Summer remains a busy time across UNMC. This week, UNMC Today will highlight some of the many happenings during summer break.
The UNMC College of Pharmacy served as host site this summer for the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Foundation’s Mentored Research Investigator Training (MeRIT) and Focused Investigator Training (FIT) programs.
The programs bring together accomplished mentors and less-experienced mentees from across the country to spur the growth of research within clinical pharmacy.
“We at the UNMC College of Pharmacy are very excited to host these national programs and proud to contribute to the growth of mentorship and research within our profession,” said Keith Olsen, PharmD, Joseph D. Williams Endowed Dean of the UNMC College of Pharmacy.
The programs began with an immersive five-day experience at UNMC from June 12-16, and they now transition into ongoing collaboration. Officially, the MeRIT program is a two-year commitment between matched mentors and mentees.
But many times, said Sheldon Holstad, PharmD, ACCP associate executive director and ACCP Foundation director, “it’s a lifelong connection.”
The rigorous kickoff to the MeRIT and FIT programs has been held at various universities across the country since FIT’s inception in 2008.
Dr. Holstad said the programs were invited to UNMC. “These facilities are just perfect for what we are doing,” he said.
MeRIT is for early-career faculty or clinical practitioners committed to incorporating research into their professional careers. FIT is for more experienced investigators looking to take their research and funding to the next level.
The five-day kickoff at UNMC included lectures, proposal development sessions, work with mentors and even nightly homework.
“It’s not a vacation,” said mentor Robbie Parker, PharmD, professor of clinical pharmacy and translational science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Dr. Parker noted that he, his co-mentor and their new FIT mentee were examining her grant and “completely just tearing it down and starting all over,” going over it “word for word.”
“Most of the time here is ‘roll up your sleeves,’” Dr. Holstad said.
MeRIT mentee Herman Johannesmeyer, PharmD, assistant clinical professor of clinical pharmacy practice at the University of California-Irvine, is grateful for the close collaboration.
“I was really looking for specific and intentional mentorship training in research,” he said. His previous training was mostly about taking care of patients. Now, he also wants to delve into health care databases to answer some of those clinical questions.
“The one-on-one aspect,” of MeRIT mentorship, “is very much appreciated,” he said.
UNMC’s Sean Avedissian, PharmD, is among the mentors, along with faculty from the University of North Carolina, Purdue, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Drs. Holstad and Parker.