Hawaii College of Pharmacy

[raindrop]

Thank you bbmufin for proving my point about Virginia. Anyone from Ohio?

I'm from Ohio (Cleveland area) This thread has me thinking about lovely Hawaii. Are those of you enrolled planning to practice in Hawaii? If so, what is pharmacy like there? Specifically, are the laws considered strict? (For example, I used to work in NY *very strict* laws regarding C-II's and other controls. I moved to Ohio where it seems there are hardly any laws comparably.) If you have to order something, does it come the next business day? Say you had to order Enbrel, do you get it soon enough?
Lynn

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[LVPharm]

A couple of questions for all of you HICP folks, specifically locals and mainland transplants: have any of you guys worked pharmacy in HI? Will you guys come back to the mainland after graduation, or practice out there?

 

[michelleca4]

ACPE told me that the Dean of HICP is Dr. Bhagavan who is faculty member at the University of Hawaii Medical School and holds a Ph D. The told me that the Associate Dean is Dr. John Pang who is a Pharm D in Hawaii. Not stated on the website because I've only seen the website updated once or twice, and the deans will start there full time position with the school in August.

LVPharmD:
I have worked two years with Savon (in CA) and I have talked to my Savon pharmacy manager to keep me on payroll while I am in Hawaii, which means I will work a shift or two during the breaks. I am told those who have been working in Savon during pharmacy school will have seniority over those who didn't work or intern within the company. I plan to come back to California, if not I'll stay in Hawaii. No complaints.

There is Safeway, Cosco, Walmart, Longs Drugs and private pharmacy's available for work in Hawaii. No I haven't worked in a pharmacy in Hawaii. I would believe Longs Drugs in Hawaii is similar to Longs Drugs in California.

 

[GravyRPH]

I hear Longs in Hawaii are crazy busy. Not that Longs in Cali are considered slow stores by any means, but Hawaii Longs are amazingly "successful".

 

[LVPharm]

My exroomate who is from Hawaii said Longs is huge over there.
We have quite a few Longs Drugs here in Las Vegas, and they have a strong Hawaiian clientele. They even have Hawaiian sections in the stores selling "local goods". Then again, Las Vegas is becoming heavilly populated by island transplants, with L&L restaurants popping up in every neighborhood to cater to their tastes. Hmmm...spam musubi

 

[GravyRPH]

Not to hijack this thread, but.....

It's suprising Long's stock is so bad. I'm glad I dumped my shares when I did. For such high volume stores, they can't seem to make a good showing of it, and they seem to be consistently losing their market share. The competition is getting stiff and they can't keep up. When I worked for them as an Intern, they seemed in control of their destiny to keep and secure their upward climb in the West. The only thing I've seen by Long's of late is bad corporate decisions and poor customer service.

 

[008]

I am from Hawaii, and I've worked in a hospital pharmacy, both clinical and retail, and am now working at costco pharmacy (for the benefits). Long's Drugs here is pretty crazy, most people go there for their drugs because most people have copays that dont change, and Long's is the most convieniant. Older people who have no insurance go to costco and sams, beacuse of the prices. I know the busiest Long's is unbelieveably busy (apparently over 1500 on a day after a holiday), but for comparative sake, I'd say the normal scrip count for a retail pharmacy is an AVERAGE of 300-600 a day (including longs, costco, sams, safeway, and daiei (a local asian chain)) hope this helps!! I will probably want to work here in Hawaii after graduation, if possible.

 

[LVPharm]

008: How's the pharmacist manpower shortage situation in Hawaii...is there a shortage out there?

 

[008]

lvpharm:
theyre always looking for pharmacists here right now, wheter it be full time, part time or call in, i know theres jobs...as for the next few years, your guess is as good as mine with all the graduates pouring in...

 

[pharmgurl2004]

Check this out.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/hicp2004/

 

[ontohawaii]

I checked out that webiste. It is pretty good, and gives some really good answers to questions.

 

[Smilescali]

If the school is based on NVCP then I think it will be just fine. I have asked several people that attend NVCP and they really like the block system and 3 year schedule. I would be a little worried to apply now,(I am not ready yet anyway!) but I am considering this school when I apply in 2005! I like the idea of being in Hawaii at such a stressful time.

 

[Rosalyn]

Hi everyone! As I was reading most of the post, Michelle seemed to have a lot of information in her hands. I think that's awesome! Always good to have somebody on top of things.

A little bit about myself, I am attending this Fall to HICP and I am kind of nervous with things that have been going on. I know about 10 people who are going to attend but whether or not they have the loan, I am not sure about that. I am from UC Riverside, so any of you who are from there that's awesome because we should get to know each other. Since we are the first class, we play a big part of how HICP may get accredited. I heard there was over 1000 applicants this year alone. Crazy!!!

