Three College of Pharmacy faculty members — Drs. Todd Gundrum, Gayle Kamm and Basirat Sanuth — have earned certification as pharmacology specialists from the Washington, D.C.-based Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS).

The certification is the highest credential in pharmacotherapy.

Three College of Pharmacy faculty members, from left, Drs. Gayle Kamm, Todd Gundrum and Basirat Sanuth, earned certification as pharmacotherapy specialists from the Washington, D.C.-based Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. Congratulating them are College of Pharmacy Dean Johnnie Early II, left, and Dr. Steven Martin.

Gundrum is a UT Medical Center clinical pharmacist; Kamm, a pharmacy practice clinical faculty member; and Sanuth, a pharmacy resident in critical-care medicine. The trio, who had to meet rigorous eligibility requirements to sit for the exam, successfully passed a 200-question examination.

Through board certification, pharmacotherapy specialists demonstrate a defined level of education and training as well as mastery of the knowledge and skill necessary to meet the public’s demand for expert pharmaceutical care. Only 1.8 percent of the 250,000 pharmacists in the country have earned board certification as pharmacology specialists.

Thirteen College of Pharmacy faculty members and UT Medical Center clinical specialists have earned the certification, according to Dr. Steven Martin, chair of the College of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmacy Practice.

“I’m delighted that Drs. Gundrum, Kamm and Sanuth have earned certification,” Martin said. “Today, pharmacists are playing a much more active role in caring for patients, and pharmacists with specialty certification bring an advanced level of knowledge, education, experience, skill and expertise to the bedside. Hospitals and medical centers in which they practice have an advantage because these individuals improve patient-care efficacy and safety.”

To maintain certification, pharmacotherapy specialists must keep an active pharmacy license and recertify their qualifications every seven years through either an examination or completion of a BPS-approved professional development program.

Pharmacists also can become board-certified in nuclear, nutrition support, oncology or psychiatric pharmacy.

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