FDU Medco School of Pharmacy

[FDUMedcoSoP]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that we officially launched the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy. We are extremely excited about welcoming our first professional class in September 2012, and we invite you to learn more about our program and some of the unique components we are building in place to prepare our students for the future of pharmacy. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or visit our webpage. We are also on Facebook and provide live updates on Twitter. Feel free to "like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for updates as we move closer to accepting our first class.

Best Regards,
Michael Avaltroni

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[MathDebate]

Man, that mansion is BOSS.

 

[IrishHammer]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that we officially launched the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy. We are extremely excited about welcoming our first professional class in September 2012, and we invite you to learn more about our program and some of the unique components we are building in place to prepare our students for the future of pharmacy. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or visit our webpage. We are also on Facebook and provide live updates on Twitter. Feel free to "like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for updates as we move closer to accepting our first class.

Best Regards,
Michael Avaltroni

I'm sorry, can a moderator please explain to me how someone creating a username for the purpose of promoting their school and enticing SDN users to attend does not count as violation of TOS?

Moreover, New Jersey has Rutgers University, which has a class size of somewhere around 200. Right next door is Philadelphia, which has 3 pharmacy schools. Not to mention Touro, St. John's, and Long Island University all nearby. With that in mind, why are you opening a school in a state that is currently saturated, will be in even worse condition when you open your doors in 2012, and will be in worse condition still when you graduate your first class in 2016?

New schools needed to be opened to deal with the shortage, but that was 5-10 years ago and more than enough have opened.

 

[Filler]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that we officially launched the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy. We are extremely excited about welcoming our first professional class in September 2012, and we invite you to learn more about our program and some of the unique components we are building in place to prepare our students for the future of pharmacy. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or visit our webpage. We are also on Facebook and provide live updates on Twitter. Feel free to "like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for updates as we move closer to accepting our first class.

Best Regards,
Michael Avaltroni

NJ doesn't need another pharmacy school, market is already saturated.

 

[SHC1984]

I don't know about you, but personally I will be afraid to attend a school that requires the DEAN to go online and advertise for it's program.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I have no problem with the Dean posting here. IN fact, I would love for this Dean to actually do real Q&A here.

 

[tungsten87]

 

[R2pharmD2]

I have no problem with the Dean posting here. IN fact, I would love for this Dean to actually do real Q&A here.

Agreed, at least on the Q&A part. If he/she is here to provide useful info to interested students that's great. But the initial post is sort of advertisement-ish. If it's just a one-and-done kind of thing with no further response, I don't see a place for that here.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

SDN has always encouraged participation by faculty and administrative staff members of colleges of pharmacy. I think the majority of pre-pharmacy students welcome the opportunity to ask questions and get advice about admissions and other school/career related matters.

There's nothing overtly wrong with creating a thread to say "I'm here and I'm available to answer questions." What we wouldn't permit would be the placement of numerous posts designed to serve no purpose other than advertising. We wouldn't want to see random posts in multiple threads that aren't relevant to the topic of the thread (whatever that topic might be).

As long as our school representatives abide by these common sense guidelines, I personally appreciate them taking the time to make themselves available to answer student questions and serve as a resource for our community.

I have no problem with the Dean posting here. IN fact, I would love for this Dean to actually do real Q&A here.

I'd like to see this too, and I think SDN members can increase the chances of this happening by keeping the tone of their inquires respectful and professional. Not suggesting that YOU (P4Sci) are being disrespectful, just acknowledging the possibility that it can happen. I wouldnt expect school administrators to respond to attacks and non-constructive criticism.

 

[irishspring]

I'm all for Dean's posting here, but this thread is just going to turn into people attacking the school and for opening. This is what happened when the Rosalind Franklin Pharmacy rep made a thread here promoting their new school.

It will happen again in this thread.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I'm all for Dean's posting here, but this thread is just going to turn into people attacking the school and for opening. This is what happened when the Rosalind Franklin Pharmacy rep made a thread here promoting their new school.

It will happen again in this thread.

I do hope that we'll all act like adults and keep the discussion constructive. We'll see, I guess.

