University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy

Location: Laramie, Wyoming

Founded: 1946

Class size: 52 students

Creating an intimate community of students and staff is a long-held tradition of the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy.

“The courses, with rare exceptions, are taught by our full-time faculty, including the mandated Ambulatory Care and Internal Medicine Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotations,” said Dean Linda Gore Martin, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, in an interview with Pharmacy Times. “This allows for a close school community. The value of this community to the students, the school, and the profession is significant.”

Established in 1946, the school admits just 52 students to the 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy program each fall.

“This number allows for a good mix of Wyoming and out-of-state students,” Martin said.

The program begins with a 2-year pre-professional program followed by the 4-year professional program. The professional program is designed to prepare students with clinical knowledge and professional experience and includes 3 years of on-campus study and 40 weeks of experiential coursework off-campus. Graduates of the school are qualified to take pharmacy state board examinations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and they have a 95% or higher passing rate on national licensure examinations.

This success can be partially attributed to the close relationships students are able to form with the faculty, Martin says.

“Highlights of our program include small class size, responsive faculty, and a quality program at a good price.”

Students of the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy frequently participate in health fairs and medication take back days.

Q: What is the teaching style or philosophy?

A: The University of Wyoming uses a coordinated, rather than integrated, approach to the curriculum. The mix of teaching techniques gives a balanced approach to learning. These techniques include traditional lecture, active learning, flipped classroom, team projects, and critical-thinking activities.

Q: What are some of the classes students enjoy the most?

A: The content area of the therapeutics series is, of course, the meat of the curriculum for students. It puts all of the previous and concurrent coursework into perspective.

The students also enjoy our laboratory courses, which include the pharmacy practice laboratory and, somewhat uniquely, laboratories dedicated to compounding sterile and non-sterile products. We have several elective courses where the topics change each semester that are strong favorites.

Q: What are some community outreach activities or programs the school participates in?

A: Laramie is a city of about 30,000 with the next larger city about 50 miles away. Because many services are small or volunteer in this area and the surrounding rural areas, many volunteer opportunities are available.

The university has a program coordinator for many of these. The Phi Lambda Sigma pharmacy student organization organizes an interdisciplinary health fair each fall for the community.

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

A: Make yourself unique. Take extra care with your CV and resume and your understanding of that document. What did you learn from the items on the list? Be extra professional at interviews and write thank-you notes.