Welcome

“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”

– Khalil Gibran

It is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to the University of Mississippi Department of Pharmacy Practice’s website. The Department of Pharmacy Practice originated in 1978 and has evolved to become the largest of the four academic departments in the School of Pharmacy. Pharmacy Practice is home to approximately 35 full-time and 30 part-time/adjunct faculty members, located on both the Oxford and University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson) campuses. Third-year pharmacy students complete their coursework on the school’s Jackson campus, which also administers the experiential education for fourth-year students. Our School of Pharmacy building on the Medical Center campus opened its doors to our students in 2012. Unique features of this ~30,000 square foot facility include small group classrooms, a 175-seat auditorium, research facilities, conferencing space, administrative/faculty offices and a rich learning environment to gain the knowledge, skills and abilities students need to be practicing pharmacists. Pharmacy Practice administers roughly 60 percent of the classroom-based courses, as well as early and advanced practice experiences, through the Office of Experiential Education. Pharmacy practice faculty direct courses in all years of the curriculum and many are involved in post-graduate residency training programs. We are committed to the education, research and service missions of the institution. A key goal of our coursework, which reflects the opening quote above, is to promote self-directed learning and to develop our students and residents as life-long learners.

Our curricular improvements are aimed at providing significant learning experiences to foster development of critical thinking, problem solving and involvement in direct patient care activities. A state-of-the-art skills lab was completed in 2015 on the Oxford campus to provide students with hands-on skills lab activities across diverse pharmacy practice settings. On the Medical Center campus, third-year students participate in simulated and standardized patient encounters with students from other health professions schools through our interprofessional education activities.

The Department of Pharmacy Practice contributes to the university’s research and education missions through collaborations with basic science and clinical research programs across the continuum of care. Faculty and residents are engaged in diverse clinical areas of specialization, which include endocrinology, cardiology, infectious diseases, pediatrics and transitions of care.

The Department of Pharmacy Practice contributes to the service mission through community engagement within the school, university, local civic organizations and national organizations within and outside of the professional discipline. Pharmacy practice faculty serve on academic committees at all levels (department, school and university), advise students in the professional program and precept students in early and advanced practice experiences, as well as those completing first- and second-year pharmacy residencies. Faculty have developed and maintain clinical practice sites in diverse settings such as institutional practice and ambulatory and community settings. Several faculty have earned and maintain advanced credentials such as board certification in their area of specializations. Other examples of faculty service engagement involve serving in appointed or elected positions at the local, state and national level, committee service and taskforce involvement. Our students (PY3 and PY4), faculty and residents are committed to local community service engagement through the Jackson Free Clinic for medically underserved and uninsured populations.

We stand on the precipice of change with the advancement of pharmacy practice and recognition of pharmacists under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid federal legislation regarding pharmacists’ provider status. Recognition of pharmacists’ provision through legislative efforts at the state level will help provide the support needed to fully sustain the value-added services that pharmacists provide and that are proven effective in improving patient outcomes. Pharmacists are clearly and uniquely positioned to serve as a cornerstone of patient care. The development and innovation of new care delivery models will foster opportunities to assess mechanisms for pharmacists’ compensation. The factors with the greatest influence on payer support of this advancement includes provider status, consistency across states related to pharmacists’ scope of practice regulations, leveraging of health information technology and quality measure expansion reform. The Department of Pharmacy Practice faculty are collaborating across the country on these priorities for our profession. We want to ensure that graduates are prepared to practice to the fullest extent of our scope, education and licensure. We are your pharmacy “phamily,” committed to your personal and professional development.

I hope the content shared through our web pages provides valuable information. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our department as we work to improve the lives of our fellow Mississippians.

All the best,
Seena L. Haines
Professor and Department Chair of Pharmacy Practice