Hartford Business Journal

HCH.16 Hartford Business Journal • December 8, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com HealtH Care Heroes 2014 Ofosu trains the next generation of pharmacists By Krystal Overmyer Special to the Hartford Business Journal J oseph Ofosu designed the University of St. Joseph's School of Pharmacy with a simple premise: Train com- petent, service-oriented pharmacists, and move them into their careers faster. Starting the program from scratch, the dean also had an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to think creatively, he said. "Not many people have the opportunity to be founding deans and to be able to do things innovatively and differently from the traditional way," he said. The School of Pharmacy Ofosu founded differs from a typical pharmacy program. Instead of the usual four-year graduate degree, University of St. Joseph's School of Phar- macy offers a three-calendar year program culminating in a doctorate of pharmacy. Only a handful of other U.S. institu- tions fashion their programs that way, he said. Ofosu also scrapped the tra- ditional curriculum approach and redesigned it to make the material easier for students to master, he said. Instead of taking three-to-five courses per term, students learn one module at a time. Rather than taking anatomy, physiology or medications classes separate- ly, students learn the material organized systematically by body systems, Ofosu said. As a result, students are better able to make connections between different aspects of the same system, he said. Ofosu also embedded service-learning and practical expe- riences in the program. Students learn through real-life prac- tice at clinics, hospitals and pharmacies as early as their first term. Students are also required to log an additional 60 hours of community service to graduate. Small group work is another way the program encourages active learning and participation, Ofosu said. Other program- matic tweaks include bringing more technology into the learning experience, such as recording lectures so students can play them back later. All of these components add up to a coherent, rigorous pharmacy program that also keeps abreast of the changing needs of the community, Ofosu said. The program received full accreditation this summer from the Accreditation Coun- cil for Pharmacy Education. "We are becoming a standard of practice from the way we design our classroom, interact with students, technology and small group learning," Ofosu said. "Those are things that are quite different than what they used to [be]." Before joining the University of St. Joseph, Ofosu worked in both clinical and academic settings. He holds a doctorate of pharmacy from Howard University and completed his doctoral residency in pediatric pharmacy at Children's National Medical Center and the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Prior to the University of Saint Joseph, Ofosu served as associate dean for academic affairs at Howard Univer- sity's College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. Pamela Trotman Reid, University of St. Joseph's president, said she recruited Ofosu because of his deep commitment to student excellence. "Students know that he cares about their success," Reid said. "He's there for his faculty and his students. That's what you need in an academic leader." The school's first class of students graduated this spring and boasted a 97.9 percent pass rate on the pharmacy licen- sure examination, beating the national average (95.6 percent) and state average (96.1 percent). In addition to raising the profile of the university, the School of Pharmacy has enhanced the visibility of downtown Hartford, Reid said. The school is also drawing attention from outside the state. About 60 percent of the pharmacy's students come from outside of Connecticut, Ofosu said. Of this spring's graduat- ing class, about half have stayed in Connecticut, he said. Ofosu's goal is to have all students graduate with a strong sense of service to the community. "I am not much interested in titles, but people who are truly committed and devoted to service," he said. As the program becomes more established, Ofosu hopes class sizes will rise from 80 students currently to about 100. "We are training competent and caring pharmacists who are devoted to service, scholarly work and best professional practices," he said Joseph R. Ofosu Dean and Professor, School of Pharmacy University of St. Joseph Category Winner: CorporaTe aCHieveMeNT — iNNovaTioN Joseph Ofosu had the rare opportunity to design University of St. Joseph's School of Pharmacy from scratch. The school's first graduating class boasted a 97.9 percent pass rate on the pharmacy licensing exam, higher than the statewide and U.S. average. P H O T O s | C O n T r i b u T e d " " Not many people have the opportunity to be founding deans and to be able to do things innovatively and differently from the traditional way.

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