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School of Pharmacy
Curriculum
| Fall Quarter, First Year | ||
| PHA 3101 | Biochemistry I | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 3113 | Pathophysiology I | 5 qhrs |
| PHA 3107 | Pharmaceutical Calculations | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3108 | Pharmaceutical Analysis | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3131 | Professional Practice I and Informatics | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3150 | Health Care Systems | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3135 | Integrated Pharmacy Skills Laboratory I | 2 qhrs |
| Winter Quarter, First Year | ||
| PHA 3102 | Biochemistry II | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 3114 | Pathophysiology II | 4 qhrs |
| PHA 3116 | Pharmaceutics I | 4 qhrs |
| PHA 3151 | Communications for the Health Care Professional | 2.5 qhrs |
| PHA 3159 | Introduction to Integrated Sequence | 2.5 qhrs |
| PHA 3136 | Integrated Pharmacy Skills Laboratory II | 2 qhrs |
| Spring Quarter, First Year | ||
| PHA 3117 | Pharmaceutics II | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3109 | Microbiology / Immunology | 5 qhrs |
| PHA 3110 | Molecular Biology | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 3137 | Integrated Pharmacy Skills Laboratory III | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3124 | Pharmacotherapy I | 2 qhrs |
| PHA 3162 | Integrated Sequence I (Introduction) | 4 qhrs |
| Summer Quarter, Second Year | ||
| PHA 4211 | Basic Pharmacokinetics / Biopharmaceutics | 4 qhrs |
| PHA 4225 | Pharmacotherapy II | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 4252 | Pharmacy Law/Ethics | 2.5 qhrs |
| PHA 4264 | Integrated Sequence II (Infectious Diseases) | 5 qhrs |
| PHA 3138 | Integrated Pharmacy Skills Laboratory IV | 1 qhrs |
| PHA 4265 | Integrated Sequence III (Inflammation) | 3 qhrs |
| Fall Quarter, Second Year | ||
| Community Outreach | 1 qhr | |
| PHA 4280 | Community Professional Practice Experience | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 4281 | Institutional Professional Practice Experience | 8 qhrs |
| Winter Quarter, Second Year | ||
| Leadership and Advocacy | 1 qhr | |
| PHA 5327 | Clinical Pharmacokinetics / Therapeutic Drug Monitoring | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5367 | Integrated Sequence IV (Autononic Nervous System) | 5 qhrs |
| PHA 5335 | Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics | 3 qhrs |
| — | Electives | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5368 | Integrated Sequence V (GI/Hepatobiliary) | 3 qhrs |
| Spring Quarter, Third Year | ||
| PHA 5333 | Drug Information, Literature Evaluation, Research Design & Methods | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5353 | Pharmacy Practice Management | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5369 | Integrated Sequence VI (Cardiology) | 7 qhrs |
| PHA 5370 | Integrated Sequence VII (Renal) | 3 qhrs |
| Summer Quarter, Third Year | ||
| PHA 5331 | Applied Pharmaceutical Care I: Principles of Physical Assessment | 4 qhrs |
| PHA 5371 | Integrated Sequence VIII (CNS) | 6 qhrs |
| PHA 5372 | Integrated Sequence IX (Endocrine) | 4 qhrs |
| Electives | 3 qhrs | |
| Fall Quarter, Third Year | ||
| PHA 5332 | Applied Pharmaceutical Care II: Managing Disease States | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5334 | Complementary and Preventative Medicine | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5354 | Health Economics and Outcomes Assessment | 3 qhrs |
| PHA 5373 | Integrated Sequence X (Specialty Care) | 4 qhrs |
| PHA 5374 | Integrated Sequence XI (Oncology/Hematology) | 2 qhrs |
| Electives | 3 qhrs | |
| Peer Mentoring for Community Outreach | 1 qhrs | |
| Winter, Spring, and Summer quarters, Third Year Advanced Professional Practice Experience Rotations | ||
| PHA 6482 | Advanced Professional Practice Experience - Community | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 6483 | Advanced Professional Practice Experience - Primary Care/Ambulatory Care | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 6484 | Advanced Professional Practice Experience - Internal Medicine / Acute Care | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 6485 | Advanced Professional Practice Experience - Medicine Specialty | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 6486 | Advanced Professional Practice Experience - Drug Information or Approved Medical Specialty | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 6487 | Elective Rotation | 8 qhrs |
| PHA 5338 | Grand Rounds | 1 qhr |
| PHA 6488 | Other approved rotation I | 8 qhrs |
These courses are a series of lectures and independent problem solving that introduces the student to current concepts and related chemistry in human biochemistry, including regulatory biochemistry and molecular biology. Discussions will focus on the major metabolic pathways and their regulation by hormonal, allosteric, and genetic mechanisms in relation to nutrition and to a variety of diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and enzyme defects.
