By: Erik Pedersen, Senior Communications Manager
BALTIMORE – From the time he began Notre Dame of Maryland University’s Pharm.D. program, Dr. Kofi Andoh D’21 had a long-term vision to become a leader in the industry.
One of the first steps towards that goal came during his second year in the program, when he was elected president of Notre Dame’s chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA). It was right around that time that Dr. Andoh first heard about the School of Pharmacy’s new Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship offering.
The certificate, which was first offered during the 2018-19 academic year, is comprised of five courses, three of which – Pharmacy Practice Management, Human Resource Management, and Leadership & Pharmacy Practice – were already built into the standard doctorate curriculum. The two additions, Fundamentals of Financial Management and Entrepreneurship, are typically taken by students in their second or third year on campus. For Dr. Andoh, adding the certificate courses was an easy decision.
“I thought it would be a good way to expand my skillset to potentially lead a pharmacy department in the future,” he said. “It seemed like it could help set the foundation to pursue a non-traditional career path.”
Dr. Andoh would go on to become the national vice president of SNPhA during his final year at NDMU, and he is currently in his second year as a health system pharmacy administration & leadership resident at UW-Health in Madison, Wisconsin. He also recently began a new role as the interim pharmacy manager at East Madison Hospital.
“It’s a great way to get real world hands-on experience,” Dr. Andoh said of his new manager position. “The certificate program at NDMU helped me develop my own leadership style, and I think the confidence and foundational skills I gained from those courses definitely played a role in getting me into this position. I’m only a year out of school and I’ll essentially be leading a full team of pharmacists and technicians.”
Dr. Paul Vitale, an associate professor of clinical & administrative sciences in the School of Pharmacy who previously served as vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Mercy Medical Center, helped lead the creation of the leadership and entrepreneurship certificate at Notre Dame. Dr. Vitale continues to teach several of the courses contained within the certificate, and he says that Dr. Andoh’s success after graduation is not an outlier among those who complete the program.
“For several students who received the certificate, we’ve heard that it comes up as they’re interviewing for fellowships and residencies,” Dr. Vitale said. “The employer will ask about it, and as the students explain what they’ve learned, it just leads to more and more in the interview process. And then for some who end up getting into their fellowship or residency, they have then been asked to work on entrepreneurship projects. It has really enhanced their career opportunities.”
One of Dr. Andoh’s top class memories from his time at Notre Dame occurred during the certificate’s Entrepreneurship course. He recalled an evening where students were asked to develop their own pharmacy business proposal after reading several articles on futuristic trends in the industry for reference.
“That gave me my first exposure to what it means to write a proposal, document an executive summary, list objectives, and present everything in a way where somebody who has no idea about the subject matter can understand it,” he explained. “Someone who may have the resources and connections to see your idea through to fruition if they like the proposal.
“Those are just some of the skills I was introduced to, and it has helped me out immensely,” he continued. “Because now I have to do those kinds of things every day. I’m currently drafting up a proposal for a health system-wide initiative here at UW-Health, and I think back to what I had to do through that certificate program – it really benefited me a lot.”
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
