Rockford Reaches
Pharmacy’s Next at Summer
‘Summer Pharmacy Institute’ Opens Eyes for Pharmacy’s Next Every summer, the UIC Rockford campus makes a big investment in pharmacy’s future. The school’s Summer Pharmacy Institute (SPI) welcomes some of the country’s most promising undergraduate students considering health care, hosting them in a weeklong, intensive exploration of the profession.
For many students, the biggest lesson from SPI is that the world of pharmacy extends far beyond the gleaming-white walls of their local Walgreens. SPI makes a concerted effort to ensure that students learn, yes, about retail pharmacy, but also hospital pharmacy, ambulatory care, and research and development.
Led by UIC Pharmacy faculty dedicated to giving these enthusiastic students a hands-on, immersive pharmacy experience, the institute benefits future pharmacists, the field in general – and UIC in particular, said UIC Rockford College of Pharmacy Vice Dean Dr. Kevin Rynn. This year, the institute’s fourth, SPI expanded to two weeklong sessions, with a total of 50 attendees (double previous years). Students now come from across the country, including 20 from Puerto Rico and some from as far as California.
“So many people think that it’s just retail — Walgreens, CVS. But there are so many other career opportunities,” said Cindi Schaefer, MEd, a UIC Rockford Student Program Advisor, who works on the institute. “Students had an eye-opening experience because they got to see all of the different career paths.”
“We’re doing it, I think, as a service to the profession in trying to attract more people to pharmacy,” Rynn said. “But we’re also doing it to attract people to UIC College of Pharmacy. … We’re always trying to get the best and brightest to come to pharmacy school here.” When Rynn and other UIC faculty interact with SPI attendees, however, the professors’ focus is on helping the students understand the profession. “I tend try to take off my UIC hat at that point,” Rynn said.
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| pharmalumni.uic.edu |
FALL 2019
This year’s two sessions ran June 3-7 and July 22-26, with different UIC Pharmacy faculty heading each day. Area pharmacy professionals also lead sessions, and current PharmD candidates serve as interns, giving attendees a first-hand perspective on what pharmacy school is like. As in other years, the first day covered community and retail pharmacy, while the second day focused on ambulatory care, with talks on HIV advances and activities in immunization. Day 3 took on research, including a tour of Thermo-Fisher and a hands-on compounding-lab experience. Both weeks finished up with experiential sessions, RPharm and pharmacy school admission, as students saw presentations on admissions and “How to Be Successful in Pharmacy School.”
