The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine recognized the growing national need for pharmacists and opened the School of Pharmacy in 2002. LECOM administrators saw that new trends in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum had complementary goals to the total-person, patient-centered care fostered by osteopathic medicine.

The LECOM Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Degree Program provides a solid background in patient-centered care and prepares its Pharm.D. graduates to become effective members of the health care team for all areas of practice.

Setting apart the LECOM Erie three-year pathway from other schools of pharmacy are our:

• Innovative, year-round curriculum leading to completion of the professional degree in pharmacy in three years instead of four years, enabling our students to enter the job market one year earlier;
• Introductory and advanced experiential components where our students work with pharmacists practicing in a variety of practice sites;
• Integration of science and practice throughout the curriculum; and,
• Technologically advanced facilities that prepare students to practice in the 21st century.

The LECOM Bradenton School of Pharmacy also stresses patient-centered care through a traditional four-year Doctor of Pharmacy Pathway.

The future is very bright for LECOM School of Pharmacy graduates. The need for pharmacists continues to grow along with an increasing population of older people who require assistance with their prescription medications and health care. There are also a wide variety of practice settings for our graduates to choose from including, community, hospital, industry, mail service/internet, managed care, government, academia, and others.