What a way to end the week!

Earlier today, the UCSF team was announced as the national winner of the 13th Annual Pharmacy and Therapeutics Competition sponsored by the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Foundation.

Congratulations to the team of Tien, Tiffany, Clint and Judy! We are so honored to have these four as part our community. (Never underestimate the power of critical thinking skills + communication skills + presentation skills. It's a winning combination!)

For more about this dynamic team and their journey to the national competition, visit UCSF's Campus Newspaper, the Synapse.

About the competition:
The AMCP Foundation conducted the 13th Annual National Student Pharmacist P&T Committee Competition (P&T Competition) at the AMCP 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego, California, April 4-5, 2013.  The competition was designed to challenge students to gain a real world perspective of the formulary management process.

Following a local competition within each Chapter, the winning team from each participating Student Chapter then submitted their presentation materials to the AMCP Foundation National Competition Selection Committee.  This committee selected eight (8) teams to participate in the AMCP Foundation 13th Annual National Student P&T Committee Competition (P&T Competition) in San Diego, California.

The finalist this year included: 

• Ohio Northern University   
• University of California San Francisco   
• University of Florida   
• University of Illinois at Chicago   
• University of Maryland   
• University of Minnesota   
• University of Southern California   
• University of Washington  

Formulary management is uniquely dynamic and requires extensive and timely pharmaceutical knowledge as well as an understanding of the medical community practice standards that exist within the health care system.  A Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee (P&T Committee) is ultimately responsible for developing, managing, updating, and administering the formulary system that is utilized by managed health care systems.

Pharmacists who serve on P&T Committees must know how to evaluate the best available scientific evidence, clinical and economic, weigh its use and its impact on patient population outcomes, be able to conduct cost/benefit analyses, and relate drug therapy choices to practice guidelines.  Development of these necessary formulary management skills will help managed health care systems achieve the challenging goals of improving the quality of patient care while controlling scarce healthcare resources.

The local and national competition is intended to give students an opportunity to hone a variety of skills including critical analysis, presentation and research skills.  More importantly, the competition allows students to view different styles and processes that can be used in effective formulary management and provide exposure to, and a working knowledge of AMCP's Format for Formulary Submissions.

UCSF Appoints New Dean of Nation's Top Pharmacy School

I'm so excited to post this!

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UCSF Appoints New Dean of Nation's Top Pharmacy School

Longtime Clinical Scientist Joseph Guglielmo Tapped to Take Helm

UC San Francisco has named a highly accomplished pharmacist and clinical scientist, B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD, to lead the nation’s premier School of Pharmacy, continuing the school’s focus on shaping the course of the therapeutic sciences, pharmacy education, patient care, and health policy.

UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, announced the appointment today, noting the numerous contributions that Guglielmo already has made to UCSF, as well as his breadth of leadership across the academic pharmacy landscape.

“In its decades as the pre-eminent School of Pharmacy in the nation, the school has never been stronger, and there is no better dean to guide it into the future,” Desmond-Hellmann said. “Joe is both an able leader and an international expert in his field, and will provide a clear course for the school as it helps guide the changing world of health care.” 

We see a time when new, precise therapeutics – drugs, medical devices, and diagnostic tests – are used safely and effectively to improve the health of people everywhere.

Dean B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD

Developing Therapeutics to Improve Health

As the nation’s leading pharmacy school in terms of both research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the ranking of its Doctor of Pharmacy degree program in U.S. News & World Report, the UCSF School of Pharmacy serves as a bellwether for pharmacy schools worldwide.

“It is a tremendous honor to be named the next steward of this accomplished school,” said Guglielmo. “The caliber of people and the culture of respect and inclusion here are second to none: the faculty is brilliant and collegial; the students are leaders by instinct and experience; and the staff is extremely talented. Excellence is their common ground.”

Guglielmo has served as the school’s interim dean since July 2012. He previously led the school’s Department of Clinical Pharmacy as the Thomas A. Oliver Chair in Clinical Pharmacy.

