Pharmacy degree track puts the focus on medicine for wellness

Herbal supplements, ingestible cannabinoids, physical activity, and a balanced diet — at face value, these things may not sound like medicine, but a new track within the University of New England’s Doctor of Pharmacy degree program is putting them on the map as part of a holistic approach to health and pharmacy practice.

The School of Pharmacy’s academic focus in Wellness and Integrative Medicine gives pharmacy graduates advanced training and knowledge in evidence-based treatments that take into account the patient’s well-being as a whole. The focus equips graduates with skills and knowledge in an emerging field of practice within community pharmacies and outpatient care sites.

Integrative medicine refers to the use of all evidence-based treatment methods to devise a specific care plan for a patient. Courses in the track, which earns graduates a certificate of specialized study, delve into a wide range of integrative therapeutic practices, including botanical medicine, environmental medicine, diet and nutrition, the microbiome, sleep and physical activity, and more.

Additional electives discuss provider burnout and various lifestyles that can promote overall wellness, said Sarah Vincent, Pharm.D., associate clinical professor in the School of Pharmacy.

“We’re really looking at the practical applications for emerging forms of medicine based on the scientific literature,” Vincent remarked.

Vincent said the program is not about alternative medicines that disregard Western pharmacy practice, nor does the track focus on complementary, or second-line, treatments. Rather, the Wellness and Integrative Medicine track, she said, teaches students how to develop treatment plans using Western practices in alignment with other methods that may be beneficial for patients based on risk versus benefit for their individual case.

Ron Hills, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration, said an integrative approach may be particularly beneficial for some individuals with certain disease states, such as chronic pain, which can be exacerbated by conditions like inflammation.

“Western medicine is kind of geared towards minimizing symptoms and increasing lifespan, but integrative medicine is more about the health span and how long one can live a healthy quality of life,” he said. “This kind of preparation better equips the pharmacist to talk to a patient about their options and also to advise them about potential drug interactions with various supplements.”

Alexis Radziewicz (Pharm.D., ’26), who is pursuing the Wellness and Integrative Medicine course of study, said she has already applied her classroom studies in her job at a national pharmacy chain.

“There are some patients who either don’t want to or can’t take certain medications because of their culture,” she said. “Many of these patients want to try other things first, so to be able to educate those patients using integrative techniques and natural ways to help them is very important in my eyes.”

Radziewicz added that the track is beneficial for students as new research findings about alternative treatments are published almost daily. In fact, all students in the wellness track must also complete a research paper on individual integrative practices using evidence from the available literature.

“It is said that pharmacy is just a continued education,” she noted. “As pharmacists, it is up to us to learn these new, emerging concepts and techniques and see if those evidence-based treatments are going to be beneficial or a risk to each patient.”

Vincent remarked the Wellness and Integrative Medicine track is beneficial for students both as providers and as those who want to embody lasting health in their own lives.

“A pharmacist in their career is going to get multiple questions about how to support long-term health, so this practice is something most pharmacists will apply when working with patients they see over a long period of time. I can imagine any community pharmacist benefitting from knowing these additional counseling points,” she said. “But these practices are applicable to our own lives. The students are also learning for themselves.”