3 quarter hours, Fall and Winter Quarters
PHA 3107 Pharmaceutical Calculations
This course introduces the student to the mathematical processes and computations needed for basic dosage preparations and compounding essential to the practice of pharmacy. A series of lectures and problem solving exercises will include quantitative calculations of active and excipient concentrations encountered in professional practice. Other relevant topics include calculations of solution isotonicity and osmolarity. The pharmaceutical formulas and calculation problems will establish mathematical competency and orient students to relevant clinical applications.
2 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 3108 Pharmaceutical Analysis
This course is a study of the official and non-official quantitative chemical and physical methods used in analysis of pharmaceutical products. A major emphasis focuses on the student's understanding the precepts of analytical stiochiometry, functional group influence, and basics concepts of dosage form analysis, which includes the importance of assay validation in quantitative drug assays. The laboratory exercises allow students to develop the necessary techniques and skills for accurate dosage form analysis.
2 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 3109 Microbiology
This course is an introduction to the basic concepts of molecular and medical microbiology with special emphasis on pathogenic microorganisms. Lectures focus on the importance of basic science information needed to understand the mechanisms of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on how that knowledge applies to their diagnosis, rational management and treatment. Immunology focuses on nonspecific host defense mechanisms, with a detailed description of specific immunity and the products that impart artificial, active and passive immunity. This portion of the course emphasizes the importance of basic science information in understanding the mechanisms of the various immunological disorders, as well as the immunology of cancer, AIDS, hypersensitivity and autoimmune disorders, while applying that knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of related human diseases. Other discussions will focus on the concepts of biotechnology, together with the currently available products of genetic engineering that relate to immunology.
5 quarter hours, Spring Quarter
PHA 3110 Molecular Biology
This course will cover how the blueprints for cells and organisms are contained in molecular structures of like DNA and RNA. Lectures and discussions will focus on how minor structural changes in DNA (mutations) have major biochemical effects with subsequent pathological and health consequences. Students will learn how modern bio-molecular tools allow us to read the information (sequence) contained in minute samples of DNA and identify forensic samples with a high degree of certainty. Further emphasis will focus on the role of those tools in providing the means to diagnosis disease, predict susceptibility to disease, and predict responses of a specific patient to a proposed drug treatment (pharmacogenomics). This course also covers how the insertion of specifically modified genetic information into a cell subsequently causes that cell or organism to produce a specific gene product and how the use of these techniques can produce large quantities of human insulin, human growth hormone, and other products to combat and treat diseases. Finally, students will receive a vision of how knowledge of the information contained in the human genome, in combination with molecular biology tools, can provide revolutionary new opportunities for the discovery of more powerful and more selective (less toxic) drugs.
3 quarter hours, Spring Quarter
PHA 3113, PHA 3114 Pathophysiology I, II
These courses focus on mechanisms of disease and tissue injury to organs and organ systems during selected pathophysiologic states with the goal of providing students with a rationale for drug therapy. During the first course, emphasis is placed on the role of the immune system in disease as well as on the specific alterations that occur to normal physiology of the hematologic, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems during the disease process. In the second course, emphasis is placed on the specific alterations that occur to normal physiology of the renal, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, central nervous, and musculoskeletal systems during the disease process.