 

[owlegrad]

I do hope that we'll all act like adults and keep the discussion constructive. We'll see, I guess.

I didn't know you are a hopeless optimist!

 

[Passion4Sci]

I didn't really read OP as an advertisement.

You people are all way too cynical. Stop drinking the RxTiger2004ForLifeFauxdenPharmaTope Kool-Aid.

 

[FDUMedcoSoP]

All,

I certainly did not intend my post as an advertisement, and apologize for it being construed as such. I will be on these boards and answering student questions as appropriate, and do not plan to make this a "one and done" announcement. However, I do believe that announcing the first school in the state of New Jersey to open in over a century constitutes something that students should hear about.

Regarding the "need" for another pharmacy school, we are not going into this venture with the purposes of educating students for the current paradigm. If you have a look at our program, we are doing something completely different. The future pharmacist will be a leader within the health care arena, and will be a primary care provider. He or she will need to go beyond the current paradigm, and our program is being designed to prepare for careers both in traditional realms and in many areas that are "outside the box." Every student will have the opportunity to pursue a master's degree concurrent to the Pharm.D. and will complete both programs within four years. The master's programs will be in emerging areas, such as health regulatory affairs, clinical research design, pharmacogenomics, health communications, health and medical informatics and others. We believe that our program will prepare students for careers that are not even in existence yet, or those that are currently outside the area of the pharmacist's domain right now.

I can assure you that we have done extensive market research, having spoken with dozens of companies who have come alongside this program. We are not looking to oversaturate the job market, but instead revolutionize the practice of pharmacy. I welcome any questions you might have regarding our future and encourage you to learn more.

Regards,
Michael Avaltroni
[email protected]

 

[R2pharmD2]

I certainly did not intend my post as an advertisement, and apologize for it being construed as such. I will be on these boards and answering student questions as appropriate, and do not plan to make this a "one and done" announcement. However, I do believe that announcing the first school in the state of New Jersey to open in over a century constitutes something that students should hear about.

Fair enough!

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Regarding the "need" for another pharmacy school, we are not going into this venture with the purposes of educating students for the current paradigm. If you have a look at our program, we are doing something completely different. The future pharmacist will be a leader within the health care arena, and will be a primary care provider. He or she will need to go beyond the current paradigm, and our program is being designed to prepare for careers both in traditional realms and in many areas that are "outside the box." Every student will have the opportunity to pursue a master's degree concurrent to the Pharm.D. and will complete both programs within four years. The master's programs will be in emerging areas, such as health regulatory affairs, clinical research design, pharmacogenomics, health communications, health and medical informatics and others. We believe that our program will prepare students for careers that are not even in existence yet, or those that are currently outside the area of the pharmacist's domain right now.

I can assure you that we have done extensive market research, having spoken with dozens of companies who have come alongside this program. We are not looking to oversaturate the job market, but instead revolutionize the practice of pharmacy. I welcome any questions you might have regarding our future and encourage you to learn more.

Regards,
Michael Avaltroni
[email protected]

So is this the new spin you people are putting on this? You aren't being opportunists...you are simply educating people for some hypothetical form of practice that doesn't exist yet, but will apparently have carved out an existence enough to employ all of the students you will matriculate into the real world in 4 years?

Suffice it to say...I don't buy it at all.

Your academia truthspeak fails to convince me that you aren't just a group of common opportunists that see a way to make a quick buck. The corridor between NYC and Washington DC is so saturated with pharmacists that even those in academia have to concede that opening a new school for the purposes of actually training pharmacists for actual pharmacy practice isn't really practical or able to be supported by any semblance of logic.

You can float that pie in the sky stuff around your offices all you want, you know dang well that the majority of students you get will go into the more traditional pharmacist roles.

Just be honest with us. Just say that you are opening a school because it will be incredibly profitable. Just admit that you don't particularly care if you harm the profession long term by oversaturating what is already a ridiculously oversaturated market. I'll at least respect you as a businessman. As a "beacon of hope and progress" or whatever it is you are trying to market your school as - you fail miserably at impressing me, nor avoiding making yourself look like a snake oil salesman.

