UT Tyler President Dr. Julie V. Philley signs the Early Assurance Program agreement with Trinity Valley Community College , located in Athens, on Thursday. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

For students interested in a career in pharmacy, the UT Tyler Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy will offer guidance through its new Early Assurance Program.

In partnership with six schools, the program will allow students to meet faculty and provide guidance from counselors. The schools included in this partnership are: Panola College, East Texas Baptist University, Stephen F. Austin State University, Tyler Junior College, Trinity Valley Community College and Sam Houston State University.

“We want students to continue on their journey into whatever their career and their future might look like,” said Katie Ramirez, UT Tyler Assistant VP for Recruitment and Admission. “And if that’s the College of Pharmacy, all of us universally agreed that we wanted to help them explore that dream become a reality.”

Panola College President Jessica Pace is excited for this opportunity. Panola College has locations in Carthage, Marshall and Center. Students at Panola College are a mix between those who came straight of high school and returning students. Officials say this program will help students get to the next step more easily.

“It is really great that our students can drive 60 miles down the road and pursue their passion and signing this MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] is really going to make it easier for students to do,” said Pace.

College of Pharmacy Dean Amy Schwartz wants the pharmacy program to grow in the future. They currently have 42 new first-year students in the pharmacy class. On Saturday, the students had their white coat ceremony. In the future, they hope to have 160 to 200 students across four years.

Each school will have four to five seats in the program. Through the program, students can apply early to the College of Pharmacy from June to September. Regular students start getting applications reviewed in September.

The College of Pharmacy is moving more toward the clinical setting. As dean, Schwartz wants the program to focus on the East Texas community.

“We’re trying to align with the other health programs and become really focused on the East Texas community and building a program that meets the needs of the learners in this region,” Schwartz said. “And then also to serve the patients in this region and to work with community health centers, and other members of the health care team, to help advance health care in the area.”

Pharmacists are important to communities because they are “a point of contact for people,” Schwartz said. Pharmacists can call emergency units if a patient is in crisis. They can also help calm a patient while they wait for an ambulance.

They can also help patients if they have an issue related to medication. This happened to Schwartz while on a plane. She recalls they asked for a doctor and she offered her knowledge as a pharmacist. She helped figure out the person was having a drug interaction which caused the symptoms. Afterwards, she sat with the person and helped calm them down.

“It’s not like the pharmacist has to intervene, but they are there to provide guidance,” Schwartz said.

Ramirez has seen a positive response from the community since announcing the program.

“Everybody is energized and encouraged,” Ramirez said. “And I think the word is hopeful. We’re hopeful for growth amongst our institutions, as far as awareness, access opportunity, and, of course, the option to pursue pharmacy and then to become a pharmacist in their career.”

For more information on the program visit, https://www.uttyler.edu/academics/colleges-schools/pharmacy/admissions/early-assurance-program/