FEIK SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
R
March 2020
ecent Happenings:
FSOP F ACULTY C HOSEN AS UIW’ S P IPER P ROFESSOR N OMINEE The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation charitable corporation was organized in 1950. The purpose for which it was formed is to support charitable, scientific, or educational undertakings. The Piper Professor Program, begun in 1958, provides ten awards annually of $5000 each to professors for superior teaching at the college level. Selection is made from nominations submitted by each public or private college or university in Texas. UIW chooses one faculty member each year as the university’s Piper Professor nominee, and this year Dr. Lila LaGrange, FSOP Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is the UIW nominee. Dr. LaGrange has received several notable teaching awards, including the Provost’s Legacy Teaching Award in 2010, and the FSOP Teacher of the Year Award (chosen by students) in 2007, 2011 and 2017. She has been nominated multiple times for the UIW Presidential Teaching Award. Her teaching philosophy centers around the belief that her role as a teacher is to create a studentcentered environment that actively involves students in the learning process. She believes in engaging students by building a strong teacher-student relationship and creating an environment where students think critically, work in groups and find individual fulfillment in their progress and achievements. Dr. LaGrange has become increasingly involved in the area of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, specifically focusing on education-type projects that improve the learning environment for students. She also involves students in scholarship by mentoring them through academic writing projects. She serves on numerous FSOP committees, including Assessment, Professional Conduct, Faculty Development, and Accreditation Self-Study, of which she is currently chair. She has served as co-chair of the UIW Employee Campaign since 2013, ad recently completed a three-year term as chair of the UIW Graduate Council. Dr. LaGrange is an active member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, where she serves as chairelect of the Biological Sciences Section. She is a member of the Career Advisory Council at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. Dr. LaGrange serves as a science fair judge, locally and internationally. FACULTY
A WARDED NIH G RANT
Dr. Paulo Carvalho, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has just been awarded a NIH Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) Research Continuance Award (SC3) of $300,000, distributed over 4 years ($75,000/year). Funding will support his research project entitled Novel artemisinin derivatives for chemogenomic profiling of Plasmodium falciparum. His research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ana Vallor, UIW Associate Professor and Department Chair of Biology in the School of Math, Science and Engineering. Dr. Carvalho affords a unique opportunity for not only pharmacy students to participate in his research, but UIW undergraduate students from Biology, Biochemistry and Chemistry as well.
Faculty in Focus Professor Joanne Fazio-Gosser, APPE Coordinator & Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice In August of 2017, the Feik began to experience a brisk wind of change. That was when Dean David Maize and Associate Dean of Experiential Education Jeffrey Copeland hired Ms. Joanne Fazio-Gosser to fill the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Coordinator position. In addition to teaching, her primary responsibilities revolve around coordinating all experiential learning for fourth year pharmacy students. Beyond managing the existing rotation sites, we soon began to learn of the “much more” that she could and does bring to the table for our students. Professor Fazio-Gosser holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy Degree from Butler University. Prior to joining the Feik, she worked for Walgreens for 32 years in a spectrum of different capacities. She served as staff pharmacist, pharmacy manager, home infusion pharmacist manager, clinical pharmacist in a diabetes care clinic, specialty pharmacist, and district pharmacy supervisor. Her range of experiences in healthcare and business, teaching and supervising, exposed her to a wide array of niche and specialty practice roles and populations that she now shares with FSOP students. Ever since she began working for Walgreens in Chicago, teaching students has always been a common thread and source of joy throughout her career. Since relocating to San Antonio with Walgreens, Professor Fazio-Gosser served as a preceptor for FSOP students during their APPE rotations. Being involved with students on a more consistent and concentrated basis was her primary draw in coming to the Feik. Her heart always lies with the students, and in creating new opportunities that contribute to their success.
