WAUKESHA, WI – April 21, 2011 – Hamacher Resource Group, Inc. (HRG), the retail consumer healthcare industry’s premier marketing and research firm, lent its expertise to students in the Pharmacy Practice program at Campbell University March 18, 2011, lecturing on Pharmacy Design and Over-the-Counter Merchandising. The lecture was presented by Tom Boyer, a 17-year veteran of the retail consumer healthcare industry, and a national account manager and part-owner of HRG. His presentation focused on business management principles young pharmacists need to know in order to operate a successful pharmacy.
Boyer has been a guest lecturer at the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences at Campbell University for the past three years. Faculty member Bob Cisneros, Ph.D., continues to invite Boyer because he believes “It is important for pharmacy students to be trained not only as experts in drug therapy, but also to develop skills in owning and/or managing a pharmacy. The importance of the business/management side of pharmacy practice is too often overlooked. The current healthcare and economic environments make this a necessity.” Boyer knows the practical knowledge he shares with the students exposes them to an aspect of their chosen career they might not otherwise have familiarity with before they graduate. Boyer stated, “The feedback we receive from students is that before the presentation, they hadn’t thought about how complex and important store layout and merchandising is. This presentation provides insight into thinking of the pharmacy from the customer’s perspective and how to shape the overall consumer experience in their store. We cover key points to sustaining a successful pharmacy, such as building customer loyalty, ensuring customer satisfaction and improving the shopping experience.”
Having identified this need to cover store management principles as part of future pharmacists’ education, HRG is also developing a comprehensive Pharmacy Curriculum Series that covers topics including human resource management, inventory management and the use of technology, and pharmacy marketing and community outreach. “As innovators in the retail healthcare industry, we are interested in helping prepare the next generation of pharmacists to run successful pharmacy departments or community-based stores,” said Dave Wendland, vice president at HRG. “Our Pharmacy Curriculum Series will provide business-related training and education. Many colleges partner with their business school counterparts, but there is no single-source option. We’ll deliver consistent, relevant and unbiased information to support pharmacists in the business aspects of pharmacy management.”
About Hamacher Resource Group
Hamacher Resource Group, Inc. shapes the consumer experience at retail with strategic business development expertise that enhances the profitability of consumer healthcare product manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and affiliated companies. Pioneers in drugstore category management and offering support such as research and analytics, marketing services, product images and data, and more, HRG is a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.