 

[rxlea]

So, where will your students be rotating during P4?

 

[SHC1984]

Just be honest with us. Just say that you are opening a school because it will be incredibly profitable. Just admit that you don't particularly care if you harm the profession long term by oversaturating what is already a ridiculously oversaturated market. I'll at least respect you as a businessman. As a "beacon of hope and progress" or whatever it is you are trying to market your school as - you fail miserably at impressing me, nor avoiding making yourself look like a snake oil salesman.

 

[IrishHammer]

I didn't really read OP as an advertisement.

You people are all way too cynical. Stop drinking the RxTiger2004ForLifeFauxdenPharmaTope Kool-Aid.

P4Sci, you know I'm not a doom and gloomer. I just have bad memories of when the Associate Dean from Belmont came on here and seemingly tiptoed around questions until he was able to spout out a pre-written answer that had nothing to do with any questions, but sure sounded good. After having Michael Eviltroni defend his school, I feel the same way.

All,

I certainly did not intend my post as an advertisement, and apologize for it being construed as such. I will be on these boards and answering student questions as appropriate, and do not plan to make this a "one and done" announcement. However, I do believe that announcing the first school in the state of New Jersey to open in over a century constitutes something that students should hear about.

Regarding the "need" for another pharmacy school, we are not going into this venture with the purposes of educating students for the current paradigm. If you have a look at our program, we are doing something completely different. The future pharmacist will be a leader within the health care arena, and will be a primary care provider. He or she will need to go beyond the current paradigm, and our program is being designed to prepare for careers both in traditional realms and in many areas that are "outside the box." Every student will have the opportunity to pursue a master's degree concurrent to the Pharm.D. and will complete both programs within four years. The master's programs will be in emerging areas, such as health regulatory affairs, clinical research design, pharmacogenomics, health communications, health and medical informatics and others. We believe that our program will prepare students for careers that are not even in existence yet, or those that are currently outside the area of the pharmacist's domain right now.

I can assure you that we have done extensive market research, having spoken with dozens of companies who have come alongside this program. We are not looking to oversaturate the job market, but instead revolutionize the practice of pharmacy. I welcome any questions you might have regarding our future and encourage you to learn more.

Regards,
Cpt. James Oblivious
[email protected]

Yeah, what exactly is that paradigm? You keep mentioning the "current paradigm", but never really explain what that is. So do tell, good sir, exactly what it is that every single pharmacy school in the country does exactly the same that you plan on doing completely differently?

I really want to see what kind of spin you can put on your answer that won't end in you offending the dean (and alumni, who, mind you, will be responsible for hiring your students upon graduation) of 75% of the pharmacy schools in this country, specifically the other in-state pharmacy school, Rutgers EMSOP. So again, do tell, what about your program makes it vastly superior to Rutgers and their paradigm of pharmacy?

 

[R2pharmD2]

 

[Smiles425]

Before everyone starts ragging on this school, take a look at their admission criteria. This is definitely not your typical "diploma mill school." You need at least a bachelor's to attend (or at least complete one there), one semester of biochemistry and GRE scores. I don't think any of the "ranked" schools require any of these criteria.

Granted, the market may be saturated on the east coast but if this school can produce a better pharmacist, then more power to them.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Before everyone starts ragging on this school, take a look at their admission criteria. This is definitely not your typical "diploma mill school." You need at least a bachelor's to attend (or at least complete one there), one semester of biochemistry and GRE scores. I don't think any of the "ranked" schools require any of these criteria.

Granted, the market may be saturated on the east coast but if this school can produce a better pharmacist, then more power to them.

Undergraduate biochemistry isn't that difficult and when you find some sort of evidence that making a student get a degree they don't really need produces a better pharmacist, I'll be all ears.

 

[IrishHammer]

Before everyone starts ragging on this school, take a look at their admission criteria. This is definitely not your typical "diploma mill school." You need at least a bachelor's to attend (or at least complete one there), one semester of biochemistry and GRE scores. I don't think any of the "ranked" schools require any of these criteria.