Professor Fazio-Gosser is working to bring APPE rotations to the next level for the FSOP. She has targeted developing rotations that expose students to areas such as medical missions, international APPEs, Spanish immersion APPEs, and rotations with Indian Health Service, an operating division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This also means giving students a broader understanding of the career opportunities across the field of pharmacy, in terms of targeting specialty areas. Her years of experience equip her to guide students to think beyond traditional boundaries. One of Dean Maize’s major experiential initiatives was to provide 4 th year students who are residency-bound with an opportunity to complete patient care rotations prior to the ASHP Midyear meeting, where students apply for residency positions. One way to create this additional opportunity was to create a concentrated LAPPE (longitudinal APPE) program, with all clinical rotations concentrated at one medical facility. This would allow the completion of those rotations prior to ASHP Midyear. Professor Fazio-Gosser collaborated with Harris Health System in Houston to create a longitudinal APPE tailored to open residency doors for these students. She also targeted and strengthened existing local and regional opportunities.
Cleveland Clinic main campus
Although the FSOP had a contract in place with Cleveland Clinic based in Cleveland, Ohio, the site had not been previously developed. Cleveland Clinic is a worldrenowned non-profit academic medical center providing 24/7 clinical and hospital care, and is a leader in research, education and health information. The clinic is loaded with specialized opportunities that are not available in Texas. Professor Fazio-Gosser approached the clinic director about these positions. She has FSOP students apply early, at the beginning of the APPE selection process in Ohio, timed to successfully compete for their rotations.
Professor Fazio-Gosser was next challenged by the Dean to create a Spanish immersion rotation. She began by contacting her counterpart at the University of Puerto Rico School of Pharmacy, to discuss an APPE exchanger program that would be a complete immersion experience. She then traveled to Puerto Rico to formalize the exchange agreement and select specialized rotation sites. The FSOP will take two of their students here and send two students there, with the immersion rotation exchange to start in Spring 2021. Professor Fazio-Gosser was able to select unique site opportunities such as Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM), a rotation with no sites available locally. This is a 6-week rotation, in a 100% Spanish-speaking work environment, and includes opioid monitoring, authorization for expensive medications, MTM, and investigational drugs. One of the other sites selected is a major long-term care facility servicing half of the 20,000 beds on the island. Another available student experience serving a unique population group is rotations with Indian Health Service (IHS). IHS provides direct medical and public health services to Native American Tribes and Alaska Native people. Because of a positive experience with the caliber of our students in one locale, the FSOP was recently able to expand to a national contract for sites with any tribe across the U.S. This is an invaluable option for students who wish to gain field experience working in IHS/Tribal facilities, or preparation to pursue any other type of public health opportunity. The next vision on the horizon is developing more international APPE experiences for our students, and Professor FazioGosser welcomes this challenge as well. As the pharmacy job market continues to tighten, part of providing our students with a competitive edge depends on the breadth and quality of their advanced professional experiences. Her previous work history as a pharmacist in the business world has especially prepared Professor Fazio-Gosser to act as an effective liaison on the students’ behalf. She not only treasures the interaction with her students at the FSOP, but values collaborating with her colleagues as well. She states, “The FSOP has a heart that you don’t necessarily find in any other work environment.”
IPE H EALTHCARE W ORKSHOP On Saturday, January 25th, 88 first year pharmacy students participated in an all-day interprofessional practice and education (IPE) workshop with 59 nursing, 54 physical therapy, and 3 rehabilitation science students. The workshop was led by Dr. Nile Barnes (Pharmacy), Dr. Amy Crocker (Physical Therapy), and Dr. Lee Ann Waltz (Nursing). Students learned the core competencies of interprofessional collaborative practice within the context of health promotion and disease prevention. They worked together to explore concepts of teamwork, professional communication and interprofessional collaborative practice. The event was supported by the deans of the three schools involved.
