aspects of a common research problem
5) Student Research: Provide program opportunities for students to engage in research, scholarship, and creative activity by the development of an active mentoring system by faculty (example: applied research projects); provide funds to support student research and publication
6) Faculty Guidance: Appoint a Director of Research from within the senior faculty leadership that will give guidance and funding for faculty pilot studies in developing their research programs
7) Advanced Study: Develop, in cooperation with advanced practice sites, a residency education program, coordinated by a Director of Residency Education
8 ) Communication of Results: Seek to hold professional academic conferences on campus and provide funding to departments that organize such efforts
9) Rewards: Develop a reward system for scholarship that is a part of performance evaluation for faculty
Responsible administrators: Dean; department chairs; Director of Research
Measurement: Annual report data on student and faculty activities
Benchmark: 20 presentations/publications collectively reported annually by faculty/students
Goal 2: Develop performance appraisal system for faculty
Strategy for Implementation: Define features of effective appraisal system; seek faculty buy-in; implement program (See Update C)
Resources: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Initiating Activities: Faculty retreat to develop evaluation guidelines for each department; adoption of standardized appraisal process for faculty
Responsible administrators: Department chairs
Measurement: Standardized performance appraisal system for faculty
Benchmark: 95 percent of faculty report on annual survey that appraisal is fair and correlated to mission values
Goal 3: Make collegiality an important element in scholarship, as the exchange of ideas produces greater creativity
Strategy for Implementation: Foster teamwork among faculty and students
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities: Seek to actively participate and become active in all aspects of healthcare within the community
1) Sense of Community: Build strong relationships with the local communities and the region by encouraging community activism by both our faculty and students; invite members of the professional community, both in the Clinton area and throughout the upstate region, to participate in the intellectual life of the school through attendance at events and by our provision of continuing professional education
2) Reward: Incorporate outreach activities into faculty’s teaching, research, and service functions; recognize and reward participation through the promotion, annual review, and merit pay processes
3) Create Opportunities: Enhance faculty development opportunities and create services to assist faculty in teaching, scholarly research, and community involvement
4) Funding: Make funds available through the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to provide opportunities for professional development to the faculty
5) Travel: Provide funds to faculty to encourage travel and participation in conferences and meetings related to our profession
6) Mentor: Develop mentoring relationships between new faculty and senior faculty, providing new faculty with needed information about the operation of the school, assistance in the promotion and contract process, and guidance in scholarly activities
7) Emphasize Collaboration: Where possible, develop interdisciplinary programs as an important form of partnership within the institution
Responsible Administrators: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, department chairs
Measurement: Attendance and presentations at state and national scholarly meetings by faculty
Benchmark: 100 percent of faculty attending/presenting at state/national scholarly meetings
Goal 4: Identify an area of scholarship in which the school can achieve unique regional prominence as a center of excellence and allocate special funding to the development of this center
Strategy for Implementation: Identify critical research needs for the school; establish common research goals; set aside moneys to support research focus; seek outside funding for endowment of goals.
Resources: Quality faculty and research staff; continued, planned increase in school budget; collaboration partners
Initiating Activities: Initiate collaborative relationships with local businesses
Responsible administrators: Director of Research
Measurement: Number of centers of excellence within the school
Benchmark: At least one center of excellence developed within the school by year 2014
Goal 1: Develop caring and competent pharmaceutical care service programs
Strategy for Implementation: Survey healthcare support staff in South Carolina to identify needs; implement action plan; implement Center for Pharmacy Care within facility (See Update D)
Resources: Access to facilities; start-up funding; quality faculty, staff, and students
Initiating Activities: Develop a strategic plan for the development of pharmaceutical care and distribution services
Responsible administrators: Dean; Chair, Pharmacy Practice
Measurement: Practitioner survey
Benchmark: 20 percent enhancement of pharmacy care services by year 2014 as reflected through the practitioner survey
Goal 2: Promote pharmacy practice faculty members’ competencies through the direct involvement of the faculty in pharmaceutical care
Strategy for Implementation: Create a Center of Pharmacy Care within the pharmacy facility and initiate pharmacy care clinics within the Center; create pathway for continuing education offerings by the school
Resources: Faculty; continuing education program support
Initiating Activities: Achieve board certification, fellowship status, and leadership recognition of all practice faculty; develop a plan for improving clinical skills of practicing pharmacists throughout the region; negotiate a contract with South Carolina Pharmacists’ Association for provision of continuing education
Responsible administrators: Dean; Chair, Pharmacy Practice
Measurement: Specialty certification for practice faculty; faculty care data within Center of Pharmacy Care
Benchmark: 100 percent Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist or equivalent certification of practice faculty; 80 percent of practice faculty participating in delivering care through Center of Pharmacy Care