I am waiting to see what is going to happen next week with ACPE and HICP. *crossing fingers*

 

[henderson]

Rosalyn,

If you are referring to the meeting mentioned in the HICP website for the pre-accreditation, I believe the school has opted to postpone the meeting to next year. I don't have the exact date but if you need to know the exact date, you can check with the school directly or call ACPE for more info.

 

[happysunshine]

i called ACPE yesterday and they told me that the school is submitting the application in oct. 2004 and the on site visit will take place between jan - june 2005. the ACPE board only have meetings in jan and june. the earliest they can get 'candidate' status will be june 2005 if all goes well. otherwise it will be following jan or june depending on the school. with a candidate status, students are allowed to sit on the naplex exam.

 

[Caverject]

There suggestion is to have your parents refinance their house. In my opinion, this is reckless on the schools part, but whatever. I guess it will motivate you more if anything to pass your subjects.

 

[jdpharmd?]

i called ACPE yesterday and they told me that the school is submitting the application in oct. 2004 and the on site visit will take place between jan - june 2005. the ACPE board only have meetings in jan and june. the earliest they can get 'candidate' status will be june 2005 if all goes well. otherwise it will be following jan or june depending on the school. with a candidate status, students are allowed to sit on the naplex exam.

Yeah, this is posted in another thread.


This is an email that i just received:

Dear Mariah,
The Hawaii College of Pharmacy has no accreditation status at this point. They have delayed submission of their application until fall 2004. Their application will be reviewed at the January 2005 Board of Directors meeting. A successful review of the application will result in the Board authorizing a visit to the College during the spring 2005 semester by an ACPE evaluation team. That team will prepare a report for consideration by the ACPE Board at its June 2005 meeting, at which time the College could be awarded candidate status if the situation warrants this status. If not, candidate status would be denied and no accreditation status would be awarded. Should denial occur, the College would likely be considered again after further development, most likely at the January 2006 Board of Directors meeting.

 

[LizardRX]

It is rather amusing to see the amount of criticism HICP is getting from students on this site that have no business relating to the Hawaii College of Pharmacy. For the most part, this negative publicity is coming from people that are in other programs (i.e. Glendale, AZ) or weren?t simply lucky enough to get accepted. The school has all the answers, and from my experience Dr. Monroe and Mr. Park have always been responsive, prompt and getting things done. Like any other pharmacy school, HICP is on the path to receive accreditation, and the inaugural class will make that happen. I had friends who attended the inaugural class of NVCP, and from what I know, HICP is making all the right moves and will become one of the best pharmacy schools in the states, and internationally due to the desirable and diverse location.
Now, we have some guy out in nowhere (who happens to be on this site) that starts a thread warning future students about issues that both ACPE and HICP have the answers to.
Man, that town in Arizona is hot. Yikes!

 

[Caverject]

It is rather amusing to see the amount of criticism HICP is getting from students on this site that have no business relating to the Hawaii College of Pharmacy. For the most part, this negative publicity is coming from people that are in other programs (i.e. Glendale, AZ) or weren?t simply lucky enough to get accepted. The school has all the answers, and from my experience Dr. Monroe and Mr. Park have always been responsive, prompt and getting things done. Like any other pharmacy school, HICP is on the path to receive accreditation, and the inaugural class will make that happen. I had friends who attended the inaugural class of NVCP, and from what I know, HICP is making all the right moves and will become one of the best pharmacy schools in the states, and internationally due to the desirable and diverse location.
Now, we have some guy out in nowhere (who happens to be on this site) that starts a thread warning future students about issues that both ACPE and HICP have the answers to.
Man, that town in Arizona is hot. Yikes!

Are you dilusional? This is the first school that has operated business this way. There is no rule against it but it generally does not happen. I'm sorry but telling students that the loans are on their own? What the hell is that crap? That is not fair to any student.

Here is another clue about accredication. Students have about 5% to do with the decision of candidate status. I can speak from experiance. ACPE interviews students but more or less looks at other factors. I almost can't wait till the next ACPE-ASP meeting in Orlando so this subject can be brought up. The way this school has conducted business is disturbing and I hope no other college goes that route

 

[Glycerin]

It is rather amusing to see the amount of criticism HICP is getting from students on this site that have no business relating to the Hawaii College of Pharmacy.

First of all, it's a public forum. Some people, believe it or not, had/still have valid concerns for the people attending HICP. These concerns have been addressed, and it looks like that the students attending HICP are doing a nice job in researching the issues. Great for them - I wish them well.

