| No Boundaries: The
Statewide Impact of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Arkansas JUNE 2001
Table of Contents
College of Pharmacy
An intensive recruiting effort resulted in an increase of applicants for the College of Pharmacy at a time when the nationwide trend is one of
declining applications. At the same time, salaries for our graduates continue to increase,
as does the demand for pharmacists in our state.
Doctor of Pharmacy Program
Nuclear Pharmacy Training via the Web
Non-traditional Doctor of Pharmacy Program
R. F. Ant™: Health Education about Drugs of Abuse
Poison Control and Drug Information Center
Doctor of Pharmacy Program
The Fall 1999 first-year class numbered 80 new students, including three African-American
and one Asian-American students. There are a total of 17 (6 percent) African-American
students in the student body of 308. The minority recruiter for the College of Pharmacy is
active in the Kansas chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical association (SNPhA)
which helps to plan and coordinate programs to increase minority representation in
pharmacy.The SNPhA offers several scholarships to our minority students. The College of
Pharmacy has two African-American faculty members.
Applications for the fall 2000 class totaled 147, all
Arkansas residents, as opposed to 128 for the fall 1999 class. The college made a
concerted effort to reach out to the entire state and to recruit prospective students at
the major four-year campuses in Arkansas.
Students in the college take part of their training in
rural areas in collaboration with the AHEC Program at several sites throughout the state.
Nuclear Pharmacy Training via the Internet
The College of Pharmacy and College of Health Related Professions are in the process of
establishing an educational consortium with the University of New Mexico to provide
nuclear pharmacy training through a distance education program via the Internet. The
program will expand the opportunities for students and pharmacists across the state and
country to access this specialty training.
Non-traditional Doctor of Pharmacy Program
In October 1999, the college applied a new admissions
process for the Non-traditional Doctor of Pharmacy program. Approximately 280 practicing
pharmacists are currently enrolled. This educational program enables them to upgrade their
academic credentials without attending UAMS full-time. The application cycles are set for
February 1, June 1, and October 1 each year. The first group of 26 students began
coursework in June 2000. To enhance the program's learning objectives, the college is
moving the didactic curriculum of the Non-traditional Doctor of Pharmacy Program to the
Web for improved access and convenience.
R. F. Ant: Health Education about Drugs of Abuse
 To
effectively present necessary information about drugs of abuse to young school children,
Kim Edward Light, Ph.D., a faculty member of the UAMS College of Pharmacy, developed and
produced a Disney-style animated cartoon about this growing problem in our society for
presentation in schools and by organizations. The Adventures of R.F. Ant® is
an innovative drug abuse prevention program for children in kindergarten through fourth
grade. The program is centered on the good advice from the ant-like "star"
character, R.F. Ant®, which children quickly learn stands for refusant
– that is, a person who chooses to refuse drugs and knows why.
The U.S. Department of Education, Drug Free Schools and Communities Program, Arkansas
Division on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, and UAMS co-funded the production of the
cartoon.
The premiere broadcast of the cartoon was presented on two
Saturdays – October 19 and 26, 1991, by KATV/7 in Little Rock (ABC affiliate) and on
Saturday, March 7, 1992, by KLRT/16 in Little Rock (now a FOX affiliate). Since then, the
cartoon has been shown in many schools and to other youth-oriented organizations by teams
of College of Pharmacy students and faculty as discussion guides and presenters, so the
important lessons “taught” by R.F. Ant continue to impress young minds to this
day.
The cartoon has won several awards for excellence:
- Bronze Telly Award, national competition (1992)
- Bronze Quill Award of Excellence from the International
Association of Business
Communicators/Arkansas (1992)
- Certificate of Excellence, Health Sciences Communications
Association (1992)
- Certificate of Merit Award from INTERCOM/Chicago - The
Industrial Film and Video Festival (1992).
Building upon the acceptance of the cartoon as a valid and
valued educational program, Dr. Light has presented an annual coloring contest based on
the popular R.F. Ant character with the following results.
- Coloring sheets distributed to LRSD elementary schools, with
~5,000 entries; awards displayed at Park Plaza Mall April 24, 1993.
- Coloring sheets distributed to LRSD elementary schools and
other schools as students desired, with ~6,000 entries; with awards ceremony held at
University Mall co-hosted by Channel 7.
- Coloring sheets as tray liners at all central Arkansas
McDonald's restaurants printing paid for by McDonalds, with ~2,000 entries; with awards
ceremony held at University Mall, co-hosted by Channel 7 and McDonald's. First appearance
of R.F. Ant® in costume.
- Coloring sheets distributed and collected by pharmacy
students NARD student chapter, ~15,000 entries; with awards on display at University Mall.
- Coloring sheets distributed and collected by pharmacy
students NARD student chapter, ~18,000 entries; co-sponsored by Arkansas Pharmacists
Association with awards and display at University Mall.
- Coloring sheets distributed and collected by pharmacy
students NCPA (National Community Pharmacists Association) student chapter; ~ 12,000
entries; co-sponsored by Arkansas Pharmacists Association with awards and display at
University Mall.
- Coloring sheets distributed and collected by pharmacy
students NCPA student chapter; ~ 14,000 entries; co-sponsored by Arkansas Pharmacists
Association with awards and display at University Mall.
- Coloring sheets distributed and collected by pharmacy
students NCPA student chapter; ~ 16,000 entries; co-sponsored by Arkansas Pharmacists
Association with awards and display at University Mall.
Poison Control and Drug Information
Center
 Since 1973, the college has operated these two centers. The Arkansas Poison
Control Center is a 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-per-year service that is accessible anywhere
in the state by calling a toll-free number: 1-800-3POISON. Many calls come from a frantic
mom or dad holding a screaming infant who has just swallowed something – a household
cleaner, a mothball, a leaf from a household plant, etc. Nearly 75 percent of these calls
are treated at home by the pharmacist or a supervised pharmacy student on duty; avoiding
the hazards of time delay and expense of a visit to a clinic or hospital Emergency
Department. In this fiscal year, this center received 20,226 phone calls.
The Drug Information Center is a consulting service for health-care professionals seeking
information and consultation on drugs and medicines. Most of the inquiries come from
physicians, pharmacists, and clinic or ER nurses seeking information about possible drug
interactions between a new medicine and an existing one on a patient's record. In this
fiscal year, this center received 10,539 phone calls statewide.
© 2001 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Division of Institutional Advancement
4301 W. Markham St., Slot 716
Little Rock, AR 72205
501-686-5685
06/25/01 |
