A new course is designed to prepare pharmacy students for their second year of study.
Test-taking following only a few hours of sleep is like looking for socks in a drawer without matching pairs. “They’re in there, you just don’t know where to find them,” explained Louise Jones, MEd, Assistant Director of Professional Development and Online Learning. “The learning brain needs at least six hours of sleep to properly index information,” she said.
Pharmacy students at Georgia Campus - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) are participating in a course to ready them for their second year of study. Course coordinator Dr. Rangaiah Shashidharamurthy, explained, “The course provides an introduction to student learning and test-taking strategies for rising second year PharmD students."
Faculty members from the Center for Student Affairs, the Department of Professional Development and Online Learning, and the School of Pharmacy have initiated a collaborative approach to deliver these active workshops.
Two years ago, a small group of PCOM School of Pharmacy students participated in the first Pharmacy Professional Readiness Enrichment Program, or “PREP” week, which was created to give incoming PharmD candidates the chance to get a head start on their core classes. Now, the School of Pharmacy has expanded the program and introduced the PREP II course, which is designed to ready students for the challenges to come.
Chair and Professor of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Avadhesh C. Sharma, PharmD, PhD, explained that the PREP II class aims to help students better “understand the complexity that pharmacy year two courses will offer and be prepared to face the challenge of high rigor clinical pharmacokinetics, integrated therapeutics and infectious disease courses.”
An intensive, week-long elective, PREP II provides an overview of the upcoming courses, also including subjects like medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, microbiology and more.
In addition, students are learning about time management skills through integrated classes led by Academic Support Specialist Shubha Kayarthodi, PhD, of the Center for Student Affairs. Jones is leading sessions on the elements of smart study including motivation, support and guidance, resources and sources, study skills and test taking strategies.
Other course faculty members include Interim Dean Dr. Michael Lee; Dr. Vishakha Bhave; Dr. Naushad Ghilzai; Dr. Dusty Lisi; Dr. Gregory Smallwood; Dr. Eric Wang; and Dr. Zhiqian Wu.
PCOM Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), PCOM Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, PCOM Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit pcomgeorgiahealth.org.
For general media inquiries, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 215-871-6300 or communications@pcom.edu. Visit our media relations page to view contact information for public relations personnel.
© 2025 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
