Font ResizeAn upstart pharmacy school has graduated its first Utah class, marking a significant milestone for a health science educator who is re-inventing the way pharmacists are trained.
The private, nonprofit University of Southern Nevada, formerly the Nevada College of Pharmacy, focuses study into one content area at a time and requires students to pass written exams every two weeks before they can move on. The school is meeting a demand for pharmacy education in Utah, according to founder Harry Rosenberg.
"There's a large applicant pool there, and the University of Utah accepts 40 to 45 students, which means they can't meet the need of pharmacists in the state," he said.
Rosenberg started the school in Henderson, Nev. a decade ago in a 900-square-foot rented office. He found many of his students came from Utah, so in 2006, he opened a second campus in South Jordan, where one of the first students was Keith Page of West Jordan.
Page, the class president, was among the 48 doctorates of pharmacy awarded Saturday at a ceremony in Salt Lake City's Capitol Theatre, where management maven Stephen Covey gave the keynote address.
Page, a married father of two, liked the program because it was structured in a way that allowed him to hold a steady pharmacy job during his entire three-year commitment.
"You're in class from 8 to 3 in the afternoon. We don't have semesters," said Page, who graduated with $60,000 of student debt. "I could
Tuition is $36,000 a year, substantially more than the U. program, which awarded 49 doctorates of pharmacy this year. But the Nevada program requires a year less to complete.
"We can do this because our students are available for instruction six hours every day. We have more content hours in three years than a typical four-year program," Rosenberg said. "The advantage to the students is they have an extra year of income potential."
The Utah campus expects to graduate up to 70 next year, another 80 the year after that. About two-thirds of the students are from Utah. Coupled with the Henderson campus, University of Southern Nevada is now the nation's sixth-largest pharmacy program in terms of graduates and 13th in number of applicants, according to Rosenberg.
He said 98 percent of his graduates pass national boards on their first try, compared with a national average of 82 percent.
The school holds accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