Granted, the market may be saturated on the east coast but if this school can produce a better pharmacist, then more power to them.

Your argument makes no sense and your facts are incorrect. Taken directly from http://www.fdu.edu/academic/pharmacy/prep.html:

Students may apply to the FDU School of Pharmacy following completion of 64 credits at any accredited college or university. A grade point average of 3.0 or above is recommended for application, and should be accompanied by three letters of recommendation.
The following courses should be completed prior to application:

• 2 Semesters of Organic Chemistry (with laboratory)
• 1 Semester of Biochemistry
• 2 Semesters of General Biology (with laboratory)
• 2 Semesters of Anatomy and Physiology
• 1 Semester of Applied Statistics
• 1 Semester of a course in Speech or Professional Communication

Qualified students will be formally interviewed and granted a conditional admission to the FDU School of Pharmacy.
Students will be immediately accepted into a baccalaureate degree completion program in Pharmaceutical Science, where they will complete remaining coursework to obtain their baccalaureate degree in preparation for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Formal admission will occur when students have completed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), completed their degree with a grade point average above 3.0 during their final two years of undergraduate study and maintained good standing within the University.

 

[cycloketocaine]

All,

I certainly did not intend my post as an advertisement, and apologize for it being construed as such. I will be on these boards and answering student questions as appropriate, and do not plan to make this a "one and done" announcement. However, I do believe that announcing the first school in the state of New Jersey to open in over a century constitutes something that students should hear about.

Regarding the "need" for another pharmacy school, we are not going into this venture with the purposes of educating students for the current paradigm. If you have a look at our program, we are doing something completely different. The future pharmacist will be a leader within the health care arena, and will be a primary care provider. He or she will need to go beyond the current paradigm, and our program is being designed to prepare for careers both in traditional realms and in many areas that are "outside the box." Every student will have the opportunity to pursue a master's degree concurrent to the Pharm.D. and will complete both programs within four years. The master's programs will be in emerging areas, such as health regulatory affairs, clinical research design, pharmacogenomics, health communications, health and medical informatics and others. We believe that our program will prepare students for careers that are not even in existence yet, or those that are currently outside the area of the pharmacist's domain right now.

I can assure you that we have done extensive market research, having spoken with dozens of companies who have come alongside this program. We are not looking to oversaturate the job market, but instead revolutionize the practice of pharmacy. I welcome any questions you might have regarding our future and encourage you to learn more.

Regards,
Michael Avaltroni
[email protected]

This isn't a novel concept. My school is doing this and has been for a while. Reality is, not everyone wants to put in the extra work for a masters.

 

[Smiles425]

Undergraduate biochemistry isn't that difficult and when you find some sort of evidence that making a student get a degree they don't really need produces a better pharmacist, I'll be all ears.

I guess I was trying to say that more admission criteria usually mean a better applicant and if this program (MS/PharmD) ends up being better than another at an older school in the area, I don't understand why they shouldn't open. Yes, its horrible that pharmacy schools are opening. I hate it too. But I'm not going to sit here and attack every school that opens just because its new and the market is saturated.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

I couldn't find the curriculum proposed initially for the program, any details to outline that? What exactly are the core classes? The fact that a masters is integrated in there and no extra time is taken, I would assume some classes found in other schools are dropped or this is a year-round program?

Can you shine any light as to what kind of classes will be taken and for what programs? I'm interested finding out how they compare to other schools.

Thanks!

 

[cycloketocaine]

I guess I was trying to say that more admission criteria usually mean a better applicant and if this program (MS/PharmD) ends up being better than another at an older school in the area, I don't understand my they shouldn't open. Yes, its horrible that pharmacy schools are opening. I hate it too. But I'm not going to sit here and attack every school that opens just because its new and the market is saturated.

I think the point it more about which school is opening a new school. I have never heard of this school. Ever. To make it worse, it is funded by Medco.

