Jon Coley, a third-year Doctor of Pharmacy student at Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy, was selected for the highly competitive Boston Medical Center All-In Committee Advanaced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Scholarship Program, which offers advanced pharmacy practice experience rotations. Through a nationwide application process, Coley earned the opportunity to complete two consecutive APPE rotations at Boston Medical Center during his fourth year in Samford’s Doctor of Pharmacy program. Offered annually to eligible students preparing to begin their fourth professional year, the program provides immersive clinical training and mentorship within a leading academic medical center.
“What drew me to the Boston Medical Center All-In Scholarship was their immense commitment to serving patients with exceptional clinical care, motivated by values of empathy, resilience and inclusion,” Coley said. “Seeing how deeply that commitment is embedded in everything they do made me want to be part of the experience.” Being selected through a competitive national process, he added, affirms the preparation he has received at McWhorter School of Pharmacy and reinforces his goal of becoming a pharmacist who makes a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.
This achievement reflects the strength of McWhorter’s experiential education program, which prepares students for advanced clinical practice through diverse and high-impact practice experiences across the country.
McWhorter’s experiential education program is designed to prepare students for competitive opportunities like Boston Medical Center’s All-In Scholarship, according to Jeff Kyle, professor, vice chair and director of experiential education. “Through progressive APPE experiences, strong preceptor mentorship and intentional development of clinical reasoning and interprofessional collaboration skills, our students graduate prepared to thrive in highly competitive, mission-driven health care settings.”
McWhorter students gain hands-on experience through a range of notable experiential opportunities, including Indian Health Service rotations in tribal and rural communities, embedded experiences in federally qualified health centers and safety-net clinics, global health and mission-based pharmacy experiences, industry and regulatory training including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and practice-based research and quality improvement initiatives.
That emphasis on experiential learning and career readiness is reflected in Samford University’s national recognition as No. 3 in the nation for quality of career preparation by the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse in 2026.