FSOP R ESEARCH P RODUCT C HOSEN FOR I NTERNATIONAL C OMPETITION A team of FSOP researchers has been chosen to compete in this spring’s Texas Christian University (TCU) Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures competition. Students from universities around the world propose ideas for conscious capitalism ventures that make a profit while also solving a problem. Winners take home thousands of dollars to help bring their ideas to life. The competition’s tagline is “Bring us your idea. Let’s change the world.” True Hemp, a THC verification testing kit developed by Cynthia Franklin, Dr. Paulo Carvalho and Dr. Sushma Ramsinghani, was the only team proposal chosen from UIW to compete. Three students are involved as well: Samantha Alvarado from the H-E-B School of Business and Administration, and FSOP first-year students Kim Chang and Adriana Acosta. The students will conduct the product presentation at the competition. The event will be held at TCU in Ft. Worth, TX on April 24-25, 2020, with the winners being announced at an awards reception at the end of the second day of presentations.
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aculty Highlights:
Dr. Rebecca Attridge −
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Presented Epoprostenol use in systemic lupus erythematous-induced Raynaud’s phenomenon at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacy Midyear Clinical Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, December 10. Co-authors: Nguyen JV, Attridge RL, Gutierrez GC. Presented Hypersensitivity pneumonitis secondary to butane hash oil inhalation at the American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacy Midyear Clinical Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, December 10. Co-authors: Abarintos HM, Gutierrez GC, Attridge RL American Society of Health-System Pharmacy Midyear Clinical Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, December 10. Co-authors: Abarintos HM, Gutierrez GC, Attridge RL. Presented Effect of desmopressin and hypertonic saline versus hypertonic saline alone on length of stay in critically ill patients with severe hyponatremia at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacy Midyear Clinical Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, December 11. Co-authors: Mattes RG, Gutierrez GC, Nguyen JV, Habib SA, Morneau K, Attridge RL.
Dr. Renee Bellanger − − −
Presented Pharmacy as a Career Option to STEM high school seniors, including discussion about acceptance into the FSOP degree program, University of the Incarnate Word Mabee Library, San Antonio, TX, November 18. Presented continuing education session on Inflammation at the Texas Alamo Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (TASPEN) meeting, UIW FSOP, January 30. Mentored and accompanied the winning UIW Mission Life team to the International Mission Life Competition in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, November 8-14.
Dr. Adeola Coker −
Poster presentation Correlations between BSA Intrinsic Fluorescence and Aggregation using Multivariate Experimentation at the 2019 AAPS PharmSci 360 Meeting, San Antonio, TX, November 5. Co-authors: Manrrique JD, Powell ZK, Brock RM, Franklin C, Coker AO.
Dr. Helmut Gottlieb − −
Elected to serve as the Division of Pharmacology Education Communications Officer for the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, fall 2019 – present. Published manuscript Dexamethasone Causes Hypertension in Rats Even Under Chemical Blockade of Peripheral Sympathetic Nerves in Frontiers in Neuroscience, in press, December 6. Co-authors: Soto-Peña E, Franklin C, Sheela Rani CS, Fernandez E, Cardoso-Peña E, Benitez-Arciniega AD, Gottlieb H, Hinojosa-Laborde C, Strong R.
Dr. Kathleen Lusk − −
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Published Effect of non-selective beta blockers on mortality in patients with end-stage cirrhosis in Annals of Pharmacotherapy (online ahead of print), November 1. Co-authors: Snoga J, Lusk KA, Attridge RT, Attridge RL. Abstract acceptance and poster presentation of Symptomatic bradycardia in a patient receiving alemtuzumab with concomitant H2 blocker at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ 54th Midyear Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, December 1. Co-authors: Bendele AL, Booker S., Hulsizer A, Lusk KA. Passed national Board-Certified Cardiology Pharmacist exam and earned BCCP cardiology specialty qualification, November 27.
Dr. Amy Witte −
Published A review of phenformin, metformin, and imeglimin in Drug Development Research journal. 2020;1-12, January 9. Co-authors: Yendapally R, Sikazwe D, Kim S, Ramsinghani S, Fraser-Spears R, Witte A, La-Viola B.
