College of Pharmacy Celebrates of the International Summer Program

In summer 2023, the College of Pharmacy celebrated its 10th anniversary of hosting international students, faculty, and practicing pharmacists at the college’s Chicago campus for the International Summer Program on Contemporary Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Education.

Program Origins

Dr. Alan Lau, professor emeritus and director of International Clinical Pharmacy Education, started the program at the request of one of the college’s international partners at China Medical University in Taiwan. Eventually, more of UIC Pharmacy’s international partners, such as China Medical University, Taipei Medical University, National Taiwan University, and University of Hong Kong, started sending participants.

Since 2013, more than 400 people from locations like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and Cambodia have participated in the monthlong summer program to build their interest in pharmacy, expand their perspectives on clinical practice and pharmacy education, and allow them to experience U.S. culture.

“I think people from around the world look up to the United States for clinical education, and that’s our focus for the international program,” Lau says. Each summer, the program provides more than 80 hours of teaching and learning activities led by more than 30 UIC Pharmacy faculty. They give case-based lectures and discussions, which include telling students what they do in the hospital and clinics. The program also hosts handson lab experiences and shares different career tracks within clinical pharmacy. Participants also get tours of the UIC campus and UI Health hospital and clinics and participate in various group outings in Chicago.

A Postpandemic Program Relaunch

In addition to Lau, Department of Pharmacy Practice faculty Dr. Nancy Shapiro and Dr. James Lee now codirect the program, which welcomed 68 participants to UIC campus in 2023 after a three-year hiatus.

“I really enjoy leading this program and am grateful that we were able to offer it again this year,” says Shapiro. “We include a great group of faculty that have a passion for teaching in their clinical practice and service areas. This program works so well because we have so many faculty to turn to for their contributions, that are dedicated to furthering clinical pharmacy practice and education beyond the United States.”

“We made some changes since the pandemic, and the responses have been very good,” Lau says. “There were a lot more interactions with our own students this year and the feedback has been great.”

UIC Student Pharmacist Ambassadors

2023 marked the addition of having current UIC student pharmacists engage and lead the participants as their UIC mentors and teaching assistants.

“I was very grateful to be asked as one of the TAs and mentors,” says Angelo Turla, current P3 student. “I prepared a lecture, did a student-led panel, hosted multiple social events, assisted with the different labs such as blood pressure and geriatrics, and addressed any questions that our group had.”

“I really loved all the events we had set up for the students. It was a good opportunity for us to get to know them, as well as learn about the different responsibilities and requirements pharmacists have in each country.”

The program participants also learned from their UIC mentors about differences and benefits of PharmD programs offered in the United States.

“The international students were surprised to learn about the number of different electives and student organizations we have at UIC Pharmacy,” says Turla. “Another surprise was the fact that U.S. students can become interns, externs, and technicians in pharmacies, and that it is common for students here to juggle organizations, research, mentorship, and work on top of their academics.”

“I still stay in touch with a lot of the students and faculty over social media,” Turla says. “When I was in Dallas at ACCP, I ran into one of the faculty from Hong Kong that participated in the program, and we were able to catch up!”

BUILDING LAST GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

Over the years, the program has inspired many participants to pursue further clinical education at home, in the United States, and at UIC. Several students have ended up enrolling in the UIC Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program (see sidebar). Program leaders reported that many students from the most recent session expressed interest in enrolling at UIC for PharmD or PhD, and the UIC–University of Malta collaborative Doctorate of Pharmacy program.

The program continues to receive lots of positive feedback from student and faculty participants alike.

“The summer program is relevant, friendly and interactive. It exposed me to profound clinical pharmacy practice and encouraged me to pursue further clinical education by enrolling in the UIC PharmD program,” says student participant Amy Leng (Macau).

According to faculty participant Janet Wong of Hong Kong University, “The UIC summer program has been one of my most memorable experiences in pharmacy career. Having the opportunity to learn from the work of the UIC faculty as well as pharmacists and students from different countries, I have been inspired and empowered to take a proactive role in leading the development of clinical pharmacy practices in primary care setting in my region.”

International Summer Program participants who decided to continue their studies at UIC Pharmacy

SHIYI LAN

Student Pharmacist

Originally from Guangzhou, China, Shiyi Lan is now a P3 (Class of 2025) at UIC College of Pharmacy.

There is no Doctor of Pharmacy program in Mainland China, so I decided to continue my graduate level pharmacy degree in the United States after my bachelor’s degree in clinical pharmacy in China in 2021. I participated in the UIC College of Pharmacy International Summer Program in 2018, which introduced me to how clinical pharmacists practiced in the United States as healthcare providers and how to make an impact as a pharmacist on the team.

I learned how to live independently in a foreign country far away from home; I gained time management skills since I need to balance my course work, research projects, student organizations, and extern job; and I developed communication and collaboration skills between team members and coworkers from my experience in school and at work.

My current plan after graduation is to pursue more research training either in a PhD program or a fellowship program since during my time at UIC, I have been exposed to a lot of research opportunities and impressed how research can show the impact of a pharmacist-led service. Eventually, I want to become a clinical pharmacist in oncology area as well as teach pharmacy students.”

PIA FIEL PharmD ’20

Originally from the Philippines, Dr. Fiel currently works as clinical pharmacist at Van Matre Encompass Health.

I decided to pursue pharmacy education overseas because I wanted to challenge myself and grow my career as a pharmacist. I decided to come to UIC because it is one of the best pharmacy schools in the United States, and one of the nation’s most diverse public research universities.

I completed pharmacy school on the Rockford campus, and I loved the small class size; it makes it easier to connect with your class and the pharmacy professors. Be professional and make connections everywhere you go, like they always say, pharmacy is a small world!.”