 

[Smiles425]

Your argument makes no sense and your facts are incorrect. Taken directly from http://www.fdu.edu/academic/pharmacy/prep.html:

Irish hammer: I don't think you are reading what you quote. Also what you quoted pertains to students that have not obtained a degree (so they must get one- like I said).

Students may apply to the FDU School of Pharmacy following completion of 64 credits at any accredited college or university. A grade point average of 3.0 or above is recommended for application, and should be accompanied by three letters of recommendation.
The following courses should be completed prior to application:

• 2 Semesters of Organic Chemistry (with laboratory)
• 1 Semester of Biochemistry
• 2 Semesters of General Biology (with laboratory)
• 2 Semesters of Anatomy and Physiology
• 1 Semester of Applied Statistics
• 1 Semester of a course in Speech or Professional Communication

Qualified students will be formally interviewed and granted a conditional admission to the FDU School of Pharmacy.
Students will be immediately accepted into a baccalaureate degree completion program in Pharmaceutical Science, where they will complete remaining coursework to obtain their baccalaureate degree in preparation for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Formal admission will occur when students have completed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), completed their degree with a grade point average above 3.0 during their final two years of undergraduate study and maintained good standing within the University.

 

[cycloketocaine]

Irish hammer: I don't think you are reading what you quote. Also what you quoted pertains to students that have not obtained a degree (so they must get one- like I said).

Students may apply to the FDU School of Pharmacy following completion of 64 credits at any accredited college or university. A grade point average of 3.0 or above is recommended for application, and should be accompanied by three letters of recommendation.
The following courses should be completed prior to application:

• 2 Semesters of Organic Chemistry (with laboratory)
• 1 Semester of Biochemistry
• 2 Semesters of General Biology (with laboratory)
• 2 Semesters of Anatomy and Physiology
• 1 Semester of Applied Statistics
• 1 Semester of a course in Speech or Professional Communication

Qualified students will be formally interviewed and granted a conditional admission to the FDU School of Pharmacy.
Students will be immediately accepted into a baccalaureate degree completion program in Pharmaceutical Science, where they will complete remaining coursework to obtain their baccalaureate degree in preparation for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Formal admission will occur when students have completed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), completed their degree with a grade point average above 3.0 during their final two years of undergraduate study and maintained good standing within the University.

They have to take the GRE for the master's. Everyone who is getting a masters has to take the GRE. It's not for the PharmD.

They still don't require any more pre reqs than any other new school (I'll refrain from slinging the term "diploma mill")

 

[Smiles425]

They have to take the GRE for the master's. Everyone who is getting a masters has to take the GRE. It's not for the PharmD.

They still don't require any more pre reqs than any other new school (I'll refrain from slinging the term "diploma mill")

Really? Please point out where it says that the BS degree and GRE requirement is just for the MS/PharmD students? Maybe I misread or something but it seems to me that these are the requirements for everyone entering the PharmD program.

 

[cycloketocaine]

Really? Please point out where it says that the BS degree and GRE requirement is just for the MS/PharmD students? Maybe I misread or something but it seems to me that these are the requirements for everyone entering the PharmD program.

I will no longer attempt to rationalize this with a pre-pharmacy student. The fact is that you may not see the effect that these schools are having on the profession because you simply are not at that point in your career yet.

 

[Smiles425]

I will no longer attempt to rationalize this with a pre-pharmacy student. The fact is that you may not see the effect that these schools are having on the profession because you simply are not at that point in your career yet.

LOL!!!!!!! This is funny. I love it when people end a discussion that way!!!! Sure I'll leave it alone. BTW I completely understand the impact of new schools opening but not all new schools are created equal. Some of the newer schools are actually better than some of the older schools, can we close these crappy older schools? (I won't name names) Therefore, I try to look for reasons why a school shouldn't open first before I jump the bandwagon with my pitchfork and noose)

 

[DASicari]

Really? Please point out where it says that the BS degree and GRE requirement is just for the MS/PharmD students? Maybe I misread or something but it seems to me that these are the requirements for everyone entering the PharmD program.