Goal 3: Search for strategies for enhancing and expanding the capabilities of pharmacy practitioners through technological means
Strategy for Implementation: Create a model of dispensing automation, information management, and communication within our practice; implement a technology plan for the school; survey healthcare support staff in South Carolina to identify needs; implement action plan; implement Center for Pharmacy Care within facility, implementing automation
Resources: Technology staff; technological infrastructure within the facility
Initiating Activities: Development of Center for Pharmacy Care and the acquisition of automation; creation of an experiential clerkship focusing on technology and automation in pharmacy
Responsible administrators: Chair, Pharmacy Practice
Measurement: Example automation technology within the Center for Pharmacy Care
Benchmark: Utilization of current automation technology for processing at least 60 percent of prescriptions filled within the Center for Pharmacy Care
Goal 4: Foster the development of pharmacists providing primary care services in upstate South Carolina and particularly the rural areas
Strategy for Implementation: Identify rural needs of region for pharmacy care services; build partnerships with rural entities such as the state office of rural health, regional health departments, etc.; develop model of pharmacy practice to meet needs of rural populations
Resources: Faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities:
1) Develop a rural advisory group to solicit input with regard to pharmacy needs
2) Create health care clinic for indigent care within school facilities
3) Assist disadvantaged students to enter pharmacy school
4) Provide pharmacy education overview programs and health research exposure to high school students
5) Publicize financial aid and financial planning resources to students and parents, as well as information about careers in pharmacy
6) Expose students to community-based pharmaceutical care with public and private nonprofit providers
Responsible administrators: Chair, Pharmacy Practice; Assistant Dean for Experiential Education
Measurement: Number of graduates from designated rural or underserved counties of South Carolina with less than 30,000 population or a pharmacist-to-population ratio of 10,000 or more
Benchmark: At least 25 percent of graduates will initiate practice in a designated rural or underserved county of South Carolina
Goal 1: Develop a method of monitoring and adjusting the program of study to achieve the outcome competencies defined for the professional curriculum
Strategy for Implementation: Develop and implement an assessment plan and provisions in school committee structure for resulting information to be utilized
Resources: Outcome evaluation instruments
Initiating Activities: Develop outcome competency statements
Responsible administrators: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Measurement: ACPE approval of assessment map as part of accreditation process
Benchmark: Full accreditation by program year 2015
Goal 2: Establish rigorous formative and summative assessment programs to ensure that students and residents are acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values deemed necessary at their stage of learning and that they are able to perform in a developmentally appropriate manner the complex, integrative tasks required to provide high quality pharmaceutical care
Strategy for Implementation: Development and implementation of an assessment plan
Resources: Funds to support basic cost of assessment program, e.g. development of computing software and critical thinking analysis instruments
Initiating Activities: Assessment plan development
Responsible administrators: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Measurement: Annual progression examination
Benchmark: Greater than 95 percent of students passing the annual examination
Goal 3: Support, where possible, the previously stated activities through program advancement and development
Strategy for Implementation: Hire outside fund-raising consultant firm to supplement activities of the PC development staff, to spearhead the creation of the initial Founder’s Circle, and to direct overall fund-raising for the School of Pharmacy
Resources: College office of advancement; faculty and staff of the school
Initiating Activities:
1) Scholarships: Work with various industry and non-industry donors to develop a strong scholarship program to support professional students from varying backgrounds and levels of achievement
2) Research: In order to provide a balance of teaching, research, and service to our faculty, encourage faculty grant writing and the procurement of funds to be used to support research start-up
3) Faculty Development: To ensure that faculty development is a priority and to ensure faculty retention, work with various donor groups to procure endowment funds to support and grow ongoing faculty development opportunities; hire a consulting group to provide for expertise in development
4) Technology Initiatives: Seek industry and non-industry support for direct use and endowment funds to maintain technology infrastructure in order to stay apace of the rapidly changing environment in both education and practice-based areas
Responsible administrators: Dean
Measurement: Funds raised on an annual basis
Benchmark: Raise at least $10,000,000 for program and operations support by program year three
A. Meetings have been held and verbal agreements reached to work with the historically black institutions, South Carolina State University and Claflin University, to increase minority students in the pharmacy profession through summer workshops, to begin in 2011, and active recruitment.
B. Numerous meetings have been held with various technology companies to review capabilities and proposals to infuse technology into the pharmacy curriculum.
C. A draft performance appraisal system for faculty has been developed for presentation to the Faculty Affairs Committee.
D. New faculty hire, Julie Sease, is in the process of developing a practice site and model at the Good Shepherd Free Medical Clinic of Laurens County for transport to other free medical clinics in South Carolina.
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