Pass the cream and sugar and sit down for a talk about this pharmacy professor’s views on life. Photo Courtesy of Brett Feret
Brett Feret is a longtime Rhody Ram, graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a Doctorate of Pharmacy in 1998. He continues to impact his immediate community by assisting in the response of COVID-19 and providing his students with experience in the field of pharmacy.
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Feret was drawn to the coast and the pharmacy program at URI. He met his future wife on campus during his time as a student, and their son, Michael, is currently enrolled in the college of business. Their youngest, Nate, is still in high school.
After graduating from URI, Feret did a postgraduate residency program at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. Wanting to stay in Rhode Island to raise his family, he decided to work for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Providence, R.I.
“When I started teaching I was a preceptor for students,” Feret said. “I became good friends with one of the people working here at that time, Kate Strong, and she told me there would be a position opening concentrating in community pharmacy.”
Feret was hired in 2001 and has been teaching at URI ever since. Some of the courses he is teaching include; PHP 303: Pharmacy Immunization Delivery, PHP 315: Self-Care Therapeutics & Nonprescription Drugs I and PHP 360: Hospital Pharmacy.
“I’m also the director of experiential education in college,” Feret said. “So I’m in charge of all the internships and experiences that the students do and that’s my main role.”
Karina Pelejo, a senior in the pharmacy program, completed one of the internships that Feret oversees over the summer.
“It’s called Community Introductory Pharmaceutical Practice Experience or Community IPPE,” Pelejo said. “It’s basically a rotation and we complete 132 hours to gain retail pharmacy experience.”
Pelejo has also taken a few courses with Feret in the past year.
“He has been one of my favorite professors since I started pharmacy school,” Pelejo said. “What I like about Dr. Feret’s teaching methods are his interactive and project-based approaches.”
In addition to his work as a professor, Feret is a consultant for the R.I. Department of Health in Rhode Island in regards to their emergency preparedness with COVID-19. He assisted about 10 or 12 towns including Bristol, Portsmouth and Warwick by setting up clinics and administering vaccines.
Feret chose to spend his time during the pandemic being a father, professor and a professional in pharmaceuticals in order to help communities get through lockdown.
Not only that, but students were also able to lend a hand to Feret in this process by helping in community pharmacies, helping with vaccinations, and doing important work outside the URI community, according to him.
Feret considers his family to be his biggest accomplishment, but professionally he is proud of how far he has come and content with his career up to this point.
“I love the job I’m doing now and I would like to stay where I’m at,” Feret said. “I mean you never know though right?”