THE PHARMACY PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM
The Curriculum Leading to a Pharm.D. Degree 

Introduction

The Pharm.D. program graduates high-quality professional pharmacy practitioners possessing the pharmacotherapeutic knowledge, professional abilities and expertise, and social cognizance to provide the highest standards in pharmacy care, patient-specific drug therapy, drug therapy information dissemination, and the knowledge to educate others about the manner in which drug therapy optimizes health care outcomes meeting or surpassing that as required by the Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 18 / Friday, January 28, 2005 / Rules and Regulations for Medication Therapy Management.

Curriculum Overview

The Pharm.D. program represents a collaborative effort of the four academic departments of the College of Pharmacy, i.e., the departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Pharmacotherapy.

The curriculum begins with a strong foundation in the basic, pharmaceutical, and clinical sciences with introductory practice experiences, culminating with a wide variety of advanced experiential opportunities and seminar presentations. This strong basic science background emphasizing the clinical sciences fully prepares our graduates to understand new scientific and biomedical knowledge and develops their pharmacy mastery to optimize pharmaceutical care to the benefit of the patient and healthcare practice and outcomes.

A number of courses in the curriculum emphasize written and oral communication skills. Medication and patient safety, cultural competence, health literacy, health care disparities, ethical and social responsibilities, and other competencies needed to work as a member of an interprofessional team are woven throughout the curriculum in didactic and experiential course work.

The curriculum also provides the background and experiences that help develop abilities for lifelong learning. Our graduates are more apt to update their skills and implement changes in practice to benefit their charges, in addition to succeeding as accomplished, caring, and innovative practitioners.

National Accreditation and Standards of the Curriculum

The College of Pharmacy is fully accredited by the American Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) under the guidelines effective July 1, 2007. The Professional Pharmacy curriculum meets the educational requirements of the University of Utah Graduate School (UU General Catalog – Grad School Regulations & Information) and meets the educational requirements for licensure nationally as well as in the State of Utah (Guideline 9.1 and Utah DOPL Utah 2007 Rx Practice Act 58-17b & Rules R156-17b).

Outcomes of the Professional Curriculum

Graduates of the University of Utah Doctor of Pharmacy Program will be able to optimize patient-centered and population-based care in a variety of practice settings. Graduates shall be able to:

• Apply fundamental scientific, analytic and problem-solving skills to all areas of pharmacy practice
• Communicate effectively in both verbal and written formats
• Work collaboratively on healthcare teams
• Base patient care/practice decisions on sound science and best evidence
• Apply medication safety and quality-improvement principles to pharmacy practice
• Manage medication-use systems
• Promote public health and wellness
• Practice in an ethical, culturally aware and professional manner
• Demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development and leadership

For questions regarding Admissions please contact contact Torrie Foutz  (801)-581-7046 or Shawna Webster (801)-585-1848 in the College of Pharmacy Admissions Office or send email toPharmD.Admissions@pharm.utah.edu

Thank you for your interest in the University of Utah College of Pharmacy.