D
ean’s Corner:
Dear FSOP Alumni, As I think back over this year that is rapidly coming to a close, one of the highlights is certainly the NAPLEX scores for our most recent graduates. Congratulations to the Class of 2019 for achieving a 93.1% and 90.2% pass rate respectively for first-time test takers on the NAPLEX and MPJE! All of your hard work and dedication certainly paid off. The FSOP ranked third among the nine schools of pharmacy in Texas. Here are our graduates’ licensure exam statistics and trends over the last six years.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FSOP 89.4% 90.8% 83.7% 86.4% 96.5% 93.1%
National 94.9% 92.6% 85.9% 88.0% 89.5% 88.3%
State 94.4% 91.6% 90.0% 91.1% 92.2% 90.3%
NAPLEX First Time Pass Rate: FSOP / National / State 100.0% 95.0% 90.0% 85.0% 80.0%
75.0% 2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
FSOP National State An additional high point for me was our 3rd annual formal, A Pharmal Affair, held in the UIW Student Engagement Center ballroom on Friday, January 24th. More than 180 alumni, students, faculty, staff and guests attended. Special recognition and commemorative pins were given to alumni from the classes of 2010 and 2015 on their 10 th and 5th anniversaries of graduation from the FSOP. Guests enjoyed appetizers, desserts, a photo booth, and new this year – a silent raffle. A save the date will be sent out later this year for our 4th annual formal in 2021.
During UIW’s Day of Giving campaign this year, FSOP alumni donated $2,375 from 22 alumni donors. This was 59% of our goal of $4000, which is earmarked for graduating students toward covering the costs of NAPLEX and MPJE licensure exams. If you would like to contribute, donations can still be accepted at http://bit.ly/3bT1ExB. There are two annual alumni events coming up, and I hope to see you there: FSOP Alumni recepti on @ TSHP Annual Seminar : The TSHP Annual Seminar will be held April 17-19, 2020 at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. The reception will be held that Friday evening, with time and location information to come. FSOP Alumni Fiesta party The annual Alumni Fiesta party will occur on Thursday, April 23, 2020. The official invitation will be coming soon. You’ll be able to find it on the Alumni and Community page of our website, http://www.uiw.edu/pharmacy/alumni, or on the Feik School of Pharmacy Alumni Facebook page. I hope you’ll come – it was wonderful to see so many of you last year, and everyone had a really good time. 000 The school’s Fiesta pins, again created by our Lab Manager Rafael Gonzales, are in! There will be a link coming soon to purchase online for $5. Pins will also be available for purchase at the Alumni Fiesta Party on April 23rd. More information to be posted soon on our website and social media sites.
I can feel the excitement all around the school as we collectively look forward to rejoicing with the 87 P4 students who will graduate with their Doctor of Pharmacy degree on May 9, 2020. They will then join the proud ranks of your Feik School of Pharmacy Alumni Association. Thank you for your kind attention, and I hope you enjoy this issue of your alumni newsletter. My warmest wishes to you and yours for a joyful spring season. Praised be the Incarnate Word! David F. Maize, Dean and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Education, Truth, Faith, Service, Innovation maize@uiwtx.edu, 210-883-1010 Dean Maize poses with UIW President Dr. Thomas Evans.
