Posted by William Nunnelley on 2006-07-12

What began at Samford University as a biannual meeting of 35 Asian pharmacy practitioners in 1997 has grown into a major annual conference that this summer attracted more than 500 registrants to a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. The sixth Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) was held July 6-9 at the Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok.

Samford played a major role in helping to create, organize and support ACCP, which is composed of clinical pharmacy practitioners, educators, researchers, administrators and others interested in promoting excellence in clinical pharmacy practice, education and research in Asia.

Drs. Tim Welty, Bruce Waldrop and Charlie Sands of Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy made presentations at this year's meeting. Welty discussed new Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) guidelines for pharmacy education and gave an update on new drugs for the treatment of epilepsy. Sands made a presentation on opportunities for East and West collaboration, a talk based on the experience of Samford's pharmacy school.

Waldrop created wide interest with his discussion of the concept of the "Morning Report." This concept provides an integrated approach to combining the basic sciences and the clinical sciences to create a unique learning experience for students. The concept was the subject of a poster presented at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) meeting in San Diego July 8-12, authored by Waldrop and Drs. Dee Thomason and Bob Henderson of the Samford pharmacy school.

A new feature for this year's Asian meeting included the provision of Continuing Education (CE) credit for those holding U.S. pharmacy licenses. This was done with the help of Joan Jackson and Dr. Susan Alverson of McWhorter as well as Welty.

"It is truly amazing to see how this small beginning with 35 Asian participants at Samford University in 1997 has grown to become a major force in the development of clinical pharmacy in Asia," said Sands. "Samford University has pledged to continue its support for this effort to improve patient care and promote the concepts of clinical pharmacy practice, education and research in Asia."

AACP will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its founding at Samford next year in Beijing, China.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.