I inquired about the school from their website (seeing as how I am a former NJ resident) and asked about the GRE requirement. Michael Avaltroni responded via e-mail and had informed me that GRE was required (in place of the PCAT) as it "is a more appropriate test and more reflective of the graduate/professional nature of study within the Doctor of Pharmacy program."

 

[FDUMedcoSoP]

In response to some of the inquiries...
The GRE will be required for all incoming students, both those pursuing a dual degree and those pursuing only the Pharm.D.

We have built the curriculum to feature a block of approximately 18 elective credits, which is how the dual degree can be accomplished in four years with no additional time in program. A student who chooses to "cluster" these electives could achieve the degree by taking these courses with one or two additional courses specific to the master's program and complete the degree without issue. The curriculum will be published on the web shortly, as we are currently finalizing some details with our faculty and are awaiting feedback by both ACPE and other stakeholders. It eliminates some basic P1 coursework, and that is where the credits are freed up.

Regarding P4 rotations (and those done earlier in the program), we are expecting to have a good mixture of traditional experiences, and some that we hope will be unique to our program. The University has some unique ties to the United Nations and is a globally focused institution, so we are hoping to have opportunities to practice with agencies and organizations like the WHO, the UN and have experiences to gain experience abroad. Those are still in the works.

Regarding the current paradigm, there is no insult to current schools intended. The current paradigm has been to educate students to serve primarily in two roles: community and health systems pharmacy. Those are both extremely great careers, and schools have been effectively preparing students along this track. I, like many of you, believe that there will be decreasing opportunities in these areas in the future. They will still be great careers, but there will be less job openings along those pathways. The future paradigm that I talk about has more to do with expanding opportunities for pharmacists in relevant areas that provide opportunities and careers for a future generation of pharmacists.

Finally, I would urge those of you to care about the profession to continue to do so passionately. However, I fail to see how the "profession" is advanced in any way by petty name calling and accusation, particularly when it's done while hidden behind the anonymity of a message board. If you truly believe that the intention of new pharmacy schools is strictly business minded, then the principles of business should play out. Those who run their business most effectively and put out the best "product" will succeed. We hope to do just that.

I continue to welcome your inquiries about our program and intentions.

Regards,
Mike

 

[jack rabbit]

In response to some of the inquiries...
The GRE will be required for all incoming students, both those pursuing a dual degree and those pursuing only the Pharm.D.

What would be a competitive GRE score for your program? I would think that the PCAT would be a better choice because it is more challenging. I have taken both. I never studied for the GRE and I was able to get the competitive scores that most graduate programs (MS, PHD) require. But for the PCAT, I studied for a couple of months and I still struggled on exam day.

 

[pharm B]

I inquired about the school from their website (seeing as how I am a former NJ resident) and asked about the GRE requirement. Michael Avaltroni responded via e-mail and had informed me that GRE was required (in place of the PCAT) as it "is a more appropriate test and more reflective of the graduate/professional nature of study within the Doctor of Pharmacy program."

I heard a med school was throwing out the MCAT and requiring all applicants to take the GMAT. More reflective of stuff.

I do appreciate that the school is providing the opportunity for Masters programs concurrent with the PharmD. I'm begging and pleading for that down here, and my cries seem to fall on deaf ears.

Dumb question: Will graduates have Medco on their diploma?

 

[jack rabbit]

I heard a med school was throwing out the MCAT and requiring all applicants to take the GMAT.

Awesome. Just turned in my application. That was fast. TnotWSS.

 

[Filler]

In response to some of the inquiries...
The GRE will be required for all incoming students, both those pursuing a dual degree and those pursuing only the Pharm.D.

 

[jack rabbit]

Jack Rabbit likes this.

 

[FDUMedcoSoP]

We are still working through our admissions plans, so I can't give you an absolute as to what a competitive GRE score will be at this juncture. We also explored (and are continuing to explore) the GMAT. There have been some lengthy studies done that try to correlate each of these tests and what they are actually indicators of. I don't think the PCAT is a bad instrument at all. We've simply looked at data, spoken extensively with other schools and believed this was the way we wanted to go as a school.

