Pharmacy school opening in 2012 will offer clinical trials management

The Medco School of Pharmacy is seeking accreditation and will open in the fall of 2012. According to Nemire, Medco is developing programs that enable pharmacy students to obtain a PharmD degree alone or in combination with a master's degree in pharmaceutical science, business administration, or public administration.

"We are not just educating [students] for practice as a community pharmacist or a hospital pharmacist. The pharmacist of the 21st century has to come with other skills," Nemire said. Nemire, who was associate dean for professional education and professional engagement at Touro College of Pharmacy, New York, N.Y., and director of clinical drug trials research at the Center for Neurology Studies in Lubbock, Texas, believes that pharmacy students need to receive more specialty training.

Specialty pharmacy areas that will be offered as part of the school's programs include: clinical trials management, regulatory affairs, medicinal chemistry, medication therapy management, and health infomatics. Health infomatics covers electronic medical records, automatic dispensing systems, and other technology systems.

"As I have been meeting with people around the world, I realize that one of the places where pharmacists are a little behind is health informatics. We are here in the midst of industry and technology, and I hope we can really become known for that," Nemire said.