Education

In December 2023, the medical laboratory science program hosted their annual poster fair. This year, four graduate students presented their capstone projects at the event and nine groups of MLS students presented their case study projects.

“Our students did a wonderful job presenting their projects at our annual poster fair,” said Dr. Tami Alpaugh, assistant professor and event organizer. “I am especially proud of our MMLS students on their capstone projects and the work they put in to advocate for and advance our discipline.”

The event took place in the U of M Health Sciences Education Center on the Twin Cities campus. Attendees included faculty, staff, MLS clinical affiliates, and program friends/partners, as well as external capstone project sponsors.

The 2024 poster fair is already scheduled, so mark your calendars for Friday, Dec. 6 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. More details will be shared as the event approaches! 

As reported in the fall 2023 issue of The Record, the college completed its accreditation self-study and site visit in December. Since that time, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) has disseminated its final feedback and decisions. The PharmD program’s accreditation is continued to 2032, a full eight year term.

The Evaluation Team Report (ETR) shared by ACPE is inclusive of the on-site report that was shared in December and is used in considering the continued accreditation of the Doctor of Pharmacy program. In particular, the report gives attention to the progress the college’s PharmD program has made and the changes that have occurred since the last comprehensive on-site evaluation which was in November 2015.  

The ETR recognizes many areas of achievement in the PharmD program itself, within the organization and administration, and among faculty.  The report notes our work in: forming instructional groups around the 8 Areas of Science underpinning the MNspire curriculum, expanding pre-tests for incoming students to support their readiness for the program, initiating concordant mentoring, initiating the BE ME program, emphasizing professional identity formation, creating the Improving Medication Use Systems (IMUS) IPPE, incorporating whole-task learning with its focus on the work of a pharmacist, and processing of student performance data to improve the program, among other initiatives. In addition, the report notes our work in providing emergency funds for students in need, increased scholarships, reduced out-of-state tuition, and provision of Mental Health First Aid training to all incoming students. 

“We are proud of the many ways the ETR recognizes the commitment of everyone in our pharmacy program and the attributes that make it unique and exceptional,” said Dean Welage. “We are also very aware of the opportunities the accreditation process gives the college for continuous improvement.”

The ETR highlights some areas where the program will be “compliant with monitoring.” They include several areas related to the integration of the MLS and OT programs, a plan for Duluth leadership, updates on the ongoing development of the MNspire curriculum and faculty workload analysis, and assessment of student achievement within the MNspire program.

Faculty and staff have reviewed the ETR and have begun developing next steps in response. Our efforts moving forward will be to comply with recommended monitoring requirements, use external analysis to identify areas of excellence and for improvement, and create action plans and initiatives to address and support these areas.