For the most part, this negative publicity is coming from people that are in other programs (i.e. Glendale, AZ) or weren?t simply lucky enough to get accepted.

[sarcasm] How nice it is of you to lump everyone who responded to this thread into those two categories! Bravo! [/sarcasm] I think I would make sure that these kinds of statements are *at least* factual before making them.

Now, we have some guy out in nowhere (who happens to be on this site) that starts a thread warning future students about issues that both ACPE and HICP have the answers to.
Man, that town in Arizona is hot. Yikes!

Funny, he isn't even FROM or IN Arizona.

 

[vafcarrot]

LizardRX, would you agree that some of the moves by HICP have been questionable? Enough to raise more than a few eyebrows?

I feel that the questions and concerns raised on this forum have been very insightful, on both the "for and against" HICP positions. I would rather find some stuff out about this new program here, rather than find it out after I've sent out my application, been accepted, and am struggling to get together money to pay for a very expensive education.

For the most part, this negative publicity is coming from people that are in other programs (i.e. Glendale, AZ) or weren?t simply lucky enough to get accepted.

Also, I'm hoping that luck plays a small portion of getting into pharmacy school. I would much rather believe that working your a$$ off studying and working would be the key factor. I won't jump to the conclusion that all you need is luck to get into HICP because that would insult several of the posters on this forum who are very intelligent who made it into HICP. Their intelligence is shown by acknowledging some doubts they have about a somewhat shady program rather than immediately proclaiming the school becoming one of the best in the world

 

[Rosalyn]

LizardRX, would you agree that some of the moves by HICP have been questionable? Enough to raise more than a few eyebrows?

I feel that the questions and concerns raised on this forum have been very insightful, on both the "for and against" HICP positions. I would rather find some stuff out about this new program here, rather than find it out after I've sent out my application, been accepted, and am struggling to get together money to pay for a very expensive education.


Also, I'm hoping that luck plays a small portion of getting into pharmacy school. I would much rather believe that working your a$$ off studying and working would be the key factor. I won't jump to the conclusion that all you need is luck to get into HICP because that would insult several of the posters on this forum who are very intelligent who made it into HICP. Their intelligence is shown by acknowledging some doubts they have about a somewhat shady program rather than immediately proclaiming the school becoming one of the best in the world

Well, I had couple of friends who didn't get into HICP, but luck can be of help in certain situations.

 

[Caverject]

I wonder if monetary base is a factor towards acceptance

 

[Rosalyn]

I wonder if monetary base is a factor towards acceptance

I don't think they are doing that but that is an interesting concept.

 

[LVPharm]

"To go a step ahead of accreditation is a very high-stakes approach that is a very uncomfortable place for the establishment"..."those students are completely at risk, but the university's ability to do that is reflective of the very, very hypercompetitive application pool right now. We're hearing about pharmacy schools having upwards of 10 applicants for every seat. That's a complete turnaround in just two or three years."

-Lucinda Maine
Executive VP, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
Source: Drug Topics 6/7/04


They can go through this rather unusual accreditation process, and at the same time leave the accepted students with limited financial options because there are more than just a few potential students willing to do whatever it takes to get into a pharmacy program in this and in upcoming application cycles. That is not to say that those accepted are not deserving of their seat. I don't think this is "shady", like some kind of "boiler room operation", set to close down at a moments notice. I just think that they can put potential students in this predicament because they can...and lets face it, they can collect application fees and deposits "hand over fist" right now, while interest in pharmacy programs is at an all time high. It's a "for profit" organization. They're here to make money, and at the same time deliver a product...a Pharm.D. If they waited to accept their first class, they just might have missed the "top of the market".

 

[ucrsandstorm]

Hi I'm new to the forum but it seems like a great place for info, pro or con.

Here's a New question.
What does the AACP look for when they grant a school candidate status? Do they look for # of computers in the lab? Incoming student GPA?s? Strength of faculty or dean? Does anyone know?

Question two.
During the first years, how did other schools that had no candidate status get money for their students. Didn't they run into the same problems? How did the students finance their education? Did the school have similar problems with financial support like HICP?

Also, I would like to point out that if this is a profit driven organization then wouldn't it make more sense for HICP to be successful. If you are going to make money, wouldn't it be more "profitable" to making money for many years vs. one and stopping? Then if your PEI, wouldn't you want HICP to have candidate status and then full accreditation.

For HICP incoming students.....NVCP, the school that HICP is based on, did not get candidate status on the first try. They did on the second try.

