A Formalized Teaching, Practice, and Research Partnership with the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System: A Model for Advancing Academic Partnerships

Abstract

In 1999, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy expanded its Dallas/ Fort Worth presence by creating a regional campus for pharmacy students in their third and fourth years (P3 and P4 years) of the program. This expansion was driven by the need for additional practice sites. The VANTHCS was an obvious choice for the school due to the similarity of missions for clinical practice, education, and research. The VANTHCS and pharmacy school renovated a 4,000 square foot building, which includes classrooms, conference rooms, a student lounge, and faculty offices (expanded to 8,000 square feet in 2003). To date, the school has invested $1 million in the building. From a practice perspective, VANTHCS purchases faculty professional services from the school to augment its clinical specialist staff. These professional practice contracts provide VANTHCS with 12 additional clinical pharmacy specialists serving 50% of their time in multiple specialty areas. The collaboration has also allowed for expansion of clinical teaching, benefitting both institutions. In addition to the pharmacy student interns on P3 and P4 practice experiences, the collaboration allows for 8 to 10 postgraduate pharmacy residents to train with VANTHCS clinical specialists and school faculty members each year. The VANTHCS/pharmacy school collaboration has clearly enhanced the ability of both institutions to exceed their teaching, research, and practice goals in a cost-effective manner.

Innovation in Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Opportunities for Academic–Practice Partnership

“…Through this partnership, VANTHCS has expanded clinical pharmacy services to multiple specialty areas. The partnership has also increased clinical teaching capacity (i.e., experiential education and resident training) to the benefit of both partners . This collaboration clearly enhances the ability of both institutions to better meet their teaching, research, and practice goals in a cost‐effective manner …”

“…The partnership has also increased clinical teaching capacity (i.e., experiential education and resident training) to the benefit of both partners. 17 This collaboration clearly enhances the ability of both institutions to better meet their teaching, research, and practice goals in a cost-effective manner. 17 Third, academic-practice partnerships must emphasize continuous quality improvement and continually strive to improve the delivery of medication management services.…”

“…17 This collaboration clearly enhances the ability of both institutions to better meet their teaching, research, and practice goals in a cost-effective manner. 17 Third, academic-practice partnerships must emphasize continuous quality improvement and continually strive to improve the delivery of medication management services. A partnership between the Temple University School of e50 PHARMACOTHERAPY Volume 34, Number 5, 2014 Pharmacy and its university hospital exemplifies this point.…”

“…Other academic institutions provide opportunities for health care facilities and organizations by contributing their expertise to securing extramural support for systems improvement or clinical service expansion, increasing access to wider networks of experts, providing teaching opportunities, and maximizing interprofessional education and practice. Such opportunities are exemplified by the partnership between the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy and the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) . In this partnership, VANTHCS purchases faculty professional services to augment its clinical specialist staff.…”

“…Such opportunities are exemplified by the partnership between the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy and the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS). 17 In this partnership, VANTHCS purchases faculty professional services to augment its clinical specialist staff. Through this partnership, VANTHCS has expanded clinical pharmacy services to multiple specialty areas.…”