University of South Florida Health College of Pharmacy

Tampa, Florida

Class Size: Around 100

Founded: 2010

Pharmacy students at the University of South Florida (USF) Health College of Pharmacy will see a great emphasis placed on 4 main pillars:

1. Geriatric pharmacotherapy

2. Translational pharmacogenomics

3. Health informatics

4. Leadership/management

Dean and professor Kevin Sneed, PharmD, spoke with Pharmacy Times about the importance of these pillars—namely that no matter how the health care arena transforms in the future, these pillars will continue to evolve and remain relevant.

USF College of Pharmacy is Florida’s first public, comprehensive college of pharmacy in a metropolitan area.

According to the USF College of Pharmacy website, the college’s objective is to revolutionize health through 2 ways:

1. Innovation of patient-centered health care through education, research, and service.

2. Empowerment of students, professionals, and patients as catalysts for change at all levels of health.

Dr. Sneed provided more insight into what a student can expect to experience at USF College of Pharmacy.

A: One of the very unique components we have is an interprofessional environment. We have a college of medicine, nursing, public health, physical therapy, as well as a PA [physician assistant] program. Many colleges of pharmacy around the country have integrated models, but they are not as integrated to the extent that we are.

Q: What is the teaching style or philosophy at your college?

A: To be perfectly honest, we take active learning to the next level in terms of simulation activities.

We have a course called Pharmacy Skills that really truly turns the didactic world into a very realistic training ground. So, by the time our students go into their rotations, they’ve been exposed to a great amount of real-to-life clinical exposure in a simulated model within the profession.

Q: What are some community outreach activities or programs that your college participates in? What volunteer opportunities are available to students?

A: We have an enormous amount of community outreach that we do in collaboration with our college of public health. A great deal of it is geared toward underrepresented, underserved communities.

We do them [community outreach activities] pretty regularly with the college of public health. There’s probably no health fair that goes on in the area that we’re not involved in.

Q: What opportunities do students have for internships or co-ops?

A: We’re pretty much integrated with all of the hospitals in the Tampa Bay area. We’re integrated into 8 teaching hospitals here. From the experiential standpoint, we are well integrated into the health network.

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

A: Think big and bold. Be prepared for the ambiguity of tomorrow. Have a high level of resilience as we go through changes in the health care arena.