 

[Caverject]

Question two.
During the first years, how did other schools that had no candidate status get money for their students. Didn't they run into the same problems? How did the students finance their education? Did the school have similar problems with financial support like HICP?

I can answer this question. No other schools in current times have EVER skipped pre-candidate status. So basically, HICP is a model of how to operate this way I guess if you want to call it a model

 

[LizardRX]

Are you dilusional? This is the first school that has operated business this way. There is no rule against it but it generally does not happen. I'm sorry but telling students that the loans are on their own? What the hell is that crap? That is not fair to any student.

Here is another clue about accredication. Students have about 5% to do with the decision of candidate status. I can speak from experiance. ACPE interviews students but more or less looks at other factors. I almost can't wait till the next ACPE-ASP meeting in Orlando so this subject can be brought up. The way this school has conducted business is disturbing and I hope no other college goes that route

Here you go again with those bitter, desperate attacks on HICP, South2006.
I don?t know what you and jdpharmd have against HICP. They are not opening a Casino in Hawaii; it is a college of Pharmacy that is going to contribute to the field of Medicine.
I much rather put my faith in the hands of people who came up with the noble idea of establishing a private school in a tropical paradise which is inevitably going to improve health care in the state of Hawaii and in the nation, than trust the words of some one who can not spell Accreditation.
I have nothing against public forums, all I?m saying is a couple of people have been presenting one sided opinion and asymmetrical information about HICP on this forum. Whether a College of pharmacy is Private/Public, Non-profit/For profit, it is going to serve a humane purpose and produce labor in one of the fields that needs it the most. If anything, profit and self-interest have been proven to be inspiring and productive in any task.
I recall, jdpharmd accusing HICP of being run by a ?Bunch of Businessmen?; well, if the collaboration of Pharmacy and Business is news to you, you may want to reconsider which field of Medicine you?re getting in to.

 

[vafcarrot]

Ah, but the people you're putting your faith in can't spell curriculum. And they have the audacity to rudely correct someone's spelling of it and still spell it wrong. So where does that leave you now? You may just have to be faithless...

 

[Glycerin]

Here you go again with those bitter, desperate attacks on HICP

Lizard, please point out how anything you just quoted by South constitutes at a bitter or desperate attack? HICP is the first school to skip pre-candidate status. And I'd be a little more than pissed off if the school told me that I'd have to come up with funding on my own (i.e. refinancing a house a don't have or asking my parents to do so). This is what the school is telling people who currently have no financial aid. So how is this a bitter, desperate attack?

 

[jdpharmd?]

I don?t know what you and jdpharmd have against HICP. They are not opening a Casino in Hawaii; it is a college of Pharmacy that is going to contribute to the field of Medicine.
I much rather put my faith in the hands of people who came up with the noble idea of establishing a private school in a tropical paradise which is inevitably going to improve health care in the state of Hawaii and in the nation, than trust the words of some one who can not spell Accreditation.
I recall, jdpharmd accusing HICP of being run by a ?Bunch of Businessmen?; well, if the collaboration of Pharmacy and Business is news to you, you may want to reconsider which field of Medicine you?re getting in to.

Please quote me before accusing me of anything. I used the search function for "bunch of businessmen" and I didn't find any of my posts.

If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you were trying to discredit anyone who disagrees with you and your grandiose statement "[HICP] will become one of the best pharmacy schools in the states, and internationally due to the desirable and diverse location." If this were true, then wouldn't the Carribean med schools be some of the most prestigious places in the world? Wouldn't people be lining up to move to Mexico for college? To conclude that HICP is going to be one of the finest schools because it's in Hawaii is laughable. Perhaps it would be a more plausible conclusion for you to draw if, lets say, HICP had a dean with any pharmacy experience, they had published any type of faculty list, they had submitted an application to ACPE or AACP, or they didn't change their story every couple of days.

It's a (fairly) well known fact that HICP is exploiting a certain population of students who were not accepted anywhere else. The students have the choice of either going for broke with HICP, or waiting another year to see what happens. Those people are caught between a rock and a hard place, and HICP is using that to the "college's" advantage. Intentionally skipping all phases of accreditation and setting up shop in the back rooms of a bank are not hallmarks of a model professional program.

 

[sungs01]

okay....this thread is getting out of hand. JDpharmd? and south....I respect the fact that you are voicing your opinions and that this is a public forum, but I think some of your comments are really unnecessary. YOu guys had some good information at the beginning and I admit, they are helpful. but now its just trash talking after trash talking. I can see why people are getting pissed off.....Even non HICP students are getting pissed. You guys give no respect to future students at HICP. I worked my ass off to get to where i am. How do hell do you know if HICP is the only school the students got into! I was accepted to 3 other pharmacy schools, and still waiting on some other school. so don't assume anything and don't write things if they are just about putting other people down that you don't even know. People don't disrespect your school so don't disrespect our's.