“We see a time when new, precise therapeutics – drugs, medical devices, and diagnostic tests – are used safely and effectively to improve the health of people everywhere,” he said. “This view will drive my work as dean.”

The UCSF School of Pharmacy is a leader in pharmaceutical chemistry and in the bioengineering and therapeutic sciences, including such fields as pharmacogenomics, the science of how our genes affect our response to medication. In the 1960s, it was the birthplace of clinical pharmacy, in which pharmacists began to work in the hospital directly with physicians, patients, and their families to ensure the best medication choices and the safe and effective use of those medications in patients. The school is now exploring new ways to better apply the medication expertise of the pharmacist outside the hospital.

The School of Pharmacy’s specific focus on therapeutics to improve health complements UCSFs singular focus on health. The University also includes leading graduate schools of Dentistry, Medicine and Nursing, as well as graduate and doctoral programs in biomedical research, a vast research enterprise and a top medical center.

B. Joseph Guglielmo, who was named interim 

dean in 2012, joined the UCSF faculty in 1979.  

Well-Respected Member of UCSF Faculty

Guglielmo is a well-respected educator, clinical pharmacist and expert in the evidence-based, safe and effective use of antimicrobials to treat infections. He is a professor of clinical pharmacy in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, where he joined the faculty in 1979. He also currently serves as associate director of pharmaceutical services in the UCSF Medical Center, where he maintains a clinical practice as an infectious-disease pharmacist.

Widely known as an advocate for therapeutics research, Guglielmo oversaw, as department chair, a 40 percent increase in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy’s overall faculty research funding from 2006 to 2012, including grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Guglielmo’s international contributions to antibiotic safety include the UCSF Medical Center Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, which he developed in the 1980s to study and improve the practices governing the use of antimicrobials in hospitals. The goal of the ongoing program is to decrease the threat of microbes developing resistance to medications. This stewardship program was one of the earliest programs of its kind in the United States.

In 2007, Guglielmo created the UCSF Medication Outcome Center to improve medication use and management in the UCSF Medical Center and beyond.  He also developed clinical pharmacy services for UCSF's HIV/AIDS program, specifically supporting the HIV Women's Program and the Men of Color Program.
A firm believer in forging relationships among clinical scientists and their colleagues in basic and translational science, Guglielmo was actively involved in the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute at its inception and during its renewal.

He has taught Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Medicine students, residents and fellows for decades and is the recipient of many teaching awards, including the UCSF Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award, Resident Preceptor of the Year Awards, UCSF School of Pharmacy Long Teaching Award, and the Academic Senate Distinction in Teaching Award. He is the author of more than 110 peer-reviewed papers, the majority related to anti-infective agents.

Guglielmo will receive a base salary of $271,000, with a Health Sciences Compensation Plan component of $94,000 per year, for a total salary of $365,000.  He also is eligible for standard pension and health and welfare benefits for senior leadership. The appointment, which was approved by UC President Mark Yudof, will take effect April 1.

The UCSF School of Pharmacy is internationally known as a wellspring for research discovery and innovation in the therapeutic sciences, a leader in doctoral-level pharmacy professional education and science education, and a leader in the evidence-based pharmaceutical care of patients.

By Kristen Bole on March 21, 2013

Photos by © majedphoto.com

 

In Their Own Words: Ryan

(Note: It's been awhile since I've posted an Admissions Committee Student Profile... but we have a new crew on-board and I hope to introduce them through the spring and summer. First up is Ryan. I remember Ryan as an applicant and he certainly has lived up to the person we saw on paper and met during the interview -- authentic and genuine. If you've been to any of our Preview Sessions, you've likely met him. He's quick to volunteer for our outreach events -- which speaks to his passion for helping students prepare to enter a PharmD program. Ryan approaches his work on the Admissions Committee with dedication, attention to detail, and thoughtfulness. It's amazing when a current student cares so much about those just starting out on this journey.)