NOTES FROM THE ALUMNI NETWORK CHAIR Dear #FeikPharmily Alumni Network, The third annual FSOP winter formal gala — “The Pharmal” — was a success! I will definitely look forward to this event again next year. This event was extra special due to the Class of 2010 10-year reunion, and the Class of 2015 5year reunion. It was great to catch up with those from the first graduating class, as well as other alumni in attendance. Dean Maize and Dr. Attridge called us individually to be recognized with a commemorative pin. This was the best Pharmal to date, and I know each year this event will continue to grow. Spring is right around the corner, and that means Fiesta is as well! Our 5th Annual Alumni Fiesta celebration will be held on Thursday, April 23rd, so save that date! I’d like to thank Dean Maize for all his support to continue this event. We improved our attendance for this Alumni Fiesta event last year, and I look forward to seeing this party be the bestattended yet. Call a classmate, meet at the event and catch up with fellow alumni. We hope to see you there! As a past Director on the Board for the Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA) and TPA PharmPAC, I would like to invite you to register and attend the annual TPA Conference and Expo at the Hyatt Regency in Austin July 24-26. I will be working with Dr. Maize and Mr. Armando Prado to organize an alumni reception during the convention. The reception will take place on July 24th at the Hyatt. In addition, I am excited to announce that the new President of the Bexar County Pharmacy Association (BCPA) is Dr. Lauren Hayden (2011). I am also proud to recognize our fellow alumni for serving as a BCPA Officer or Director on the Board: Dr. Amyn Madhani (2012), Dr. Krista Garcia (2012), Dr. Chris Alvarado (2010), Dr. James Flink (2014), Dr. Hector Collazo (2014), Dr. Debra Nguyen (2012), Dr. Lauren Sokol (2016), Dr. Scott Frishman (2018), Dr. Chris Mowen (2014), and Dr. Jonathon Cuevas (2011). Have a wonderful Easter, and congratulations to the Class of 2020! God Bless, Dr. Chris Alvarado (2010) FSOP Alumni Network Chair
The Pharmal Dr. Chris Alvarado pictured with 2010 anniversary alumni, in back row, immediately right of Dean Maize.
#feikpharmily ⎯ Student Highlights T HREE FSOP S TUDENTS S ELECTED AS AHEC S CHOLARS Three of the nine newly chosen AHEC Scholars are students from the FSOP: Ms. Eunice Lee, Class of 2022, Mr. Gilberto Martinez, Class of 2022, and Ms. Yolanda Martinez, Class of 2021. Congratulations to all for being chosen for this unique experience! The South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC) was established in 1996 to promote three over-arching goals: diversity, distribution of healthcare providers, and practice transformation. They develop and enhance education and training networks within communities, academic institutions, and community-based organizations to increase diversity among health professionals; broaden the distribution of the health workforce; enhance health care quality; and improve health care delivery to rural and under-served areas and population. This is achieved through health professions training, community-based health improvement initiatives, and collaborative community engagement. AHEC scholars are students interested in interprofessional team-based care, and who have a desire to learn about and understand the unique challenges that face under-served and rural populations when accessing care. They participate in clinical care, home visits, health outreach, population health initiatives and other community events. Students must be currently enrolled or accepted to a health or health-related professional program in San Antonio and committed to completing 40 hours practicum and 40 hours of didactic work per year for two years.
A N I NTERPROFESSIONAL E XPERIENCE : R OOT C AUSE A NALYSIS What is a Root Cause Analysis? In short, it is a retrospective investigation of the root cause of a sentinel event, which unfortunately and commonly involves the death of a patient. Why is there such an investigation? The purpose of performing a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is to identify the problems in an unfortunate situation and provide recommendations to prevent the event from happening again. Students in the Doctor of Pharmacy, Master of Healthcare Administration and Bachelor of Nursing programs came together on the evening of February 4, 2020 to simulate an RCA of a real-life sentinel event. Each of the schools have taught their students the purpose, focus and framework of a Root Cause Analysis, in preparation for the reality that they may see one in practice. The simulation dispersed students equally into twenty-five groups, which mimicked similar representation of the various individuals that may be involved with a RCA. In reviewing the case among the different professions, it was noted that each department alone did not hold all the answers to the events that occurred prior to the sentinel event. Pharmacy, nursing and administration provided their own insights into the event. This exercise encouraged the students to each provide as much information from the case as possible to help guide the RCA team to an objective understanding of the events. As a result, the RCA team was able to identify the causes of a sentinel event and provide recommendations that might prevent another similar event. This experience helped students to understand that collaboration among those involved in an RCA is key to providing safe, competent and informed health care.