 

[LVPharm]

A question for all of you Hawaii residents:

What do you guys think about the University of Hawaii at Hilo pharmacy program scheduled to open in the fall of 2006? Since this is a state school, wouldn't residents get preference in admissions? Are you allowed to defer your matriculation to HICP? I'm asking because for some of you folks having trouble financing HICP, it might be worth the wait to defer (as a backup) and apply to this school in the meantime. If it doesn't work out, perhaps the options for financing your education at HICP might improve by then.

 

[28657]

I much rather put my faith in the hands of people who came up with the noble idea of establishing a private school in a tropical paradise which is inevitably going to improve health care in the state of Hawaii and in the nation, than trust the words of some one who can not spell Accreditation.

okay....this thread is getting out of hand. JDpharmd? and south. ....but now its just trash talking after trash talking. I can see why people are getting pissed off.....Even non HICP students are getting pissed. You guys give no respect to future students at HICP. I worked my ass off to get to where i am. How do hell do you know if HICP is the only school the students got into! I was accepted to 3 other pharmacy schools, and still waiting on some other school. so don't assume anything and don't write things if they are just about putting other people down that you don't even know.

Lizard and Sungs it would give credence to your argument if you posted facts about why you feel secure about HICP's current standing rather than just posting hostile and emotional remarks. If someone is choosing to attend HICP I can understand the desire to defend; but the only reason this thread continues is that there seems to be more reasons alluding to HICP's "shadiness" on a weekly basis. NO ONE is trash talking, have you ever heard of the snide saying "If it's the truth then it isn't gossip"? Well that kind of fits into this thread. It's important to be cautious of something that you're giving $30+k to. South and JD bring up valid comments; no one can argue against that.

And as I asked Michelleca previously, Sungs why are you choosing to attend HICP over the other three schools you were "accepted" to?

And Lizard since when is the word "noble" defined as opening up a for-profit university in a tropical paradise? (Oh and I guess if I'm already flaming, I might as well add....accreditation isn't capitalized.)

 

[vafcarrot]

I agree with Amanda. Positive things should be mentioned by people to combat the negative items that are taking over the board. Please supply some positive things.

 

[keiki]

What do you guys think about the University of Hawaii at Hilo pharmacy program scheduled to open in the fall of 2006?

Hilo is the worst place to spend 4 years of school at (or even 3 if it's going to be an accelerated program)!! I don't even know where people would do their rotations at!! Theres like one Longs and one Safeway and one hospital. Ok, that's what I remember from the last time I visited like 5 years ago, but trust me, nothing ever really changes there. There is totally nothing to do there. Being born and raised there, I guess I can say that now because I've lived in other big cities (SF and Boston), but that's just my take. I'm glad my mom moved to Kailua! There's nothing really commercial in Hilo at all. But perhaps that's what people like about it. That's why my brother doesn't want to leave.. he's just too laid back. It's just a little too slow paced there FOR ME. It'll be interesting to see how things pan out for UH Hilo...

 

[LVPharm]

Cake! Nice to hear from you again...hope things are going well at MCP.

Do you think there will be potential problems getting enough rotation sites in Hawaii when both schools are open?

 

[hugstugs99]

As far as I know, the PharmD program at UH Hilo will consist of about the first 2 years in Hilo (probably more of the lecture, classroom stuff) and then about the last 1-2 years will be on Oahu so that the bulk of rotations will be done on Oahu. Just what I've heard. As for the competition for rotations between HICP and UH Hilo program.... I don't know how that will go.... seems like it might be pretty competitive because the island is only so big. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[keiki]

Do you think there will be potential problems getting enough rotation sites in Hawaii when both schools are open?

Yes, it feels good to finally be done with my summer class!! I guess my real summer can finally start...

As far as any potential problems, I was going to say no because they will be on different islands. However, I wasn't aware that UH Hilo students will be going to Oahu to do their rotations (as hugstugs said). There shouldn't be too much of a problem there, I guess.. On Oahu there's a lot more stores and hospitals and maybe other organizations to do rotations at, but yeah, the island IS only so big..
I'm not sure how good of an idea it will be to have 2 pharm schools in a state that is so tiny!