As for the diploma, it will be granted from Fairleigh Dickinson University. The Medco name and partnership do not in any way affect the overall degree or the diploma, as it is conferred by the University.

-M

 

[R2pharmD2]

Love the pic!

I don't get why the GRE over the PCAT, but I also don't see what the big deal is about it. There are plenty of schools that don't require either.

 

[SanyRx]

Don't blame the new school. Blame the accrediting agency. Regardless, FDU seems more legit than the other schools that open within the last 30 days. I got an pharmcas email yesterday about a newly opened Midway College pharmacy school. The school doesn't even have a permanent location..ridiculous!!

 

[SHC1984]

They will still be great careers, but there will be less job openings along those pathways. The future paradigm that I talk about has more to do with expanding opportunities for pharmacists in relevant areas that provide opportunities and careers for a future generation of pharmacists.

Those who run their business most effectively and put out the best "product" will succeed. We hope to do just that.

I continue to welcome your inquiries about our program and intentions.

Regards,
Mike

And what would that be? You NEVER answered the question. You say your pharmacy school will produce pharmacists that are not going to be going into the retail or hospital setting. Okay, fine. WHAT JOBS do you think the graduates of your pharmacy school will be doing??? PLEASE just give us some JOB TITLES. I don't think you can answer this question, b/c obviously the answer is...the students from Medco U will be fighting for the SAME jobs as everyone else today!

Oh and in response to your LAST comment about the best product. The best students, the ones with PCAT scores of 90+ and the ones with GPAs of 4.0 etc. you know the students that are actually QUALIFIED for pharmacy school etc. Those students will get into many different pharmacy schools...and I am sure they will choose the most established schools on that list. No offense.

However, fortunately for Medco U there are plenty of less qualify students looking for a easy way to obtain their PharmD degree, so Medco U will still have business from the less quality students.

I am not writing this post to be mean and I am sure no one on here is trying to be rude to you. It's just that the market is already extremely SATURATED and there really is no more room for anymore pharmacists in this country. I realize opening a new pharmacy school is profitable to some, but the pharmacy profession will go down the drain if new schools keep opening up and admitting unqualified students.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I think some of the questions being asked in this thread are reasonable, but the approach people are taking may not be conducive to productive discussion. Think about it. If you attack Dr. Alvatroni and ridicule his posts, he will mostly likely just stop posting and leave the site. Then the opportunity for discussion will be gone. Sometimes it's not WHAT you ask, but how you ask it.

Please keep the discussion civil and professional. No name-calling. Thanks.

 

[Filler]

We are still working through our admissions plans, so I can't give you an absolute as to what a competitive GRE score will be at this juncture. We also explored (and are continuing to explore) the GMAT. There have been some lengthy studies done that try to correlate each of these tests and what they are actually indicators of. I don't think the PCAT is a bad instrument at all. We've simply looked at data, spoken extensively with other schools and believed this was the way we wanted to go as a school.

As for the diploma, it will be granted from Fairleigh Dickinson University. The Medco name and partnership do not in any way affect the overall degree or the diploma, as it is conferred by the University.

-M

Alright, so I guess I'll ask a serious question..why a pharmacy school?

Why not open up a medical school, an optometry school, a physical therapy, a physician assistant program? Why not restart the dental program that FDU closed up years ago? Hell, why not even a law school?

I am from NJ and I know Farleigh Dickinson well enough to know that it is NOT a diploma mill school, however I do honestly question the location and timing of opening up a new school.

 

[HarperSi]

Personally I am happy to hear about the school, being in the area and not wanting to leave for school.. (understanding I may have to leave to find work, ehh) sounds legit to me even if there are too many.

Also, I did not see him say their graduates would not work in normal settings..lol. I am pretty sure a PharmD will let you do that? If it might open the door for other roles I am not going to cry about it.

I'm quite sure I will be applying. Thank you for the info Mike.

