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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cara
Peracchi Douglas UCSF Fresno Welcomes the School of Pharmacy to the Valley The University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program (UCSF Fresno) welcomes the UCSF School of Pharmacy to Fresno. Responding to the severe shortage of pharmacists in the Central Valley, plans are currently underway to establish a program to train pharmacists in Fresno. As a first step, valley native, Mitra Assemi, PharmD, has been appointed as director of the UCSF Fresno Pharmacy Education Program. "We are fortunate to have Mitra head up this exceptional program," said Deborah Stewart, MD, associate dean for UCSF Fresno. "By offering a local training program, we will be better prepared to deliver a pipeline of pharmacists to our community. "Since UCSF Fresno's residency program retains 50 percent of its physicians, it is expected that this program will have similar results." Presently, the UCSF School of Pharmacy is the only public pharmacy graduate school in the state of California. UCSF School of Pharmacy maintains five clerkship sites statewide including San Francisco, South San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. Fresno will make up the sixth site. The School of Pharmacy program is a four-year doctorate program. As a part of their training, students complete required advanced pharmacy practice experiences, or clerkships. "Establishing a satellite program for our doctor or pharmacy (PharmD) students in collaboration with the UCSF School of Medicine and local pharmacist practitioners is an exciting prospect for us," said Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, dean of UCSF School of Pharmacy. "We hope to encourage more students from the Central San Joaquin Valley to come to the UCSF School of Pharmacy and return home to serve their valley community." The School will admit six incoming students in the first year with plans to grow the program to twenty in the next five to ten years. "I am thrilled to return to the valley to start this vital clerkship program," said Assemi. "We will welcome our first students in May 2002." To
arrange for photos or interviews, please contact Cara Peracchi Douglas
at 559.243.3606. |