 

[Caverject]

okay....this thread is getting out of hand. JDpharmd? and south....I respect the fact that you are voicing your opinions and that this is a public forum, but I think some of your comments are really unnecessary. YOu guys had some good information at the beginning and I admit, they are helpful. but now its just trash talking after trash talking. I can see why people are getting pissed off.....Even non HICP students are getting pissed. You guys give no respect to future students at HICP. I worked my ass off to get to where i am. How do hell do you know if HICP is the only school the students got into! I was accepted to 3 other pharmacy schools, and still waiting on some other school. so don't assume anything and don't write things if they are just about putting other people down that you don't even know. People don't disrespect your school so don't disrespect our's.

First of all, who is trash talking here? Am I going around saying ?Well your school sucks?? or am I going saying ?Your mama so fat??? Well, no I am not! If you feel that I am trash talking, you seriously need to get some thicker skin. People will annihilate you once you become a pharmacist if you get hurt feelings that easily. You should be proud of yourself that you worked hard to get where you are. Here is a question though, since you were accepted at HICP and all, why did you post this?

do accelerated program students get summers off? how long are summer vacations?

Did you not know? Did HICP not tell you about this? This is a good question, not trash talking. After all, you were interviewed at HICP before you posted this question to the forum.

It is rather amusing to see the amount of criticism HICP is getting from students on this site that have no business relating to the Hawaii College of Pharmacy. For the most part, this negative publicity is coming from people that are in other programs (i.e. Glendale, AZ) or weren?t simply lucky enough to get accepted. The school has all the answers, and from my experience Dr. Monroe and Mr. Park have always been responsive, prompt and getting things done. Like any other pharmacy school, HICP is on the path to receive accreditation, and the inaugural class will make that happen. I had friends who attended the inaugural class of NVCP, and from what I know, HICP is making all the right moves and will become one of the best pharmacy schools in the states, and internationally due to the desirable and diverse location.
Now, we have some guy out in nowhere (who happens to be on this site) that starts a thread warning future students about issues that both ACPE and HICP have the answers to.
Man, that town in Arizona is hot. Yikes!

What does negative publicity come from different programs? Do you honestly think that JD and myself speak for our schools? Also, why the hell would Jdpharmd? and myself care about this school? It simply will not affect the both of us no matter what happens. We post our concerns just for that purpose. Out of concern. I don?t know how you can say ?Weren?t simply lucky enough to get accepted? What makes HICP so nice that the other 89 pharmacy schools can not offer, besides the fact it is in the state of Hawaii? (Home of only one teaching hospital if I recall correctly, The Queens Medical Center) How is HICP on the path to receive accreditation if they have not even applied for it yet? Also, if you are going to reference me in a comment, get it right. I do not reside in Glendale, Arizona. They are almost a world away from where I live.

Here you go again with those bitter, desperate attacks on HICP, South2006.
I don?t know what you and jdpharmd have against HICP. They are not opening a Casino in Hawaii; it is a college of Pharmacy that is going to contribute to the field of Medicine.
I much rather put my faith in the hands of people who came up with the noble idea of establishing a private school in a tropical paradise which is inevitably going to improve health care in the state of Hawaii and in the nation, than trust the words of some one who can not spell Accreditation.
I have nothing against public forums, all I?m saying is a couple of people have been presenting one sided opinion and asymmetrical information about HICP on this forum. Whether a College of pharmacy is Private/Public, Non-profit/For profit, it is going to serve a humane purpose and produce labor in one of the fields that needs it the most. If anything, profit and self-interest have been proven to be inspiring and productive in any task.
I recall, jdpharmd accusing HICP of being run by a ?Bunch of Businessmen?; well, if the collaboration of Pharmacy and Business is news to you, you may want to reconsider which field of Medicine you?re getting in to.

So what was bitter about what I had said? I have yet to find anything in my posts or feelings that would prove to me to be bitter towards HICP. If you want to see me bitter, go to this thread when I talk about LECOM. I will openly admit I am bitter about the way my situation was handled by them. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=1421526
By the way, I openly admit on SDN that I can?t spell well. Guess I should work harder to over come dyslexia huh? Let me be the first to tell you, it?s hard to overcome and I still have trouble with it from time to time. So yes, you got me there about my spelling of accreditation. I am glad that because of my problem with words that you can no longer trust what I say. That?s fine with me. As far as being a for profit college, keep in mind HICP will be the second school in history to be for profit. (With South University being the first) There is no problem with it, as long as you go about opening a school the right way. As far as the collaboration of pharmacy and business, I wonder how much longer it will be before we get the ?DeVry School of Pharmacy? or the ?University of Phoenix School of Pharmacy?