 AP H A A CTIVE IN S ERVICE Members from APhA served at the Ingram Park Health Fair on Saturday, November 9th, one of the largest health fairs of the semester. Members served 150 attendees by providing glucose and blood pressure screenings, educational services and flu shots. Over the Christmas break, APhA members participated in the Feast of Sharing sponsored by H-E-B and provided around 400 immunizations to those in attendance. APhA members again served at the Ingram Park Mall Health Fair for the spring, on Saturday, February 15th. Free blood pressure, blood sugar readings, as well as flu shots, were provided to approximately 120 attendees.
K APPA P SI B ROTHERS S ERVE ON I NTERPROFESSIONAL M ISSION T RIP The Ettling Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability assisted in leading the 4th annual ARISE Winter Health Mission Trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV) from December 15-18, 2019. The 50-member UIW interdisciplinary team was comprised of students and faculty from the Rosenberg School of Optometry, Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions, Feik School of Pharmacy, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and the Ettling Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability. In partnership with Remote Area Medical (RAM), over 340 community members in the RGV were provided with free full eye examinations, flu vaccinations, and prescription eyeglasses, providing a total value of care of $125,000. Thanks to all who participated for living the Mission in your work!
NHPA H OSTS M ENTORING E VENT On February 20th, the inaugural student chapter in the U.S. of the National Hispanic Pharmacists Association hosted their first professional development event at the FSOP, 1st Generation and Minority Students in Pharmacy. With the increasing diversity and rate of 1st generation college students entering the doors of Feik, we saw it as our mission to provide an opportunity to mentor students seeking seek guidance, advice and general information on how to be successful in their doctoral studies in the field of pharmacy. The panelists consisted of pharmacists Dr. Christopher Alvarado and Dr. Rebeca Lopez (FSOP Alumni), Alvino Arredondo from Centro Med Pharmacy, P4 student Marisa Renteria and P3 student Sara Rocha.
P HI L AMBDA S IGMA L EADS As part of the mission of Phi Lambda Sigma, the promotion and encouragement of leadership, the Leadership Challenge Chair Ana Maldonado has embraced the mission. She submitted a proposal to the national Phi Lambda Sigma office for the annual Charles Thomas Leadership Challenge in December 2019. Ms. Maldonado created and proposed a program called the Leading Leaders Program, which is designed to foster leadership skills within the organization and the school. If chosen, the proposal will receive funding from the national office to initiate the program in the following school year.
Ms. Ana Maldonado
R HO C HI & SNP H A C OLLABORATE IN V ACCINATION C LINICS Members of Rho Chi and SNPhA collaborated with UIW nursing students to provide vaccinations at Immunization Outreach events held at JFK High School and Brentwood Middle School in San Antonio, November 6th and 13th respectively. Teachers and staff in attendance were provided a review of immunization records, determination of vaccines needed, and update of ImmTrac records after vaccinations received. Education on flu and other vaccine-preventable diseases was presented to attendees.
SNP H A IN THE C OMMUNITY On November 11th the Diabetes Committee partnered with H-E-B to volunteer at their second Saturday screenings, at stores SA#4 and SA#39. The members tested blood pressure, blood sugar, A1c, and cholesterol of the shoppers, as well as helped them answer any questions or concerns they might have. During December the Remember the Ribbon Committee helped to educate and bring awareness to the community about AIDS and HIV at the Walgreens off San Pedro and Hildebrand on December 1st. Members gained experience serving as a resource in educating the community about their health.
