Student Mobility Programs: To Enhance Students’ Academic Training

Peking University Two-Week Faculty-Led Academic Experience to UConn School of Pharmacy

The aims of this program are to:

  1. Inform students about pharmacy education, research and clinical practice in the U.S. and the differences between the academic programs.
  2. Increase students’ understanding of the opportunities and challenges of pharmacists’ roles and responsibilities within the United States and China.
  3. Heighten awareness of pharmacy practice through pre-arranged visits to affiliated institutional training sites. This planned learning experience will expose participants to differences between acute-care and ambulatory-care practices.
  4. Build students’ knowledge and understanding of U.S. culture through visits to cultural and historic sites.

We are very pleased with this new initiative for UConn School of Pharmacy to host a two-week non-credit workshop for PKU students in the spring semester. PKU sent a delegation of undergraduate students for a short 2-week faculty-led UConn study tour in 2015. There were 11 students (9 females and 2 males) accompanied by Vice Department Head of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, Dr. Hong Shao, Ph.D. The visit to UConn took place from February 1-15 and the theme was to: “Experience pharmacy education, research and practice in the U.S.”

The group was housed at the Nathan Hale Inn on campus. Each visiting student was assigned a UConn School of Pharmacy peer “buddy” to shadow. They spent the first five days on campus attending core and elective classes, seminars, practice and compounding labs, and a research day to tour pharmaceutical science laboratories and to attend a research seminar prepared by graduate students. We had 10 “buddy” volunteers from a pool of past participants in the TCM program. PKU students also participated in pre-arranged visits to affiliated academic institutions (Yale New Haven Hospital and Hartford Hospital) to observe and shadow pharmacy practice experiences. Cultural enrichments included visits to Yale University, the legendary Frank Pepe Pizzeria (New Haven), CT’s Old State House, the State Capitol and Legislative Building, tour of Governor Malloy’s residence, and Mark Twain House in Hartford. In addition, the group also took day trips to Boston and New York City.