D'Youville College School of Pharmacy

Buffalo, NY

Founded: 2010

Class Size: Around 75

One of the aspects that makes D’Youville College unique is that its School of Pharmacy offers various opportunities for students to study the health care of other cultures. Benefiting from established relationships with universities in Uganda and China, students are able to learn about health care systems different from their own. Interested in traveling? Students at D’Youville’s School of Pharmacy can also go on faculty-led service trips to Ecuador and Haiti.

“These experiences provide students an opportunity to provide primary care services to underserved nations,” explained D’Youville College School of Pharmacy Dean Gary Stoehr, PharmD, in an interview with Pharmacy Times.

At D’Youville, students will spend more than 300 hours completing introductory pharmacy practice experience during the first 3 years of the curriculum and 1440 hours of advanced pharmacy practice experience in their final year.

Students in D’Youville’s 4-year PharmD program can also participate in research projects related to pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice with faculty members, Stoehr said.

The job placement rate for D’Youville’s Class of 2014 was 98%, and its North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination pass rate for the same class was 95.61%. One hundred percent of students passed the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination, as well.

If you are concerned about bad winters, D’Youville assures that Buffalo is at least not the snowiest city in New York.

Q: What is the teaching style or philosophy?

A: The faculty believes that learning is a lifelong pursuit and that our graduates must be self-directed learners able to find resources to satisfy their learning needs. Early in the curriculum, students learn to locate resources to complete individual and team-based assignments designed to help them see the connection between theory and practice. In subsequent years, students analyze more complex cases and problems that require more complex decision making. A variety of active learning strategies and individual and team-based assignments are employed throughout the curriculum to facilitate student learning.

Q: What advice do you have for students who will graduate this year?

A: Prepare yourself for change. The US health care system is changing rapidly, and there are many opportunities for pharmacists to serve as care providers. Take advantage of opportunities as they appear and work with other health professions to improve the system. New graduates must advocate for their profession and create roles for pharmacists in team-based care models. Work with colleagues in pharmacy and other professions and professional organizations to develop new practice opportunities.

Q: What are some community outreach activities or programs the school participates in? What volunteer opportunities are available to students?

A: The D’Youville College mission emphasizes service and leadership. The School of Pharmacy’s students and faculty are involved in a variety of service programs that educate grade school students about asthma, adults and children about poisonings and poison plants, middle and high school students about the hazards of prescription drug abuse, and minority students about careers in pharmacy. Students and faculty volunteer in a number of local health-related and service programs—Healthy Buffalo, Kids Escaping Drugs, Open Airways, and Habitat for Humanity—and participate in fundraising walks to support research and programs for breast cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, diabetes, and asthma. Each student organization develops service programs aimed at improving the health of the community, providing many opportunities for student participation.