Spotlight
Health Care: First Class
| USF Health
First student Mark LaBossiere, left, and Dean Kevin Sneed are part of the new pharmacy program.
Photo by Eric Younghans | USF Health
Eager to blend the detailed science he liked in his chemistry courses and the patient interaction he wanted in a career, Mark LaBossiere had no problem deciding to apply to USF's College of Pharmacy.
Little did he know that he would not only make the cut and be accepted into the inaugural class, but he would be the very first student asked to join. This fall, he joined 49 classmates as they began classes.
"I took the call while I was at work," LaBossiere says.
"Needless to say, I was thrilled with the news. I have found that my learning is much better when it's done in a self-directed style, which is Dr. (Kevin) Sneed's approach to this program."
The USF College of Pharmacy was established in 2007. From the outset, founding Dean Kevin B. Sneed set out to build a program that will be a pacesetter in pharmacy curriculum and clinical experience. The program incorporates a 360-degree approach valuing every patient as a unique individual with distinct needs, while maintaining its emphasis on drug research and treatment as sciences.
"We are charting new territory in pharmacy education," Dr. Sneed says.
"Our student pharmacists will be trained to participate as effective and integral members of an interprofessional health care team. Students are handpicked for qualities that go beyond test scores and grades."
In keeping with the innovative aspect of the new pharmacy school, candidates face a unique interviewing process. Called multiple-minimum interview (MMI), the process is a series of seven stations, each with an interviewer who asks a specific non-academic question that elicits answers that show certain traits.
"The MMI is fairly new and aims to find softer skills, like teamwork and interpersonal aptitude, which not only indicate a likelihood for success in our program, but for success as pharmacists, as well," says Nazach Rodriguez-Snapp, director of admissions for the USF College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Sneed says this first batch of students absolutely matches his expectations.
"All of our first students have the collaborative, creative, energetic traits we want in this program," he says.
"The USF College of Pharmacy is poised to propel the pharmacy profession forward. It's never been about us, really, but about the students and the patients they're going to serve in the future."