ELEMENTAL VALUES The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy opened its doors in 2010 with one overarching purpose in mind: To care for the community. Over the past eight years, 365 graduates have earned PharmD degrees on their way to helping serve underserved populations. The care that PC School of Pharmacy students, alumni, faculty and staff have shown the community are a result of the values on which the school is built. These elemental values include: Quality education | Culture of service | Commitment to scholarship | Integrity | Teamwork Students, alumni, faculty and staff continue to live by these values today as much as they did when the School was founded.
QUALITY EDUCATION
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ach year the School of Pharmacy selects one professor who exemplifies the quality education that has been a part of the pharmacy school since its founding. Dr. Eileen Ward, associate professor of pharmacy practice, was named Teacher of the Year for the 2017-18 academic year. “Interacting with students and patients on a daily basis makes it easy to find joy in what I do, and students tell me this is illustrated in the classroom,” Ward said. “I love teaching from my own pharmacy practice experience and providing insight into what students will soon experience as future pharmacists.” Ward enjoys being able to teach the relevant concepts from the self-care course and community lab that students will see on rotation during their first year. “These courses allow students to realize their roles as future professionals early in the curriculum and prepare them for their upcoming careers,” Ward said. Teaching students how to educate their future patients is also a joy for Ward. In the classroom, she models how to break down complex issues so that they’re easier to understand. Ward often uses analogies and humor when she teaches, and she avoids medical jargon. “My hope is that students continue to use this method when teaching their own patients about complicated disease states and care management,” she said.
Ward influences students outside the classroom too. She mentors students in research projects and through student organizations like APhA-ASP. She prepares them for post-graduate training by helping them gain research experience and by refining their CVs to highlight their hard work and unique abilities. “Teaching concepts to first-year students allows me to lay a simpler foundation of relevant important information,” Ward said. “I consider this providing the students with the ‘puzzle pieces.’” According to Ward, students gain more and more puzzle pieces as they progress through the curriculum. “Working with students again in their fourth year through APPEs allows me to show students how to put all these puzzle pieces together to create the best picture of comprehensive care for each individual patient,” she said. Clayton Melson ’19, APhA-ASP Chapter President, has been the recipient of Ward’s quality education inside and outside the classroom. “As a mentor, Dr. Ward has not only enhanced my passion for people and service, but she’s been a beacon of encouragement to further pursue professional service in our community,” Melson said. “Her guidance goes beyond the bounds of academia and succeeds in preparing me for the future pharmacist I aspire to be.”