Name: Ryan

Year: Class of 2014 

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Previous institution attended: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Undergraduate major: Biochemistry

Why did you apply to be a member of the Admissions Committee and what have you enjoyed the most?

I saw the admissions committee as a unique opportunity to collaborate with some of the faculty in a process that gives back to the school. I felt confident in my ability to review an applicant's materials and determine whether or not they were the right fit for our program here at UCSF. Understanding that it would be a significant time commitment, I knew I would enjoy participating in an activity that I am passionate about. I am interested in a career in academia and I thought that participating in this process would allow me to be more familiar with how the school operates an admission process. 

What surprised you most about UCSF’s admissions process?

I was surprised at how holistic the approach is. I think the admissions team does an outstanding job of evaluating each individual's entire application from start to finish. There really isn't any priority given to any one part of the application which makes it such that applicants have the opportunity to stand out in a variety of different ways. I think this is a pivotal part of the process as applicants to UCSF come from different backgrounds with unique experiences. 

In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes applicants make?

Lack of prioritizing their extracurricular activities.While we do like to see a breadth of different experiences, the quality of those experiences are far more important to me than the quantity. It makes it very difficult to know what you put your heart into if you have an extensive list of extracurricular activities. I often found that the stronger applicants had a few extracurricular activities, demonstrated sustained commitment to those activities, and often had letters of reference from those activities to vouch for their contributions.

What stands out to you on an application?

For me, I think quality PharmCAS and UCSF Supplemental essays really made some applicants stand out. For starters, it is very easy to determine whether or not an essay was edited simply from reading it over onetime. While a minor grammatical mistake certainly is not a deal-breaker, essays which are well written and lack any mistakes really stand out. I think there is a lot of variety in applicant writing styles as well as the quality of writing, but to have multiple grammatical and/or spelling mistakes, to me, indicates a lack of effort. A big piece of advice is to print each and every one of your essays you will submit, and give them to someone else to read. It is very difficult to catch all of your own mistakes, particularly if you are editing on a computer screen. 

What are your pet peeve(s) when interviewing an applicant or reviewing a file? (What drives you crazy?)

When an applicant does not actually answer the prompt for the supplemental application. I would have thought this was obvious, but I had a variety of applications where the individual simply did not answer the prompt. This can be very frustrating, particularly if the essay is well-written. While the prompts do provide some flexibility in your possible responses, please make sure to take one last look at your essay and ask yourself "Did I answer the question they asked me?" 

What characteristics are necessary in order to succeed in UCSF’s PharmD program?

I think the most important characteristic you can have is to be driven. Don't lose sight of the fact that getting into school is really the easy part. Once you become a student, it really is important that you are motivated to learn the material. Becoming a great pharmacist requires a lot of self-learning. Your professors will have high expectations of you and the best students are the ones who use that as a challenge to become great.

What tools or resources would you recommend to prospective applicants?

One thing I wish I had done to better prepare myself was talking to pharmacy students. Applicants often have previous interactions with pharmacists about what the career entails, but you can actually learn a lot from current students who are well versed in what it takes to get into/succeed in a PharmD program. I suggest attending one of the Pharmacy Information Days and getting in touch with a current PharmD student.

What single piece of advice would you give to a prospective applicant?

Do something to make yourself stand out.  At UCSF, we are looking for individuals who have the capacity to be leaders in the future. The best way to determine this is to look at what an individual did when they weren't in the classroom. If it is early on in the process and you don't have anything on your application that makes you unique, I encourage you to get involved in a program that will allow you to demonstrate your leadership. It doesn't necessarily have to be pharmacy-related, but you should have something on your application that makes us pull it out of the pile and say "This is someone I want to be a part of our school."

Why do you think you were admitted into UCSF’s PharmD program?