Okay, now that I am thinking about it Lizard, you say that Mr Park has got his act together. This is interesting. Isn?t he the same guy who said there will be a fall and spring class for HICP?s pharmacy school? Also, here is a conversation Jer07 had with him.

I just got off the phone with Mr. Park at HICP and he said that he pulled HICP's name off of Education One & TERI & all others approved list. He said that if people haven't gotten their financing before the name was pulled they are on their own for loans. He advised people to find their own way of financing their schooling. Either through refinancing a house or getting money from parents. Well neither works for us because we don't own a house anymore because we sold it to go to school. Second...we (my wife and I) don't have rich parents who can loan this kind of money.

But yet on the HICP website, which is found at www.islandpharmacy.org , says

Currently, the College works with a variety of private lenders to arrange loans for qualified students. Students must receive a letter of admission from the Admissions and Student Affairs Office before the College's Director of Financial can begin the financial aid process. In addition to working with students to obtain private student loans, the College also awards a variety of scholarships to qualified students based on merit and financial need.

Interesting! It sure sounds like he has his act together doesn?t it?


As far as misinformation, here is another example of it?

I checked with ACPE and they said that HICP is in pre-candidate status. And they plan to meet and further the status this summer. Seems like there are alot of confused and sometimes incorrect information that get written in this forum.

Hey sungs01, now I am confused. You are telling us that there is confused and misinformation on the forum about HICP. Now, I look a little further, and I see this

 

[Caverject]

This is an email that i just received:

Dear Mariah,
The Hawaii College of Pharmacy has no accreditation status at this point. They have delayed submission of their application until fall 2004. Their application will be reviewed at the January 2005 Board of Directors meeting. A successful review of the application will result in the Board authorizing a visit to the College during the spring 2005 semester by an ACPE evaluation team. That team will prepare a report for consideration by the ACPE Board at its June 2005 meeting, at which time the College could be awarded candidate status if the situation warrants this status. If not, candidate status would be denied and no accreditation status would be awarded. Should denial occur, the College would likely be considered again after further development, most likely at the January 2006 Board of Directors meeting.

Hawaii College of Pharmacy is skipping the precandidate accreditation phase because they have already admitted students. Because of this they are submitting their application for candidate status. Once they are approved for candidate status, graduating students can sit for the national pharmacy examination (NAPLEX).

We have advised the Hawaii College of Pharmacy to update their website to reflect that they are delaying submission of their application for accreditation. Otherwise, the school is following the proper procedures to become accredited. They have delayed submission of their application because they want to make sure their attempt to achieve candidate status in 2005 is successful.

If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Joanna M. Knych
Program Assistant, Professional Degree Program Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500
Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109
(P) 312.664.3575
(F) 312.664.4652
(E) [email protected]
Website: www.acpe-accredit.org

So who is spreading misinformation here? Would that be Kauaigirl 13 in reposting an email she received or would it be snugs01 for posting a phone conversation (I?m assuming since it was never specified)


Out of this whole debate, I did learn something. I am better off keeping my mouth shut and letting people find things out for themselves. I would just like to conclude this with what I think is probably the best post out of this whole debate about HICP and I will no longer post about HICP ever again.

understand the thought that South2006 is raining on future HICP students parade, but he is not bringing up these issues to spite any of you. He wants you guys to make sure you know as much as possible before you spend $28000. He is not saying "don't enroll".

However if you were to start a new pharmacy school, which way would you do it?

1. First hire a dean with experience at a college of pharmacy. Go about getting the pre-candidate accreditation(which has been done by every other college started). Have the dean hire a some faculty who could begin to outline the curriculum. Answer all inquiries from those skeptical of your new school quickly and completely. Begin to admit students and hire more faculty. Make plans for candidate accreditation evaluation visit early. Start classes

2. Admit students. Skip pre candidate accreditation. Not answer inquiries quickly(if at all) or completely. Make plans to admit second class for unprecadented spring class. Hire a dean 2 months before classes start ( who has never been involved with a pharmacy school or pharmacy in general). Hire a couple faculty and copy the curriculum from a brand new school that didn't qualify for candidate status on it first application. Start classes. Begin to prepare for on site evaluation(which you already postponed) a few months before it happens.

Everybody in their right mind would do it the first way. HICP seems to have made enough mistakes that it makes one question their professionalism.

It seems to me the reason they are doing it this way is money or lack there of. If you are undercapitalized while trying to start a professional school it is a HUGE problem. They be running a pseudo-Ponzi scheme where they use the incoming class' tuition to hire the first faculty and prepare for accreditation.

Questions I would ask HICP.