5 quarter hours, Fall Quarter and 4 quarter hours, Winter Quarter
PHA 3116, PHA 3117 Pharmaceutics I, II
This two-part sequence is the study and application of the physical-chemical principles and quantitative skills necessary for the design, formulation, and effective use of dosage forms to assure product performance and achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes. These courses emphasize the rationale for design, intended performance characteristics, and the proper use of dosage forms to optimize clinical outcomes.
4 quarter hours, Winter Quarter and 2 quarter hours, Spring Quarter
PHA 3124, PHA 4225 Pharmacotherapy I, II
This course is designed to provide a didactic framework for the therapeutic management of a number of common, self-limiting diseases that can be treated with over-the-counter agents and/or common herbal products. The goal of the course is to provide students with the information they need to develop rational recommendations for patients and clients in the various pharmacy settings that they rotate through during the fifth quarter intermediate rotations.
2 quarter hours, Spring Quarter and 3 quarter hours, Summer Quarter
PHA 3131 Professional Practice I and Informatics
Topics include an introduction to pharmaceutical care, health and illness behaviors, medical terminology, communication skills, team building and team leadership. Techniques used in the proper interpretation and delivery of prescription/medication orders will be covered as well as an introduction to the medical record. The top 100 drugs will be presented during the first quarter, with an emphasis on the first 60. Communication skills will be enhanced through various formal and informal classes, activities and assignments. Techniques of patient counseling will be presented by utilizing a nationally recognized formal patient-counseling program. The coursework is presented in a lab/classroom/on-site format.
2 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 3135, PHA 3136, PHA 3137, PHA 3138 Integrated Pharmacy Skills Laboratory I-IV
The goal of the Integrated Pharmacy Skills lab is to provide students with the opportunity to apply concepts and knowledge gained in the classroom in a “hands-on” and practice-related setting. The Integrated Pharmacy Skills lab will consist of a series of courses over 4 quarters in which the material continually builds upon itself.
2 quarter hours, Fall, Winter, Spring Quarters and 1 quarter hour, Summer Quarter
PHA 3150 Health Care Systems
Health and pharmaceutical delivery in the United States is examined. This course aims to broaden students' understanding of the complex system in which they will provide pharmaceutical care in collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Application to various pharmaceutical sectors (e.g. retail, health systems, and manufacturing) is included. Issues of public policy, economic behavior, and patient outcomes are addressed. Students should gain an understanding of the factors driving the transformation of healthcare delivery and the implications for future pharmacy practice.
2 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 3151 Communications for the Health Care Professional
This course is designed to provide pharmacy students the knowledge and empathy needed to communicate and intervene effectively in a variety of psychosocial situations with different patient populations. Patient education and communication, cultural and social awareness and sensitivity issues are presented. Emphasis is placed on normal psychosocial life and adjustment to common problems encountered in the healthcare environment and pharmacy's role in dealing effectively with patients and the caregivers concerning these circumstances.
2.5 quarter hours, Winter Quarter
PHA 3159 Introduction to Integrated Sequence
This course is an introduction into the general principles of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology with an emphasis on the molecular interactions of drugs with biological systems and provides the fundamentals of rational drug therapy. The material covered in this course serves as a foundation for the more advanced medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutics concepts to be covered in the Integrated Sequence classes in subsequent quarters. An overview of the drug discovery process with selected examples, a review of drugs derived from natural products, and an introduction to pharmaceutical agents based on peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids are presented. The theories and principles of drug-receptor interactions and drug design are presented. The physiochemical properties conferred by functional groups and stereotypical properties on drug molecules are related to the absorption, distribution, and metabolism of medicinal agents.
2.5 quarter hours, Winter Quarter
PHA 3162 Integrated Sequence I
This course builds on the general principles of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology introduced in the Introduction to Integrated Sequence course (PHA 3159). The physiological properties conferred by functional groups in drug molecules are related to the absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, and toxicity of clinically used medicinal agents. Potential drug-drug and drug-food interactions based on absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicity are discussed with an emphasis on the 25 most important clinically important drug-drug interactions, as defined by the Partnership to Prevent Drug-Drug Interactions.