I am confident that I was admitted to UCSF because of my extracurricular involvement. Starting in the spring of my sophomore year, I obtained a job as a pharmacy technician at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. This gave me exposure to an important aspect of the field of pharmacy which enhanced my ability to talk about the field during my prepared materials, my on-site essay, as well as in my interview. In addition to that experience, I also worked as a research assistant in a pharmacology laboratory. While I wasn't a stellar researcher, it gave me exposure to a field which is tied to pharmacy. Lastly, I volunteered at a hospice facility. This was a very unique experience that exposed me to a field of healthcare that is often overlooked. I think the admissions committee was attracted to the depth of my experiences which were all related to health care but certainly different from one another. 

What do you do for fun?

I am the definition of a "sports nut" as I really enjoy both watching and playing basketball, baseball, hockey, and football. We have an intramural basketball team, named the Badgers, that has won the student championship 3 out of 8 quarters we have been here.  Additionally, I am also quite the cinephile. I am currently working on a list of the "Top 100 Must-See Movies of All Time" to be released in the spring of 2014. Since moving to San Francisco, I have picked up additional hobbies such as running, biking, and brewing beer. One thing that is challenging about living in San Francisco is that there really is so much to do and it is difficult to take advantage of (being a student.) 

(To read all previous "In Their Own Words" profiles, click the "committee profiles" label link below!)

No limits, only possibilities....

I was perusing a recently-published book highlighting several UCSF scholarship recipients and saw this quote by Dean Emeritus Mary Anne Koda-Kimble. I love it! As the Admissions Committee is engaged in the work of identifying members of the entering class, it accurately describes the mindset while reviewing applicant packets and making tough decisions. Passion, compassion, and critical thinking skills -- these characteristics can NEVER be underestimated. 

Qualities...

Critical Thinking + Communication Skills = Championship!

Matthew and Katie embody everything we look for in prospective students -- the ability to think critically, outstanding communication skills, a passion for helping people, and a calm presence (especially in the midst of pressure!) If all that wasn't enough, these two have terrific personalities -- friendly, helpful, funny, and compassionate. And then you add the "smarty-pants" factor and you end up with the total package. I'm grateful these two chose to come to UCSF.

Q&A with UCSF student pharmacist winners of national clinical skills competition

Matthew Chang and Katie Alvarez, UCSF School of Pharmacy student pharmacists, are the winners of the 2012 Clinical Skills Competition held during the national meeting of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) in in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The clinical competition is performed in teams of two where each team is given a patient case to evaluate, provide appropriate assessment, recommend an effective drug therapy regimen, and conduct appropriate counseling.

Judges of the competition were all pharmacists, including: representatives of Kroger (the competition’s sponsor), the HIV pharmacist who wrote the case, and other SNPhA board members.

Here’s what Chang and Alvarez had to say about their experience:

What case did you present?
Our patient case was a 32-year-old treatment-naive [not taking antiretrovirals] HIV-positive woman complaining of shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, chest pains, and a non-productive cough. Her past medical history included asthma. She had been managing her symptoms with increased use of her albuterol inhaler prior to her hospital admission. After evaluating several symptoms, tests, and lab values, we prioritized her problems to include Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, esophageal candidiasis, disease progression, lack of vaccination, and smoking cessation.

Describe the competition process and what happened in each round.
Preliminary Round—all teams participate in the written plan: Teams are given the patient case (about three pages long) and have two hours to analyze it and complete the written pharmaceutical care plan. At the end of two hours, we turned in our written plan to be evaluated by the judges.

Final Round—includes the top three teams based on the written plan. The three teams were announced about 30 minutes prior to the final round, which was broken into two parts.

1. Case Presentation: We had five minutes to present our case to the panel of judges. The presentation ideally included a summary of the patient, including health problems and detailed recommendations for the patient’s most urgent problems. We then had a five-minute question-and-answer session with a panel of six judges, where drug therapy choices were challenged.
2. Patient Counseling Session: After the case presentation, we had five minutes to conduct a patient counseling session on the recommended medication regimen. The patient was just like any real patient—she asked questions and needed to have everything explained to her in lay language.

