51社区

Vision

To transform students, patients, pharmacists, and community, through innovative pharmacy education and research in a Christ-centered environment

Mission

To develop comprehensively trained, patient-centered practitioners of strong personal and professional character, equipped to meet the demands of an ever-changing health care environment

Excellence-Driven

Beginning with the Leadership of the College of Pharmacy, 51社区 is promoting an Excellence-Driven academic culture that instills knowledge and advances understanding of biomedical, pharmaceutical, social, behavioral, administrative and clinical sciences. Through the recruitment of professors who are exceptional in their respective fields, student pharmacists benefit greatly from the depth of the faculty's professional expertise, as well as from one-on-one personal and professional mentoring.

Union students have been recognized both regionally and nationally for their work in pharmacy, placing among the top performers in organizational competitions that include a focus on patient counseling, non-prescription drugs, and the application of clinical skills. Our faculty members have received recognition in the areas of innovative teaching, patient counseling, and research. Union's commitment to academic excellence challenges our students and faculty alike.

Christ-Centered

Throughout every academic pursuit in the College of Pharmacy, we provide a Christ-Centered environment that focuses on the intellectual, spiritual, and moral development of students in committing themselves to the service of church and society. We begin from the vantage point of faith, which is integrated with learning across the curriculum, even as we struggle with difficult issues and carry on debate in the pursuit of truth.

Courses such as Christian Faith and Pharmacy, Medical Missions, and The Union Pharmacist equip Union students to think through the challenges and moral dilemmas pharmacists may face in their profession. These courses allow a guided discussion where thought is not diminished and truth is pursued.

People-Focused

The faculty is committed to developing pharmacy students as practitioners who are People-Focused in providing optimum care based on evidence and best-practice standards. Through small group advising and personal student mentoring, the faculty extends investment beyond the classroom and takes an active interest in students, both professionally and personally.

Along with the rest of the Union family, pharmacy students have found the importance of giving back to the greater Jackson community. Pharmacy faculty and students frequently take the opportunity to serve the community by providing patient counseling at health fairs, and volunteering to serve with domestic and international mission opportunities.

Future-Directed

The College of Pharmacy is committed to support an academic environment that fosters Future-Directed growth of students and faculty. This vital growth relates to education, practice, research, and scholarship initiatives. State-of-the-art research facilities provide faculty with the opportunity to teach students how chemical structure impacts and determines medicinal characteristics including activity, delivery, and duration of action. These research labs allow students to discover new ways of treating symptoms and managing diseases.

Clinical education with pharmacy students is enhanced through the art of simulation education, which is done in collaboration with Union's School of Nursing. The College of Pharmacy is providing students with hands-on experience that they will find in day-to-day practice. Our students will participate in clinical, "real-life" scenarios utilizing human patient simulators which allow them to provide care to patients with heart failure, respiratory distress, and complications from labor and delivery, etc. This allows students to experience being part of a health care team in a controlled, risk-free environment.

"My time in pharmacy school was challenging. The expectations were high, and the curriculum was robust. One of the most impactful aspects of this excellence-driven program was mentorship. The value of having numerous professors and staff committed to each individual students' experience, progress, and future is hard to quantify. It was the mentorship that I experienced that allowed me to withstand the challenges of the program and life. The people-focused nature of the program allowed me to gain confidence in my clinical knowledge, pursue opportunities that were outside of my comfort zone, and solidify a path forward that aligned with my career goals. Those trustworthy mentors equipped me with the tools necessary to be a successful pharmacist." — Drew Wells ('16 & '20), Clinical Pharmacy Specialist: Internal Medicine, Methodist University Hospital

"Going to Pharmacy school at Union is unique in that class sizes are small so you know you will be known and supported. During my time in the classroom and on rotations, I became equipped to enter the workforce with confidence. I was constantly encouraged and supported by my professors. I'm proud and thankful to be an alumnus of the 51社区 College of Pharmacy." — Carson Cook ('23), PharmD, PGY1 Pharmacy Resident, Erlanger Health System

"I chose Union specifically for the Pharmacy Early Admissions Program (PEAP) to streamline my admission into the Pharmacy Program at Union. I found the 2-year PEAP to be quite challenging. I felt it truly prepared me for my classes in pharmacy school and made the transition from undergraduate to graduate school that much easier. Now that I am a practicing pharmacist, I can confidently say that receiving my education at UU helped me to be successful in starting my career." — Maria Calvert ('23), Pharmacist, Huntsville Hospital

"UUCOP prepared me for every day duties in the healthcare environment. Working in healthcare is a serious privilege not to be taken lightly. As students, we were encouraged to communicate the knowledge we learned to others in a professional way and tailor our responses based on who we were talking to. Being able to speak to other healthcare professionals at a higher level all the way down to patients who have less knowledge of medications is important. From a knowledge and preparedness standpoint, I did rotations with many students from many different programs and I always felt more prepared clinically than them, despite my grades in the classroom being average. I think that is a testimony to the structure of the program at UUCOP that has carried past graduation into my daily work life." — Tucker Phillips ('15)