Who is the one lender for new students? Is it a new company, that may be lending the HICP-backing businessman's money which they then spend on the school AFTER you pay the tuition(the advantage being a lender is provided, giving the school some credence and interest income is made INSTEAD of pouring the money into the school from the beginning and then having to find a legitimate lender to take a chance on your school.

Exactly how many faculty have been hired?

Will you email me the curriculum as it looks this instant?(the acting dean will most certainly have this up to date on his computer if they are working hard on it)

Why did you skip the precandidate status step? Don't you think the ACPE is not going to look kindly upon HICP when you are doing things the way they think they should be done from the beginning, when you apply for candidate status? What could possibly be good about this besides the money saved by not hiring people?

Then I would call the ACPE and see how close to previous schools at this stage HICP is for faculty and curriculum.

There is at least a 50% chance that it will all work out for HICP but I wouldn't bet 28000 until I got some questions answered with details.

 

[EarlyEditionDude]

I think this Hawaii pharmacy school issue/debacle has gone wayyyyyyy overboard! But please continue, I am enjoying the good read!

 

[LVPharm]

I believe this is the closest thing to a "flame war" we've ever had in the Pharm.D. forum...somebody pass over the large bucket of popcorn!

Now seriously, did anyone say "HICP sucks"? Both me and South2006 come from relatively new programs. I can personally attest to the "jaundiced eye" pointed towards MY program by some of the pharmacists I've met in LV, especially some of the recent graduates who come over to work in NV for a variety of reasons (cheaper COL). The old timers seem to have an open mind. They usually don't have that "my school can kick your school's a*s" attitude. I have no problems with new programs. I just have concerns about the way in which this program is being started. Have I once denigrated or cast unfounded aspersions on either HICP or its future students? I don't think anybody here has. If anything has been said that is untrue, you could just as easily blame a program that is leaving its future students in the dark...that's inexcusable...considering they might be asking you to take out a second mortgage on your parent's house to pay for it.

When even the executive vice president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy says you are "completely at risk", you'd have to be an idiot to not be the least bit concerned.

 

[vafcarrot]

Your mama's so stupid, she ate a donut and spent an hour looking around for the hole....



Sorry, I couldn't resist. I had to join in with the trash talk. It's not fair that certain members on the forum get to hog all the trash talk glory.

 

[ucrsandstorm]

The SDN should be a place where we share information, concerns, and news. So lets do that. Going at each other is not going to change anyone's minds. In fact, it does the opposite and makes people stubborn and defensive. So lets move beyond the trash and have some good discussions.

I was turned on by all the valuable information from this forum but now its gotten out of hand.

 

[emogrrrrl]

The SDN should be a place where we share information, concerns, and news. So lets do that. Going at each other is not going to change anyone's minds. In fact, it does the opposite and makes people stubborn and defensive. So lets move beyond the trash and have some good discussions.

I was turned on by all the valuable information from this forum but now its gotten out of hand.

This thread is only one of hundreds...I don't think I've ever read another thread like this. I don't think anything has "gotten out of hand" or that every thread contains "trash". Overall, I think the forum is useful, and if you don't like the information in one thread, then just don't read it. As I stated in a previous thread...if you think this is a bad, go visit the pre-med allopathic forum. Happy hunting.

 

[ucrsandstorm]

Has anyone seen the school or meet the dean in person yet?

 

[hiepster]

Hi,

I got accepted to Hawaii College of Pharmacy but I can't seem to get loans anywhere because of the Accredidation status. Has anyone got any luck with their loans ? PLS HELP.

 

[hiepster]

I was accepted Feb 5th, a week after I interviewed. Tuition is due September 1st and there are three private lenders that offer loans:
www.educationone.com
www.bankofamerica.com
www.teri.org

I have not talked to my friend who is on the waitlist, but I think he will apply for the Class of 2008 as well because he really wants to move to Hawaii. If you talk to Mr. Park he'll let you know where you are the waitlist. He told my friend he is on the top 10% and more likely be adimtted.

Hi,

I got accepted to Hawaii College of Pharmacy 3 weeks ago but I haven't been able to find loans anywhere. Has anyone got any luck ?

 

[micph7]

Hi Hiepster,

It seems to me that we are on our own, but I am still wondering if Mr. Park will find lenders for us prior to the fee deadline. I am not sure if I should want to wait for couple more weeks? Well, it isn't hard to get a co-signer, but the problem is who's going to help paying the debt immediately following check disbursement. *sigh* guess I would have to be patiently wait for the miracle

Hi,

I got accepted to Hawaii College of Pharmacy 3 weeks ago but I haven't been able to find loans anywhere. Has anyone got any luck ?