4 quarter hours, Spring Quarter
PHA 4211 Basic Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics
This course covers the theoretical and practical topics of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics as a necessary foundation for competency in the future clinical pharmacokinetics course. The course provides the student with an understanding of conceptual and mathematical treatment of ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion) in a small group problem-based format.
4 quarter hours, Summer Quarter
PHA 4252 Pharmacy Law/Ethics
The basic principles of federal, state, and local statutes as well as court decisions which impact on the practice of pharmacy and drug distribution are reviewed. Civil liability in pharmacy practice and elements of business and contract law as well as discussions of professional ethics will be presented.
2.5 quarter hours, Summer Quarter
PHA 4264, PHA 4265, PHA 5367, PHA 5368, PHA 5369, PHA 5370, PHA 5371, PHA 5372, PHA 5373, PHA 5374 Integrated Sequence II-XI
These courses will integrate pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pathophysiology, and therapeutics. They are designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn, observe, and apply concepts of these content areas in an integrated manner. The contents of the courses will include drugs and therapies necessary to treat disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems, integumental, gastrointestinal, hematological, musculoskeletal, renal, pulmonary, cardiovascular and endocrine systems. Also included will be drugs and therapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Pharmacotherapeutic considerations of alternative therapies, women's health issues and of special populations including pediatrics and geriatrics will be discussed. The students will apply foundational material from Biochemistry, Physiology, Microbiology, Pharmaceutics, and Integrated Sequence Introduction. This material is presented in a lecture, demonstration, and small discussion group/case studies format.
8 quarter hours, Summer Quarter; 8 quarter hours, Winter Quarter; 10 quarter hours, Spring Quarter; 10 quarter hours, Summer Quarter; 6 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 4280 Community Externship
Designed to give the student practical experience in a community pharmacy setting with emphasis on prescription filling (prescription interpretation, legal requirements, etc..) drug products, computer programs, managerial functions, OTC knowledge, and communications with pharmacist, healthcare providers and patients.
8 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 4281 Institutional Externship
Designed to give the student practical experience in a hospital, long-term care or other appropriate setting with an emphasis on order interpretation, institutional policy and procedure, experience with therapeutic problems and outcomes, patient monitoring, medication packaging, parenteral preparation using aseptic technique and communications with pharmacists, health care providers and patients.
8 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 4280 Community Externship
Designed to give the student practical experience in a community pharmacy setting with emphasis on prescription filling (prescription interpretation, legal requirements, etc..) drug products, computer programs, managerial functions, OTC knowledge, and communications with pharmacist, healthcare providers and patients. .
8 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 4281 Institutional Externship
Designed to give the student practical experience in a hospital, long-term care or other appropriate setting with an emphasis on order interpretation, institutional policy and procedure, experience with therapeutic problems and outcomes, patient monitoring, medication packaging, parenteral preparation using aseptic technique and communications with pharmacists, health care providers and patients.
8 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 5327 Clinical Pharmacokinetics/Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
The course is designed to acquaint the Doctor of Pharmacy students with the clinical application of basic pharmacokinetic principles to the safe and effective management of individual patients and to introduce the student to research techniques in the pharmaceutical sciences. Basic pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles having direct clinical implications are reviewed in detail. Emphasis is on design of drug dosage regimens, therapeutic drug monitoring and adjustment of drug therapy. The application of these principles are illustrated and reinforced through discussion of pertinent drugs and case examples emphasizing basic pharmacology and therapeutics and introducing students to signs and symptoms of major diseases.
