A model for supporting and training clinical pharmaceutical scientist PhD students.

OBJECTIVES

To enhance the clinical training and financial support of graduate students in a Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist PhD Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.

DESIGN

The School of Pharmacy and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center entered into a collaborative agreement to develop the Clinical Scientist Associate (CSA) program, as well as financially support students enrolled in a Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program. These clinical training experiences are in addition to the didactic and laboratory experiences in the pharmaceutical sciences graduate program.

ASSESSMENT

Since 2002, three students have participated as CSAs, simultaneously working on their graduate research and meeting the requirements of the CSA program.

CONCLUSIONS

The CSA program is a novel model for clinical training and support of post-PharmD graduate students enrolled in a PhD clinical pharmaceutical scientist program.