Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics
Open Access

Abstract

With over 900 million users in 2012, social media sites such as Facebook are being used by pharmacy students for social networking, group projects, and collaboration. Facebook groups have been created by students to represent their "class of ____", student organizations, courses, etc. Students at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy Orlando Campus were surveyed to determine how they utilize social media sites to enhance their pharmacy education. Students were asked questions such as "how many hours per day do you spend on social media sites", "what is your primary reason for using social media sites", "how do you incorporate social media sites into your pharmacy education", "what are some advantages of using social media sites in education", "what are some disadvantages of using social media sites in your education". Many students in pharmacy school today are considered part of Generation Y. This group of individuals have grown up with constant access to technology and have unique expectations related to their education. By understanding this group of students, and their use of social networking sites, one can learn how to incorporate the use of such technologies into their teaching methodology.

Biography

Erin St. Onge graduated from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1999. Upon graduation, she completed a residency in Community Clinical Pharmacy with St. Louis College of Pharmacy/Walgreens. She accepted her first faculty position with Texas Tech University School of Pharmacy at their Lubbock campus. In 2002, she accepted the position as Campus Director for the University of Florida College of Pharmacy Orlando Campus. In addition to her current position with UF College of Pharmacy, she is active in local and national pharmacy organizations. Her interests include diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease.