Every state board of pharmacy requires certain prerequisites from students hoping to enter a pharmacy program in the state and receive their license, including the number of hours they have earned, the number of years in the program, etc.  Louisiana is no different, although it does not require as extensive prerequisites as other states.  The state’s requirements include 15 hours of study, resulting in only one year, a lesser amount than many programs which require 2-4 years of study.  The state additionally requires three hours of “live” continuing education requirement hours or five non-live course hours.  Once again, this is different from most states which do not require “live” continuing education hours in pharmacy for licensure.  Finally, the state of Louisiana does not require any further requirements in HIV or medication safety, whereas other states typically require some background knowledge of these topics or a refresher course every few years.  Regardless of the requirements of other states, Louisi
ana determines its own source of requirements for pharmacy licensure and thus far has exhibited a program that attracts pharmacy programs from around the state.

Louisiana is one state that is in dire need of pharmacists and other medical specialists in general, with a rising population that exists underneath the poverty line and a higher emergence of the H1N1 virus.  Only last month, the state was able to secure a large batch of the vaccine that became available in Walgreens stores across the state.  This is one step in the pharmacy program that is constantly looking for ways to improve and to reach the masses within the state.  While the state has been ravaged by hurricanes over the past years, the spirit has not broken and the population continues to persevere despite all odds, producing a fierce pride of the state that is evident from a conversation with any native citizen.  While the pharmacy program in the state can only do so much to help the citizens of Louisiana, the requirements for licensure by the board of pharmacy is one step in the right direction for a state that is almost trying to prove itself to the nation. 

The pharmaceutical industry is constantly changing and evolving in order to bring the best medicine and vaccines to the people of the nation.  The state board of pharmacy in Louisiana is no different in this regard and strives to bring the best possible service to the citizens of the state as they continue to rebuild their coastal cities to become better than they ever were.
 

The eight pharmacy schools of California have made a name for themselves mostly because California has the most pharmacy schools over any other state.  Whether this is due to the large population of the state or simply because many pharmacy programs started out in the state, it is clear that students of California pharmacy schools pride themselves on their acceptance to the school.  Ohio is surprisingly the state with the second highest number of pharmacy schools (six), although California is still known for its research and ability to attract students from around the world. 

Ranging from the University of California to the new Touro University School of Pharmacy, it is clear that California is ever expanding in the pharmaceutical industry.  The eight pharmacy schools are as follows:
•    University of California School of Pharmacy
•    University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy
•    University of Southern California
•    Western University of Health Sciences
•    California Northstate College of Pharmacy
•    Touro University School of Pharmacy
•    Loma Linda University and the School of Pharmacy
•    University of California in San Diego – the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Touro University School of Pharmacy, California Northstate, and Loma Linda are the three newest pharmacy programs in the state and have exhibited the understanding that California nearly runs the pharmacy school industry in the country.  California Northstate College of Pharmacy emphasizes active learning, patient care, and research within their mission statement, and as a new pharmacy school, they have set about to expand the pharmaceutical industry through the amount of research in their program.  Setting a goal to advance the science of pharmacy, this school has already attracted a wide entering class and offers many opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.

Touro University has a similar mission statement, as they strive to serve society through the programs in its pharmacy school as well as prepare its students for a future in the health care industry.  This pharmacy school prides itself on the small size of classes, especially compared with the large lecture-like classes of larger California schools.  Because Touro is a new school, it is still in the process of expanding its programs, and its student population will undoubtedly grow within the next few years, although its still in the beginning years of the program. 

Loma Linda is a little bit older than the other two schools, and had its first introductory class in 2002 although in an entirely different setting than most other pharmacy programs in California.  Loma Linda prides itself on educating its students in a 7th day advent Christian schedule, thereby allowing students of the like religious minds to come together in pharmacy school.  This program is four years as well although is the first such program to offer the degree in an Adventist setting. 
Regardless of whether you go with the older public schools throughout California, or try out one of the newer schools, chances are that as an incoming pharmacy school student, you will receive an exemplary education in the state of California. 

Earlier this month, Louisiana took precautions with the flu season upon them and shipped vaccinations for H1N1 throughout the state: more than 50 pharmacies in 31 parishes received the vaccination just in time for the winter months.  Louisiana has always been a state that is the hardest hit when diseases invade the country and federal programs have taken notice of this, indicating a shift in the structure of the vaccine’s release into the state. 

Walgreens locations in Louisiana began offering the vaccine to priority groups at the beginning of December in order to combat the rise of flu season later in the month.  Additionally, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy authorized the release of the H1N1 vaccine into the many parishes so that they would not fall into an “at-risk” state later on in winter.   The board then teamed up with Walgreens to get the vaccine a speedy distribution to the parishes of Louisiana that were the highest priority and contained the most at-risk citizens. 

The inoculation effort of Louisiana has been followed by a number of states since the release of the vaccine.  The initiative which the board demonstrated by releasing the vaccine before the height of flu season is a telling sign of the preparedness and anxiety the state has, regarding the H1N1 virus.  The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy is only one of 50 boards that is in charge of the well-being of each state’s citizens and looks over the potential risks that may creep their way into the state.  The rise of H1N1 is one virus every state is currently looking at, and stock piles of the vaccines have run dry within many populous states around the country as worried parents and citizens have waited in lines for their vaccination shot (or spray). 

Many higher tiered pharmacy schools boast their extensive research facilities that help contribute to new discoveries in the drug industry every year.  While pharmaceutical companies are the main force of the pharmacy industry, pharmacy schools across the country attract students who are interested in the research process of pharmacy and contribute to discoveries in new beneficial drugs.

The process toward discovering and manufacturing a new drug is time consuming and requires millions to billions of dollars from the health care industry.  Therefore, pharmacy schools help lessen the burden by requiring their students to complete a certain amount of research hours which may result in a new discovery within the drug.  MIT is one school that has helped pharmaceutical companies by developing a pharmaceutical innovation program that adapts successful approaches toward the production of new drugs.  The health industry still has a lot to work out for itself in regards to the manufacture of expensive new drugs while still keeping costs low, which is where pharmacy schools come into the picture. 

Pharmacy schools can produce either students who want to work exclusively in a pharmacy or students who want to research into new drug developments and ways to quell disease symptoms.  With new viruses being discovered every year, the country (and world) are in need of as many researchers as we can get in order to discover new remedies for the illnesses that plague mankind.  While pharmacists only seem to mix chemicals together, they do much more than that and understand the science that brings these chemical compounds together.  The ability to use more resources to combat ongoing diseases such as HIV and H1N1 is important in a world where boundaries have fallen and globalization has taken over.  People are closer than ever to each other, which means diseases are more apt to be spread and can jump from continent to continent.

Pharmacy school is more than just research, but the fact that budding pharmacy students can help contribute to the battle against global diseases is vastly important in the long run and can prove to be a lasting indication of the power of pharmacy schools.  Pharmacy schools have greatly contributed to lessening the cost of drug manufacturing over the years and the next few years are bound to see the same trend continuing throughout pharmacy schools across the nation.  Attending pharmacy school therefore means contributing to a step in human history and can help many poverty stricken nations receive the drugs they need to maintain their battle against disease.