Prescott Appointed Chair: Then a Pandemic Hit

He had served as interim chair since 2017, cultivating strategic hiring, faculty mentorship and strengthening relationships with clinical partners. Prescott was eager to begin this new journey and developed innovative goals to help inspire and direct his team. Specifically, he wished to enhance pre-AAPE active learning, expand transitions of care clinical practice and research, advance infectious disease research programs, and establish a clinical training hub in downstate New York.

Less than two months after beginning his appointment, however, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. A list of directives arrived from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to enhance various aspects of the experiential education program. These unexpected events led to some critical questions: How would students complete rotations with new ACPE requirements during a pandemic? How would the faculty quickly transition their courses to the remote learning environment? How could more than 50 faculty and staff members immediately transition to telework? How could all these and so many other needs be successfully met? Prescott knew he had a strong team that would rise up to meet—and even exceed—these new crucial goals. They did so in the midst of one of the greatest challenges the school has ever faced.  

One of Prescott’s favorite quotes is, “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” Beginning in mid-March, this sentiment was immediately incorporated into everything he and his team set out to do. He was amazed at how everyone came together during this time. “The Office of Experiential Education worked overtime, our clinical partners across the state stepped up in a big way. And our faculty, regardless of their track or department, took on additional responsibilities without hesitation,” Prescott says. He firmly believes it was both the internal and external relationships built prior to the pandemic that allowed the department to address these unexpected needs. “In the end, we greatly improved our experiential program, developed a remote curriculum that is designed to encourage learning, figured out how to effectively work remotely, and became a stronger team along the way.”

Now many months later, Prescott is proud of what his team learned and accomplished during the crisis. He is pleased to report that some strategic goals were accomplished, including establishment of the downstate training hub with Montefiore Medical Center, which gives PharmD students access to some of the most innovative hospital-based pharmacy experiences in the country. Success was also found on the research front with over $4 million in continued federal funding secured for infectious disease research, and attaining a top 10 ranking in published educational research articles, per the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Other strategic goals are still on the horizon and give Prescott and his team post-COVID objectives to work toward.

“Our department has the right mix of strong leaders, effective teachers and skilled researchers,” Prescott says. “Much like a championship sports team with a strong offense and defense, we need each other, we elevate each other. As a result, we are able to achieve great things.