Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) this summer will launch the first open-access multimedia healthcare review journal, BU Well, featuring articles on pressing health issues such as the overuse of antibiotics and the development of resistance, the push of virtual healthcare and its effect on medical costs, and the rapidly changing future of the healthcare industry.
This journal will be run by approximately 30 student co-founding editors, an external advisory board that includes professionals in healthcare and healthcare law, and founding executive editor Erin Albert, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice.
The project was created through a Butler Innovation Fund Grant written by Albert and Dean Mary Graham of COPHS.
More is at BU Well’s Facebook page and Twitter (@BUWellJournal). The website for the open-access journal will be available on Butler University Digital Commons website.
“We wanted to give students an opportunity to lead through writing,” Albert said. “In this first independent study course with the 30 founding students during the spring 2015 semester, the students will be building policy, procedure, promotion, and the long-term strategy for sustaining this journal over time. During my own law school experience, law review was one of my favorite co-curricular activities, yet I never found a pharmacy school that offered a student-edited and student-driven journal like law review, so we created one at Butler.”
Graham said one of Butler’s strategic initiatives is to exemplify excellence in liberal arts, professional education, and their effective integration, and “that is exactly what we strive to do through BU Well. The communication and collaborative skills developed through this project are highly sought after in today’s health professionals.”
The 30 current Butler founding students were selected to be part of BU Well based on PCAT composite writing scores, along with interest in starting something new.
Throughout spring semester 2015, working on this journal will be comparable to a law review, giving the students the potential to distinguish themselves while at Butler. A law review is a journal focusing on relevant legal issues that is written, published and edited by students in the organization.
Functioning in teams, these Butler scholars have the chance to enhance their writing and editing abilities and promote more awareness on prominent healthcare information to the Butler community. Student duties will include constructing, collaborating, and circulating various scholarly articles gathered from other faculty, alumni, and professionals in the healthcare field.
“As students, we realize that this is a groundbreaking learning opportunity within the Butler curriculum and the first of its kind in pharmacy education,” said Craig Fisher, 2016 PharmD candidate and Project Leader for the spring 2015 semester. “To have a reaching impact on our profession while still students will be an invaluable educational experience, and these talented and innovative students are excited to soon make BU Well a reality.”
Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822