What prepared you for the competition?
Because of the scope of the competition, it is hard to do any last-minute preparations. We really just went back to what we learned from our distinguished UCSF faculty. At UCSF, we are trained in evidence-based, patient-centered medicine. From this training, we recommended drug therapies that best fit the patient’s needs and addressed possible pitfalls before they could occur.

What was the greatest challenge of the competition?
The greatest challenge was the complexity of the case. There were many symptoms that suggested different disease states. We tried to pay attention to the fine details that helped us narrow down the appropriate treatment. With the patient’s immunocompromised state and her need to initiate antiretroviral therapy, this meant we had to be aggressive in treatment but avoid unnecessary drug exposure.

Did all competitors share the same case?
Yes, all teams have the exact same case.

How many teams from across the United States participated initially?
There were 48 teams from pharmacy schools across the nation that competed this year. This was up from 33 teams who competed last year.

How did you feel when you won?
Surprised, to say the least! We were so excited when our names were called as the first place team, we both could not keep the smiles off of our faces. A record number of teams competed in this year’s competition, and all of the finalists were very knowledgeable. We are very humbled to receive this award and honored to bring the championship title to UCSF.

First-Generation Students Find Support at UCSF

Things are getting out of hand at UCSF -- in a good way! This is such a huge initiative -- especially for the School of Pharmacy. So many of our admitted students are first-generation college students. The support at the graduate-level (as the student continues their education) is so critical and necessary for success. I'm super excited that this has gotten off the ground, knowing our students get the support they need beyond our immediate office. With a campus-wide initiative, pharmacy students are able to connect with other students -- medical, dentistry, nursing, etc. -- with similar experiences.     
First-Generation College Students Find Support at UCSF

New Initiative Expands Services to Help Growing Community Adjust to Graduate-Level Study



When Tania Pacheco first arrived at UCSF, she was struck by the feeling that she had more in common with the campus restaurant workers and janitors than many of her fellow doctoral students.

A Mexican immigrant whose parents didn’t make it past high school, Pacheco was used to being an academic trailblazer in her family as a first-generation undergraduate student at California State University, Fresno. But that experience didn’t quite prepare her for the professional and social expectations of the graduate-level academic world.

“It was a complete culture shock to go from a place like Fresno State to UCSF,” said Pacheco, who’s pursuing her doctorate in medical sociology. “I realized right away that the demographics were vastly different than in my undergraduate studies – both race and class.”

Students like Pacheco inspired the creation of a support program at UCSF that helps first-generation college students connect with each other as well as mentors who’ve been through similar experiences. It started in 2008 with a small, monthly discussion group and has evolved into the First Generation College Student Initiative, part of Student Academic Affairs’ efforts under UCSF’s strategic plan to attract and support the most talented and diverse trainees in the health sciences.

“Financial, educational, emotional and professional support are crucial to the success of any student – but these are not a given for first-generation college students who are pioneers in the journey through higher education,” says Neesha Patel, PhD, who started the program as a staff psychologist for Student Health Services. This year, Patel was appointed director of the newly formed initiative, which will expand services and resources for first-generation students.
A Model for Graduate Schools

Nearly 30 percent of incoming freshmen in the US are the first generation in their families to attend college, according to a 2005 report by the National Center for Educational Statistics, the most recent data available that suggests the percentage could be even higher today.

While undergraduate schools offer an array of federally funded support programs to help this demographic, there are few resources at the graduate level, making UCSF’s initiative unique.

Patel argues that those resources are needed more than ever in graduate and medical schools, where first-generation college students find themselves even more in the minority.

Pacheco says something clicked for her when she attended the first discussion group during her second year at UCSF.

