Mission
The primary mission
of the Radiopharmacy
Education Program is
to provide a
comprehensive
training experience
that affords
individuals the
opportunity to
acquire the
scientific
knowledge, technical
skills, and
professional
judgment required to
promote patient care
through assurance of
the safe and
efficacious use of
radiopharmaceuticals
and ancillary
medications for
diagnosis and
therapy. In order to
best accomplish this
mission, it is
necessary to develop
professionals who
can solve problems,
think logically, and
work independently
or in collaboration
to conduct research
that will add to the
knowledge base in
nuclear medicine and
radiopharmaceutical
science.
Moreover nuclear
pharmacy is
practiced in
countries all around
the world. Not only
are U.S. pharmacists
traveling to these
countries to meet
their health care
needs, but
pharmacists from
these countries are
also seeking
opportunities to
become competently
trained nuclear
pharmacy
practitioners in
order to return
their native lands.
To maintain its
reputation as a
premier nuclear
pharmacy education
program, the UNM
College of Pharmacy
must seek to address
the idiosyncrasies
and needs of nuclear
pharmacy on an
international scale.
Background
The
comprehensive
nature of
the program
is related
to the fact
that
information
is made
available in
a variety of
ways. The
program
therefore is
able to
achieve the
following
goals:
To develop pharmacy generalists who can effectively manage patients requiring both diagnostic and therapeutic medications. Information regarding the rational use of radiopharmaceuticals is integrated into the professional (entry-level) Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.
To develop specialist who can serve as caregivers in the Radiology setting and provide consultation to all health care professionals, a focused curriculum is offered at the M.S. and certificate levels. [Note: The M.S. Program is available to pharmacists as well as individuals with a background in the life sciences. Realizing that these two types of students may have different career goals, both a clinical track curriculum and a basic science track curriculum are offered. The focus of the clinical track is on the care of patients who receive diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, and on practice-related issues and research, whereas the basic science track emphasizes theory of imaging technology, radiation protection, use of radiometric methodologies, development of radioactive drugs, and basic science research.
To promote the expansion of knowledge and technology, to foster creative thinking, and to advance the practice of nuclear pharmacy, and diverse research program is maintained by both fulltime and volunteer faculty who serve as role models for students.
To promote life-long learning, and correspondence continuing education program is offered to practicing nuclear pharmacists and nuclear medicine professionals.
The entire pharmacy profession, including the specialty of nuclear pharmacy, is an applied science. However, nuclear pharmacy, even more so than general pharmacy practice, relies upon a firm grounding in multiple basic sciences. To practice nuclear pharmacy, one must not be able to extemporaneously compound and test a wide range of radioactive medications, develop enforce adequate radiation protection measures for one’s self and coworkers, meet the demand of numerous regulators, and troubleshoot a variety of imaging pitfalls and artifacts, and also provide patient care in a setting that is foreign to most pharmacists. Therefore, to achieve an optimal learning environment for nuclear pharmacy, it is essential to have an appropriate blending of the clinical sciences with multiple basic sciences. The faculty of the Radiopharmacy Education Program were carefully selected to enhance the education experience of students at all levels.
The
University of New Mexico’s Doctor of Pharmacy program is
accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education,
20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60602-5109, TEL
(312) 664-3575 , FAX (312) 664-4652,
URL
http://www.acpe-accredit.org/
05/05/2008 09:19:12 AM -0600.