Strategic plan

The Wayne State University Pharmacy Program has been providing education, scholarship, and service in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences for nearly 100 years. This strategic plan reflects the goals and aspirations of the Faculty of Pharmacy, with contributions from our staff, students, alumni, preceptors, and partners across our community. While not a full compilation of everything we wish to accomplish, the goals herein represent priority objectives to align our effort, time, and resources as we embark on the second century of Pharmacy at Wayne State University.

The Pharmacy Division strategic plan below was approved by the faculty on May 4, 2023.

Revision Process

The revision process for the Division of Pharmacy Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan began in August 2021 and continued into the 2022-23 academic year, coinciding with the ACPE Accreditation Self-Study process. Faculty and administration worked with an external consultant who completed a comprehensive review of mission, vision, and values statements of multiple colleges and schools of pharmacy as well as selected pharmacy professional societies. Faculty and staff input was sought through Division meeting activities, surveys, and town hall discussions to propose goals, objectives, and metrics. Students and external stakeholders (alumni, preceptors, employers) were invited to participate in surveys and discussions to give feedback on revisions and priorities. The resulting document was edited by the Associate Dean and Department Chairs for Faculty and Staff approval.

The Strategic Focus areas of this plan are aligned with the Wayne State University "Our Moment In Time" Strategic Plan for 2022-2027. The Wayne State University mission and vision statements emphasize advancement in academics, research, diversity, and community engagement. These form the foundation of the five strategic focus areas of the WSU Strategic Plan: Research and Discovery; Teaching, Learning and Student Success; Outreach and Engagement; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Financial Sustainability and Operational Excellence. The Division of Pharmacy Strategic Plan retains these focus areas, with the addition of a focus area Patients and Practice to reflect the important role of the pharmacy program in patient care.

The revision process identified many areas of interest and potential goals for the program. Survey data was used to narrow the focus to the top two priorities under each strategic focus. Each goal is associated with up to 4 short term and long-term strategies to accomplish the goal. Key performance measures and suggested timelines are identified in an accompanying spreadsheet. Goals that are more appropriately addressed at the college level are identified on the EACPHS strategic plan; however, college-wide resources are noted as key facilitators for many Division and Department goals.

Putting Plans to Action

Moving forward from the renewed Division of Pharmacy Strategic Plan, we seek to keep our monitoring and assessment up to date and reflective of the evolving needs of the professional and graduate programs, the faculty, and the university. The goals and strategies from the plan will be linked to annual committee charges, work assignments, and budget and resource planning. Selected Key Performance Measures will be included in committee reports and assessment dashboards. And two strategic focus areas will be recommended annually by members of the Assessment committee and Pharmacy Leadership Team for review and updates.

In this way we will maintain the strategic plan as a continuously renewed improvement plan for the programs and Division.

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Wayne State University
Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Division of Pharmacy

Vision Statement: We will be a preeminent, public, urban Pharmacy Program known for academic and research excellence, success across a diverse student body, meaningful outreach in its community, and exceptional graduates.

Mission Statement: The mission of the Wayne State University Pharmacy Program is to advance pharmacy education, practice, research, and public service, to improve the health of patients.

Within the scope of the Division of Pharmacy, each department affirms their mission statements.

Department of Pharmacy Practice Mission

The mission of the Wayne State University Department of Pharmacy Practice is to prepare highly qualified pharmacists, researchers, and leaders for success in diverse environments and to ultimately improve health.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Mission

• Provide an integrated, multidisciplinary education in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences to students enrolled in our graduate and Doctor of Pharmacy programs.
• Maintain innovative research programs in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences which contribute to our understanding of the design, synthesis, delivery, disposition, action, and safety of biologically active compounds.
• Serve as a resource of expertise to the University and the community at large.

Values

We reaffirm our commitment to the values of Wayne State University:

• Collaboration: When we work together, drawing upon various talents and perspectives, we achieve better results.
• Integrity: We keep our word, live up to our commitments, and are accountable to ourselves and each other.
• Innovation: We are unafraid to try new things and learn by both failure and success.
• Excellence: We strive for the highest-quality outcomes in everything we do.
• Diversity and Inclusion: We value all people and understand that their unique experiences, talents and perspectives make us a stronger organization and better people.
• Leadership: We are proud of our long history as an anchor institution in Detroit and will continue to serve our community while playing a lead role in the city's resurgence.

Strategic Focus: Research & Discovery

The WSU EACPHS Division of Pharmacy is dedicated to advancing knowledge, understanding, and discovery through basic, clinical, translational, educational scholarship and other forms of creative expression. This commitment is evident in our curricula, fostering opportunities for research training in our professional, graduate, and post graduate programs. We are proud of our established areas of research strength and excited about new areas of scholarly growth. We seek to increase the reputation and recognition of our research productivity and impact across all aspects of pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical science disciplines.

Goal 1: Expand research initiatives in basic, translational, clinical, and educational sciences to achieve advances in health outcomes and pharmacy practice.

Objectives:

• Recruit and retain highly qualified faculty in areas with potential for significant collaboration within the Division and College.
• Facilitate inter- and intra-departmental collaborative research groups to enhance externally funded multi-investigator grants.
• Expand recognition of scholarly activity of faculty and students.

Goal 2: Enhance technologies, infrastructure, and process to increase scholarly activity.

Objectives:

• Create procedures and resources to assure key equipment/technology is accessible, maintained and users are appropriately trained.
• Evaluate feasibility to expand grant and manuscript pre-submission review services.
• Leverage mentorship to increase utilization of resources to develop skills of creating research
• programs, publications, and externally funded grants.

