The charter graduating class of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences received top scores in the 2006 national and state pharmacy licensure exams. The 24 members of the charter class entered the Skaggs School in 2002 and were the first to complete the four-year program leading to the doctorate in pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
According to school officials, the average score of the 24 members the Skaggs School’s 2006 graduating class was well above both the California state and national average for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination™ (NAPLEX®), developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® and utilized by the boards of pharmacy as part of their assessment of competence to practice pharmacy. All 24 Skaggs School charter graduates passed the exam on their first attempt.
“Successes of this nature clearly demonstrate that the University of California made a great investment in these students and in starting a professional pharmacy program at UCSD,” said Palmer Taylor, Ph.D., founding dean of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science and Associate Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences at UCSD. “Continuation of this support will pay dividends in healthcare and pharmaceutical research across the State of California for years to come.”
After graduation from an accredited pharmaceutical program and prior to licensing by the state, prospective pharmacists must demonstrate competency to practice pharmacy.
NAPLEX measures three areas of competence: safe and effective pharmacotherapy and optimizing therapeutic outcomes; safe and accurate preparation and dispensing of medications; and providing healthcare information and promoting public health.
The first group of 17 Skaggs graduates who took the exam in summer 2006 scored an average of 125.65 out of a possible 150 points, with the California state average being 113.4 and national average, 107.02. The seven remaining students took the test in fall 2006. Their average score of 121.14 compared to a state average of 101.35 and national average of 93.18.
UCSD’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is the second public school of pharmacy in California; its partner school in the University of California system is UC San Francisco, which has offered pharmacy degrees for over a century.
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Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu