The Pharmacist / Fall-Winter 2023 / Volume 1 / Issue 1

College of Pharmacy celebrates ten years of the International Summer Program
BY LAURA HAYES
College of Pharmacy Celebrates
of the International Summer Pro
In summer 2023, the College of Pharmacy celebrated its
10th anniversary of hosting international students, faculty,
and practicing pharmacists at the college’s Chicago
campus for the International Summer Program on
Contemporary Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Education.
PROGRAM ORIGINS
Dr. Alan Lau, professor emeritus and director of
International Clinical Pharmacy Education, started
the program at the request of one of the college’s
international partners at China Medical University in
Taiwan. Eventually, more of UIC Pharmacy’s international
partners, such as China Medical University, Taipei
Medical University, National Taiwan University, and
University of Hong Kong, started sending participants.
Since 2013, more than 400 people from locations
like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, China, Thailand,
the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and
Cambodia have participated in the monthlong summer
program to build their interest in pharmacy, expand
their perspectives on clinical practice and pharmacy
education, and allow them to experience U.S. culture.
“I think people from around the world look up to the
United States for clinical education, and that’s our focus
for the international program,” Lau says. Each summer,
the program provides more than 80 hours of teaching
and learning activities led by more than 30 UIC Pharmacy
faculty. They give case-based lectures and discussions,
which include telling students what they do in the
hospital and clinics. The program also hosts handson
lab experiences and shares different career tracks
within clinical pharmacy. Participants also get tours of
the UIC campus and UI Health hospital and clinics and
participate in various group outings in Chicago.
A POSTPANDEMIC PROGRAM RELAUNCH
In addition to Lau, Department of Pharmacy Practice
faculty Dr. Nancy Shapiro and Dr. James Lee now
codirect the program, which welcomed 68 participants
to UIC campus in 2023 after a three-year hiatus.
“I really enjoy leading this program and am grateful that
we were able to offer it again this year,” says Shapiro.
“We include a great group of faculty that have a passion
for teaching in their clinical practice and service areas.
This program works so well because we have so
many faculty to turn to for their contributions, that are
dedicated to furthering clinical pharmacy practice and
education beyond the United States.”
“We made some changes since the pandemic, and the
responses have been very good,” Lau says. “There were
a lot more interactions with our own students this year
and the feedback has been great.”
UIC STUDENT PHARMACIST AMBASSADORS
2023 marked the addition of having current UIC student
pharmacists engage and lead the participants as their
UIC mentors and teaching assistants.
“I was very grateful to be asked as one of the TAs
and mentors,” says Angelo Turla, current P3 student.
“I prepared a lecture, did a student-led panel, hosted
multiple social events, assisted with the different labs
such as blood pressure and geriatrics, and addressed
any questions that our group had.”
“I really loved all the events we had set up for the
students. It was a good opportunity for us to get to know
them, as well as learn about the different responsibilities
and requirements pharmacists have in each country.”
The program participants also learned from their UIC
mentors about differences and benefits of PharmD
programs offered in the United States.
16 THE PHARMACIST PHARMACY.UIC.EDU