“It was this affirmation that something was needed, that there was a particular group of people like me that needed to encourage each other beyond just race and ethnicity, that there was really something about being a first-generation student that was different,” she said, noting that many of her friends who pursued graduate degrees at other schools ended up dropping out partly because of the lack of a support system.

A common theme in discussions among first-generation college students is the “imposter syndrome,” a feeling of inadequacy amid the high expectations for competency at a top-flight school like UCSF. Many come from low-income or working-class families who can’t provide any guidance for this new frontier.

“There’s a way in which, at the graduate level, you’re being socialized into a profession. There are cultures and norms. There are ideas of what professionalism means, there are ideas about how you relate to your advisors or faculty members, ideas about how people network in a particular profession,” Patel explained.

“Sometimes there’s pride about being first-generation, sometimes there’s worry,” she said. “There can be this fear of being somebody who doesn’t know, instead of a confidence that it’s OK to not know and that you belong.”

An Invisible Community Emerges
One of Patel’s main challenges when starting the support program was identifying the first-generation college students on campus – and the mentors who could best help them.

She was surprised by the overwhelming response as people from this “invisible community” came out of the woodwork, eager to participate. More than 100 UCSF leaders, faculty and postdocs who were the first generation to attend college answered an initial call to gather and brainstorm ways to reach out to students.

“I don’t think we would have the kind the support programs that we have today, or that we’re going to have, if leaders weren’t committed to supporting issues of diversity at UCSF, and if we didn’t have faculty and staff who weren’t really generous in their support of students and this community,” Patel said.

Mark Ansel, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, was one of the first to sign onto Patel’s list.

Raised by working-class parents in a Pennsylvania farming community, Ansel struggled at times to relate with his family about his academic pursuits. “They’re excited that you’re doing so well, but they want to know when you’re going to get a job,” he recalled.

He found professors during his undergraduate years who helped propel him through his academic career and was inspired to offer that help to UCSF students who reminded him of himself.

“When I’ve made it through something like this with mentors who’ve helped me along, I want to acknowledge those mentors but I also want to reach out and give a hand to the people behind me,” said Ansel, who’s participated in faculty panel discussions and one-on-one mentoring sessions.

Fulfilling UCSF’s Mission for Diversity
Another early fan of Patel’s program was Joseph Castro, PhD, vice chancellor of Student Academic Affairs, himself a first-generation college student. Raised by a single mother who came from a long line of farm workers in Mexico, the San Joaquin Valley native described his own first-generation experience as sometimes lonely and he built his own support network by joining student organizations.

When Patel initially approached him about launching a program, Castro says, “it was pretty easy for me to support it.”

“The first-generation-to-college area stuck out for me as needing attention because the number of first-generation students who are making it to universities like ours has increased,” Castro said. “That was a great thing to see, but it also begged the question of whether our support services were well-equipped to help them succeed.”

“We can’t rely upon the strategies that worked five or 10 years ago for any of our students, especially first-generation-to-college students. As Vice Chancellor, I work with my colleagues across the campus to make sure that we are carefully listening to students’ needs, and adjusting and adapting as necessary,” he added.

Under the new initiative, one of Patel’s first orders of business is reaching out to each school to get a better sense of the status of first-generation-to-college students at UCSF. For example, in a preliminary analysis, she found that more than 40 percent of incoming students in the School of Pharmacy are the first in their families to go to college.

Other goals for the initiative include establishing an online presence including a new Facebook community, enhancing visibility, collaborating with other campus units to enhance support programs and creating more opportunities for students and mentors to interact.

Now lecturing at Fresno State while finishing up her doctorate, Pacheco still tries to make it back to San Francisco for the first-generation college student events because of its impact on her UCSF experience.

“The fact that [the program is] established and supported by the university helps me know that the university does value diversity – not just in the glossy brochures, but in the allocation of resources and time into making sure people like first-generation students feel included,” she said.

Check out the First-Generation College Student Initiative

By Louise Chu