globalization
Dean Vanderveen and Associate Dean Michael Wincor share clinical expertise with academic and government officials in Taiwan.
Pharmacy Duo Meet
Pacific Rim Counterparts
USC School of Pharmacy Dean R. Pete Vanderveen and Associate Dean Michael Wincor inked exchange agreements, discussed challenges in pharmacy education and presented to faculty and students across Taiwan during a series of meetings in October.
Associate Dean Michael Wincor and Dean Vanderveen in Taiwan.
Vanderveen and Wincor met with officials from National Taiwan University, China Medical University in Taichung, Kaohsiung Medical University and Taipei Medical University during the trip, where their work culminated with the signing
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of formal academic exchange agreements providing opportunities for faculty and students at each of the schools. Vanderveen and Wincor also made presentations at the various universities, providing an overview of community pharmacy practice experiences and discussing the pharmacy profession as it currently exists in the United States. At China Medical University in Taichung, Wincor presented an interactive medication counseling session. “This was really quite new to the students,” Wincor said. “In Taiwan, students currently receive very little clinical training, so the exercise really provided a new experience for them.” During the visit, Vanderveen and Wincor also met with the vice minister of the Department of Health and with an officer from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, providing an opportunity for them to explain the approach taken by USC in educating pharmacy students and the expanded role that the pharmacist plays on the health-care team. “It was very encouraging to talk with the vice minister and to learn of her total understanding and support of the expanded role of the pharmacist,” Vanderveen said. “In the U.S., we’ve seen how the pharmacist is able to improve health outcomes for patients, and we’re happy to tell this story to our colleagues around the world.” Currently, pharmacy programs in Taiwan, as well as in many other parts of Asia, primarily focus on a basic science curriculum with minimal training in the counseling of patients. However, there is a trend to change this educational paradigm and provide students with more patient-centric skills comparable to those of U.S. pharmacy students.