 

[IrishHammer]

Regarding the current paradigm, there is no insult to current schools intended. The current paradigm has been to educate students to serve primarily in two roles: community and health systems pharmacy. Those are both extremely great careers, and schools have been effectively preparing students along this track. I, like many of you, believe that there will be decreasing opportunities in these areas in the future. They will still be great careers, but there will be less job openings along those pathways. The future paradigm that I talk about has more to do with expanding opportunities for pharmacists in relevant areas that provide opportunities and careers for a future generation of pharmacists.

So you really believe that every single school in the country in no way prepares pharmacists for roles outside of retail and hospital? Your school, and your school alone will prepare pharmacists for careers in industry, ambulatory care, long term care, and the other plethora of careers that pharmacists that graduated from those darn pigeonholing school seem to just be completely clueless in?

Give me a break. Spin it any way you want, but the end of the day, you're putting out more pharmacists in an area that already has too many. If you truly think that no graduating pharmacists will find those career paths unless they attend your school, or that they will only be prepared for those careers if they attend your school, then it is a terrible shame that you are involved in academia, because that kind of narrow-minded thinking in the administration will always trickle on down to the student body. I'd hate to see how snooty and clueless the members of your first graduating class are.

 

[IrishHammer]

Irish hammer: I don't think you are reading what you quote. Also what you quoted pertains to students that have not obtained a degree (so they must get one- like I said).

Students may apply to the FDU School of Pharmacy following completion of 64 credits at any accredited college or university. A grade point average of 3.0 or above is recommended for application, and should be accompanied by three letters of recommendation.
The following courses should be completed prior to application:

• 2 Semesters of Organic Chemistry (with laboratory)
• 1 Semester of Biochemistry
• 2 Semesters of General Biology (with laboratory)
• 2 Semesters of Anatomy and Physiology
• 1 Semester of Applied Statistics
• 1 Semester of a course in Speech or Professional Communication

Qualified students will be formally interviewed and granted a conditional admission to the FDU School of Pharmacy.
Students will be immediately accepted into a baccalaureate degree completion program in Pharmaceutical Science, where they will complete remaining coursework to obtain their baccalaureate degree in preparation for admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Formal admission will occur when students have completed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), completed their degree with a grade point average above 3.0 during their final two years of undergraduate study and maintained good standing within the University.

So you can be accepted to the program without a Bachelor's degree, they just make you jump through extra hoops to start the program if you don't have one. How nice of them. That doesn't make them a better school, it just means they require extra semantics. But then again, judging from the Dean's posts, semantics are their specialty.

And I echo the sentiments that WVU stated. If you can prove that a Bachelor's degree automatically makes a better pharmacist, then I'll listen. But I'm not exactly sure how you would go about proving such a generalized, blanket statement.

 

[IrishHammer]

Alright, so I guess I'll ask a serious question..why a pharmacy school?

Why not open up a medical school, an optometry school, a physical therapy, a physician assistant program? Why not restart the dental program that FDU closed up years ago? Hell, why not even a law school?

I am from NJ and I know Farleigh Dickinson well enough to know that it is NOT a diploma mill school, however I do honestly question the location and timing of opening up a new school.

This. I've heard of Fairleigh Dickinson before, and from what I've heard, it is a respectable school. But good school or not, it doesn't mean that opening this pharmacy school is justified.

 

[Smiles425]

So you can be accepted to the program without a Bachelor's degree, they just make you jump through extra hoops to start the program if you don't have one. How nice of them. That doesn't make them a better school, it just means they require extra semantics. But then again, judging from the Dean's posts, semantics are their specialty.

And I echo the sentiments that WVU stated. If you can prove that a Bachelor's degree automatically makes a better pharmacist, then I'll listen. But I'm not exactly sure how you would go about proving such a generalized, blanket statement.

I didn't make that "generalized, blanket statement"- you made it in your interpretation. I meant to say that if this school can provide a better pharmacy program by producing better pharmacist than most places out there then that's great. Also, I was simply pointing out that this schoool seems somewhat more selective than your average pharm school - two unrelated statements. Sorry if you misunderstood me but I didn't mean to imply that better pharmacist=BA degree. I do believe that a degree can show a certain level a maturity in a candidate. Not neccessarily because the classes are harder, but it shows that someone has the ability to stick with something to the end.