Touro College of Pharmacy graduates 6th class

NEW YORK — Touro College of Pharmacy last week celebrated the graduation of its sixth class of new pharmacists. The school held commencement exercises for the 97 graduates at Columbia University’s Roone Arledge Auditorium, sending students off on such paths as work in retail or hospital pharmacies, public health organizations, government agencies and drug companies, as well as more schooling.

“How pharmacists will function in a world where distant pharmacies and computer-filled prescriptions are becoming the norm all represent challenges to professional practice,” Touro College and University system president Dr. Alan Kadish told graduates. “Whatever the challenges appear to be, and however complex your lives seem, one individual can really make a difference. One of the keys to making that difference is perseverance and commitment.”

The school welcomed Sage Medicatoin Practices medication safety specialist Darryl Rich as the event’s keynot speaker. He noted the changing role he has seen since he got started in pharmacy and the increased respect for a pharmacist’s clinical knowledge that has come with expanded services pharmacists provide.

“Physicians know and respect the clinical knowledge and skills of pharmacists — not only accepting but demanding that they be part of the team in the care of the patient,” Rich said, adding that increased recognition extends to health care management and leaders in other areas of the industry when it comes to proper medication use and medication safety.

Other speakers highlighted the need for the newly minted pharmacists to put medication safety at the forefront in their work.

“You may be the clinical pharmacist who provides the antibiotic drug regimen for a patient with life-threatening pneumonia, or who sees patients with heart diseases, does a targeted physical exam, orders blood tests and prescribes anticoagulants to prevent strokes,” Touro College of Pharmacy dean Henry Cohen said in his remarks. “Your opportunities to help patients and society are endless.”