FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu

 

2012 Pharmacy Graduates at

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

 Defy Low Employment Trend Reported by

Other Pharmacy Colleges in Tennessee

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86% of UTHSC Pharmacy Grads Have Jobs Before Graduation

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Memphis, Tenn. (May 24, 2012) – While some newly minted Tennessee pharmacy schools report a serious lack of employment opportunities for their students, the 176 graduates of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Pharmacy are defying that trend.  With their commencement only one day away (Friday, May 25), 151 members of the UTHSC Pharmacy class (86%) already have jobs lined up and confirmed.  Of that 86%, about 48 graduating pharmacists have opted to pursue advanced training through postdoctoral work and pharmacy residency, plus three students are enrolled in PhD programs.

As of today, only 13 UTHSC Pharmacy students (about 7% of the class) had not decided which job offer they were taking or had not received a job offer.  Another 12 students had not yet texted Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, dean of the UTHSC College of Pharmacy, to confirm their employment status.

“These employment numbers are outstanding,” Dr. Chisholm-Burns said.  “They clearly reflect that the depth and experience of our program, combined with the incredible strength of our faculty, staff and leadership, make a tangible difference in our graduates’ ability to succeed fresh out of the gate, at the very outset of their careers.”

Founded in 1898, the UT College of Pharmacy is the first pharmacy school established in the state of Tennessee and is ranked 17th out of some 120 pharmacy colleges in the nation (April 2012 U.S. News & World Report).  The UTHSC College of Pharmacy is the only pharmacy school in the Mid-South region to be ranked among the top 20 such colleges in the nation.

With more than 5,800 graduates, the UT College of Pharmacy has major campus locations in Memphis and Knoxville, and Clinical Education Centers in Kingsport and Nashville.  Roughly 75 percent of the college’s graduates remain in Tennessee to live, work and contribute to their communities.  Additionally, the college has some 300 sites across the state where students gain experience through community practice and residency, clinical rotation, and institutional practice and residency.  Plus the college offers pharmacy rotations in 13 countries.  The economic impact of the UT College of Pharmacy is estimated at $82.7 million through licensing technologies and discoveries that fuel the biotech industry in the Mid-South region.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrated its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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