Strategic Focus: Teaching, Learning, & Student Success

In the present healthcare climate, PharmD, MS, and PhD graduates need to have the capacity for continuous learning and to be competitively positioned for entry into current and future health-related careers. An emphasis on student success and continuous improvement in content and pedagogy is designed to meet those needs. We are in the process of enhancing our student success initiatives through programmatic and course-level efforts. The quality and relevance of the content and delivery of our curriculum will be the focus of a number of quality improvement measures. These objectives satisfy our mission to develop pharmacy practitioners to practice at the topic of their degree and lead the profession.

Goal 1: Invest in student success.

Objectives:

• Implement programs to increase undergraduate/pre-pharmacy preparation to improve success of admitted students in the professional curriculum.
• Expand student success programs to include consistent efforts within individual courses and maintain or enhance existing study skills workshops and learning community.
• Provide diverse and inclusive opportunities to enhance student life and career development, including extracurricular experiences, community engagement and robust advising.

Goal 2: Continuously improve teaching and learning in all aspects of the educational enterprise.

Objectives:

• Continuously improve our teaching methodologies and curricula to align with our changing demographics and evolving healthcare and workforce needs.
• Gather information from students, preceptors, employers, and environmental scans to identify areas of growth that need to be adjusted and/or enhanced within the curriculum.
• Build interdisciplinary connections in graduate and professional training.
• Expand professional development and recognition in teaching and learning for faculty members and graduate assistants.

Strategic Focus: Outreach and Engagement

Wayne State is well known for our history of outreach and engagement, promoting social mobility and meaningful impact on our community in Detroit. The Division of Pharmacy embraces community engagement in public health through education, scholarship, and service. Working with our partners in Detroit, Michigan, and beyond, we will advocate for science and the profession of pharmacy to solve healthcare problems and improve the lives of patients in our community.

Goal 1: Lead and participate in community opportunities that improve public and individual health outcomes in Detroit and Michigan.

Objectives:

• Expand partnerships with local and regional government, community organizations, and other thought leaders to address issues specific to health of underserved communities.
• Develop programs to support professional advocacy among faculty, students, and alumni.

Goal 2: Deepen our engagement with Detroit and Michigan health care, business, community partners, and alumni to address challenges of workforce pipeline development.

Objectives:

• Partner with employers to enhance the number of internships and employment opportunities for students.
• Expand strategic partnerships with employers to provide lifelong learning opportunities for their employees.
• Provide regular events for pharmacy and pharmaceutical science alumni to increase communication and participation in program/college activities and support of students.

Strategic Focus: Financial Sustainability & Operational Excellence

Maintaining and growing the Division of Pharmacy requires financial planning and operational productivity. Our Division will innovate to build the reputation of our scholarship, education, and practice and attract students to our programs. We will work with partners across the University and Community to strengthen the pipeline for pharmacy and pharmaceutical science education. We will ensure the administrative staff and leadership of the Division and Departments are equipped to provide effective efficient financial and administrative practices.

Goal 1: Promote sustainable financial and operational practices and responsible resource utilization.

Objectives:

• Evaluate potential financial risks (e.g., payments at practice sites, unstable support for clinical lines), and implement cost avoidance measures.
• Explore opportunities / feasibility for educational certificate programs professional and graduate education (e.g., continuing education).
• Develop a strategy to maintain program and department equipment to minimize unexpected future costs from deferred maintenance.

Goal 2: Grow or maintain enrollment across all programs.

Objectives:

• Expand participation in undergraduate partnerships to build a pipeline for future Wayne State pharmacy and pharmaceutical science students.
• Engage students, alumni and faculty in outreach, reputation building, recruitment, and yield efforts.
• Expand recruitment efforts to increase out-of-state and international students.

Strategic Focus: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The Division of Pharmacy is committed to principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and justice. We continue to enhance our strategic focus on building an inclusive community where every person is valued, welcomed, and given opportunities to thrive. We will work intentionally to diminish health disparities, promote health equity, and eliminate structural and systemic barriers to advancement in our programs and profession.

Goal 1: Recruit, support, retain and empower a more diverse faculty and staff.

Objectives:

• Hold workshops for faculty on DEI issues related to recruitment, hiring, and creating a culture of inclusion.
• Build robust support structures within departments and the college to ensure inclusion and well-being of diverse faculty and staff.

Goal 2: Recruit, support and retain a diverse student body that better reflects and serves the greater Detroit community.

Objectives:

• Develop an affinity-based student peer-mentorship program and engage alumni to assist with diverse student mentoring needs.
• Identify opportunities to increase recruitment and outreach to students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in pharmacy.
• Invest in undergraduate mentorship programs to encourage student success in prerequisites and support minoritized students interested in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science career paths.

Strategic Focus: Practice & Patients

The current situation of health care has led the profession and the Program to prioritize the expansion of practice models and student engagement in the growth of the profession. Based on the current climate of jointly funded faculty positions, WSU can create models of care in health systems, transitions of care, and community-based practices. We have the opportunity to foster collaborations within the institutions and with other health care providers based on the integration of the embedded jointly funded faculty positions. The faculty are in a prime position to collaborate with others internally and externally to advance the profession and emerge as leaders in the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative.

This is the time for the profession to position itself as a leader in this effort and for the WSU Pharmacy Program to distinguish itself from other programs in Michigan.

Goal 1: Advance the practice of pharmacy.

Objectives:

• Support clinical faculty practice relationships that demonstrate the value of expanded pharmacy services on the health of patients and the population
• Advocate for regulatory and corporate (payers and employers) advances that recognize the need to invest in pharmacy services.

Goal 2: Demonstrate the benefit of pharmacy education and expanded pharmacy services on patient outcomes.

Objectives:

• Implement student educational programs that promote the expansion of pharmacy services.
• Advance research and practice in implementation science needed to promote and sustain
• healthy communities.

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