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receptor of the Quarter:
Dr. Oscar Vela, FSOP Class of 2013, is a very popular preceptor among the P4 students, with good reason. Dr. Vela is providing this guidance in many ways during P4 students’ rotations at Southwest General Hospital (Steward Hospital). I had a conversation with Dr. Vela about his precepting style. “Every individual student has a baseline, so I set their individual goals based on that baseline.” Born and raised in San Antonio, TX, Dr. Vela graduated in the top 10% of his class from Harlandale High School. After graduation Dr. Vela had every intention of joining the military, just as his father and grandfather did before him. However, with his mom’s gentle nudging, he decided to give UIW a try. That was before Dr. Vela happened to walk past the Pharmacy Club on main campus one day. He stopped to check it out and was hooked! From there, he was encouraged to work in a pharmacy, and eventually went on to earn his PharmD here at Feik School of Pharmacy. Before meeting with Dr. Vela, I spoke with one of his recent APPE interns, Javier Lara, Class of 2020. “Dr. Vela intellectualized anything for us; he was respectful of the fact that we are students but was also mindful to incorporate real involvement.
This is one of my best rotation experiences, thanks to Dr. Vela!” Dr. Vela’s approach: there’s just no substitute for experience. Outside of the required weekly assignments, students are expected to avail themselves of Dr. Vela’s experiences. For instance, if a patient has an adverse reaction to a medication, Dr. Vela, along with his student, will start a new project of charts and research on that patient. If questions arise, Dr. Vela’s method is to turn the question back to his APPE student to get the gears of critical thinking stirring. It’s clear where Dr. Vela’s convictions lie: “My experience will become their experience.” For help in selecting FSOP’s Preceptor of the Quarter, preceptors that are nominated by their pharmacy intern students are also gauged by faculty and staff here at FSOP. Professor Fazio-Gosser, our APPE Coordinator, adds, “Dr. Vela has the innate ability to work with any caliber of student. He recognizes strengths in each student and targets those strengths to raise their competency level and standards.” Undoubtedly, the consensus is that Dr. Oscar Vela is a vital contributor to our rotation students. His patience, work ethic, and passion for pharmacy and a job well done seeps into the core of our students. Thank you for contributing superb educational experiences for FSOP students, Dr. Vela! Mrs. Sylvia Garay-Martinez IPPE/APPE Site Evaluator
S
ave the Dates:
FSOP YEAR-END EVENTS & GRADUATION FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020, 2:30-4:30 P.M. RITES OF PASSAGE AND AWARDS CEREMONY , Class of 2021 UIW McCombs Center, Rosenberg Sky Room – limited seating, ticket required.
FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2020, 111:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. GRADUATION PINNING AND AWARDS LUNCHEON , Class of 2020 McCombs Center, Rosenberg Sky Room – $25 ticket required.
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2020, 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. COMMENCEMENT OATH AND HOODING , Class of 2020 Graduate and Professional Schools Commencement - Awarding of the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree University of the Incarnate Word, McDermott Convocation Center – open seating. For more information, contact Mrs. Kris Anne Cantu, at 210-883-1010 or ktrujill@uiwtx.edu.
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taying Connected:
If you know a fellow graduate that may not have received this newsletter, please share it with them! Also, please ask them to share their email address with us (etter@uiwtx.edu), so that we can include them in future newsletter and alumni activities announcements. We also invite you to visit the UIW Alumni Association webpage, where you can view a list of upcoming campus events and news items, read about how to get involved, and sign up for the “Cardinal’s Nest” community, at www.uiwalumni.org.
VISIT
THE
FS O P A L U M N I W E B S I T E
The FSOP web address is http://pharmacy.uiw.edu/. From the school’s home page, please visit your Alumni and Giving page and click on Alumni Stories. We welcome your feedback and hope you will share your accomplishments and stories with us as well, by emailing Ms. Etter at etter@uiwtx.edu. Please visit us here often and keep in touch!
Additionally, please remember the official FSOP Alumni Facebook page. It is a great way to reconnect with your fellow graduates and keep up with the school, social events and volunteer opportunities. Joining the group is easy. Just click on this link for UIW Feik School of Pharmacy Alumni: http://bit.ly/FeikAlumni. If you run into any problems joining the group, please email Dr. Maize, at maize@uiwtx.edu. The Feik looks forward to keeping in touch and catching up with our Alumni.
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