Early Clinical Exposure and Peer Teaching for PharmD Students

This year the College of Pharmacy made arrangements to allow clinical exposure of students as early as year 2 of the PharmD program. Awareness of real-world practices for clinical pharmacy students early in their program of study has proven to be beneficial in enhancing knowledge retention as well as igniting student motivation to grasp new concepts, acquire pharmacy skills and develop appropriate attitudes required for the pharmacy graduate. The clinical exposure is comprised of a series of visits to Thumbay Hospital, Ajman and is part of the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) that continues with community pharmacy training, physical assessment, and clinical seminar.

In early clinical exposure, students shadow Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) students under the supervision of Clinical Preceptors. APPE students are full-time clinical interns in the hospital, who completed all program didactic courses. Peer learning from APPE mentors provides a smooth and effective start of clinical training.

Prof. Sherief Khalifa, Dean of the College of Pharmacy commented: The success of this initiative is largely due to the Academic Health System Structure that allows the free movement of students, faculty and clinical practitioners between GMU’s College of Pharmacy and other health care facilities.