3 quarter hours, Winter Quarter
PHA 5331, PHA 5332 Applied Pharmaceutical Care I, II
This course sequence focuses on the application of pharmaceutical care principles, pharmaceutical knowledge, and professional techniques to solve pharmacy-related problems. Its primary emphasis includes physical assessment, verbal and written communication, the use of reference sources, patient profile review, laboratory data interpretation, pharmaceutical calculations, intravenous admixture preparation and experience in detecting medication errors and omissions. This course sequence allows the integration of previously presented course materials into pharmacy practice situations in laboratory and workshop sessions. Students learn to collect patient-specific data, identify and assess drug-related problems, develop drug monitoring plans, and document pertinent information. Further, students learn to educate patients and healthcare professionals regarding the appropriate use of drugs. The second course in this sequence is the Capstone course for the entire curriculum up to this point. Students must use their knowledge of biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutics to design, implement, monitor, evaluate, and adjust pharmaceutical care plans that are patient specific and evidence-based. Students will also be required to pass a Capstone exam and a Wet Board Practicum. Students working in groups will be responsible for developing a complex patient case on their own.
4 quarter hours, Summer Quarter; 3 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 5333 Drug Information, Literature Evaluation, Research Design and Methods
Application of research design concepts and statistical techniques to design, collect and critically analyze data and interpret, pre-clinical, clinical and economic studies of pharmaceuticals or treatment plans.
3 quarter hours, Spring Quarter
PHA 5334 Complementary and Preventative Medicine
This course is offered in the third year to introduce students to non-pharmaceutical methods of treatment and prevention that they might encounter in practice. Knowledge of herbal and natural remedy content is essential to the most appropriate evaluation of patient’s pharmacotherapy and to the provision of optimal pharmaceutical care.
3 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA5335 Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
This course will teach the student how to apply the scientific method to analyzing and making clinical decisions that improve patient care. The clinical epidemiology portion of the course will deal specifically with clinical questions pertaining to abnormality, diagnosis, frequency, risk, prognosis, treatment, and cause. The bridge between clinical epidemiology and biostatistics will deal with the issue of chance. The biostatistics portion of the course will cover the various types of clinical data and the common statistical tests used to evaluate those data.
3 quarter hours, Winter Quarter
PHA 5338 Grand Rounds
In this course, students will learn to critically evaluate literature and develop and make a formal presentation.
1 quarter hour, Fall, Winter or Spring Quarter
PHA 5353 Pharmacy Practice Management
The principles of management, including personnel and financial management will be covered as they apply to management of pharmacy operations in a variety of settings (e.g. community, health system, managed care).
3 quarter hours, Spring Quarter
PHA 5354 Health Economics and Outcomes Assessment
Students will follow a patient or patients over an extended period of time in a medical or home setting. Pharmacotherapeutic knowledge and skills will be applied in communications, health assessment, monitoring of pharmacotherapy, and evaluation of both humanistic and clinical outcomes. Issues of health care, cost, access and quality as revealed through each patient’s interaction with health and pharmaceutical care systems will be addressed. Introduction to commonly used economic evaluation methods (e.g. cost-minimization, cost-utility, cost-benefit, and cost-effectiveness) as applied to pharmaceutical products and services. Quality of life and outcomes research will also be explored. Emphasis is on understanding evaluation methods, research design, and interpreting the relevant literature for practice applications.
3 quarter hours, Fall Quarter
PHA 6482, PHA 6483, PHA 6484, PHA 6485, PHA 6486, PHA 6487, PHA 6488 Advanced Professional Practice Experience
The senior year is organized as an experiential learning program in various patient care settings. The Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) students must complete, include: five 5-week required rotations, and two 5-week elective rotation, comprising 48-quarter-hour rotations of full-time study and practice divided into five-week blocks. Upon completion of the advanced practice rotations and the externships completed earlier, students receive more than 1,500 hours of clinical experience within the framework of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.
The five required rotations that provide the foundation of the advanced practice experience include: Drug Information or another approved Rotation, Internal Medicine Rotation, Ambulatory Care Rotation, Hospital Pharmacy Practice, and Community Pharmacy Practice. In addition, students select an elective rotation that may be an additional clerkship or a non-patient care experience with industry, a professional organization, chain/independent store management, etc., to complete the experience.
8 quarter hours, Winter, Spring and Summer Quarters
Apply to the Program
- – Admission Requirements
- – Application Process
- – Admissions Calendar
- – Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT)
- – PharmCas Application
- – Supplemental Application
- – Contact us:
School of Pharmacy Admissions
912.201.8120
pharmd@southuniversity.edu
