Curricular Requirements

NOTE: Prior to 2012, Pharm.D. students completed one year of pre-requisite coursework and after entry into the Pharm.D. program were required to successfully earn passing grades in five years of required basic science and pharmacy specific coursework.  Beginning with the entering doctor of pharmacy class Fall 2012, the program requires four years of study after successful completion of a minimum two years of specified, pre-requisite coursework. For more information about the organization of coursework and curriculum requirements for the upcoming year, contact the UMKC School of Pharmacy Student Services Office.

The doctor of pharmacy degree program provides broad and general preparation in professional areas of practice with the intent that, on completion, graduates will be able to practice at a level sufficient to perform the established functions of a pharmacist. In addition, the Pharm.D. program prepares the student for advanced levels of professional practice. The major emphasis is on the clinical sciences and drug-related patient care.

This program is designed to provide advanced education and training in clinical pharmacy and drug information with particular emphasis on interprofessional team participation in the delivery of health care. To enable students to concentrate solely on this advanced professional coursework, those entering the doctor of pharmacy program are strongly encouraged to limit their work and/or intern hours during the academic year.

During the early portion of the curriculum, students complete their upper level basic science foundation courses, courses in pharmaceutical sciences, as well as introductory-level pharmacy courses and begin the professional skills development series.

As students progress, they engage in advanced lecture and laboratory coursework in the pharmaceutical and pharmacological sciences, introductory clinical sciences, and finish the professional development series in preparation for the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences.  In addition, students select professional electives designed to reinforce the pharmacy career track.

In the later stages of the curriculum Pharm.D. students pursue advanced coursework in the clinical sciences to include pharmacotherapeutics, evidence based medicine, pharmacy law, and pharmacy practice management. During this period, students also finish professional electives.

Each student will complete Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) during the curriculum. The IPPE’s allow students to take knowledge gained in the didactic curriculum and apply these skills in a variety of practice settings creating a foundation from which to build. The IPPE coursework will be interspersed throughout the didactic curriculum and must be completed before the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE) occurring in the final year of the program. IPPE opportunities may occur in simulated practice settings, community pharmacies, and health systems.

The final two semesters encompass the APPEs. Drug literature evaluation, instruction, and practice will be an integral part of the APPEs. Each student will be exposed to a core number of required and elective APPEs.

Doctor of Pharmacy APPEs are a series of required and elective experiences designed to complete the student’s education through supervised participation in pharmacy practice in a variety of settings. Candidates are expected to learn by assuming the pharmaceutical care responsibilities of a pharmacist under the direct supervision of a faculty preceptor. Experiences will include direct interaction with diverse patient populations in a variety of practice settings and involve collaboration with other health care professionals. The emphasis of the candidate’s activities will be the management of pharmacotherapy in patients at the assigned practice site. Candidates will also be engaged in ongoing drug utilization, patient and healthcare provider education programs and other pertinent patient care and clinical research activities involved in the provision of patient care. Clinical responsibilities are expected during all pharmacy practice experiences however, there are experiences in which the primary focus may be different. In these, the emphasis may be on the organization, technical and administrative aspects of providing pharmaceutical care.

IPPE and APPE prerequisites include satisfactory completion of all degree requirements prior to the respective term of the professional curriculum that these experiences take place. Candidates must also complete and submit all required documentation for the Office of Pharmacy Experiential Programs as they are notified. All immunizations and specified required documents must be on file with the Office of Experiential Programs before IPPEs and APPEs begin and must remain current through the last experiential rotation. Students enrolled in pharmacy practice experiences may not enroll in didactic courses outside of the required Pharm.D. curriculum without prior approval of the Director of Experiential Learning.

Because pharmacy is a profession undergoing rapid change, the curriculum is subject to continual review and modification. As society's needs for specific types of pharmaceutical service change, the curriculum will change as well. To assure the best pharmacy education for its students, the School of Pharmacy reserves the right of making judicious changes and improvements in course sequence, course content, or other program requirements at any time that must be completed and adhered to in order to meet graduation degree requirements.

Pharm.D. Graduation Requirements

To graduate, Pharm.D. candidates that entered the program prior to Fall 2012 must meet the following course requirements in addition to the 31 credit hour prerequisite requirements:

Semester One
PHARM 7101 Professional Skills I: The Profession of Pharmacy 2
PHARM 7125 Medical Terminology (a) 1
PHARM 7151 Introduction to Pharmacy Law 1
LS-ANATO 119 Human Anatomy 3
LS-ANATO 119L Human Anatomy Lab 1
CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry I 3
CHEM 321L Organic Chemistry I Lab 1
BIOLOGY 202 Cell Biology 3
COMM-ST 110 Fund. of Eff. Speaking and Listening 3

Total 18 Semester Hours

 

Semester Two
PHARM 7110 Professional Skills II: Pharmacy Calculations 2
PHARM 7125 Medical Terminology (a) 1
PHARM 7233 U.S. Health Care System 3
CHEM 322R Organic Chemistry II 3
CHEM 322L Organic Chemistry II Lab 1
LS-MCRB 121 Microbiology 3
LS-MCRB 121L Microbiology Lab 1
Course covering the U.S. Constitution 3
HISTORY 101 American History to 1877,
HISTORY 102 Amerian History Since 1877 or
POL-SCI 210 American Government

Total 16 Semester Hours

(a) PHARM 7125 must be successfully completed during either the fall or spring semester.

Semester Three
PHARM 7202 Pharmaceutics I 4
PHARM 7341 Medicinal Chemistry I 3
LS-BIOC 365 Human Biochemistry I 3
LS-PHYS 399 Pharmacy Physiology I 3

Total 13 Semester Hours

Semester Four
PHARM 7203 Pharmaceutics II 3
PHARM 7344 Medicinal Chemistry II 3
PHARM 7414 Professional Skills Development III: Patient-Centered Communication and Ethical Practice 3
LS-BIOC 366 Human Biochemistry II 3
LS-PHYS 400 Pharmacy Physiology II 3

Total 15 Semester Hours

Semester Five
PHARM 7245 Top 200 Drugs I (b) .5
PHARM 7307 Advanced Pathophysiology 4
PHARM 7361 Pharmacology I 4
PHARM 7325 Professional Skills V: Professional and Patient Communications 3
PHARM 7465 Economics of Health and Medicine 3
Professional Electives (c) 2
PHARM 7434 Professional Skills IV: Pharmacy Preparations and Practice 3

PHARM 7199 Pharmacy Grand Rounds (*)  .25

Total(a)19.75 Semester Hours

 

(*)Pharmacy Grand Rounds is a continuous course completed over two semesters worth .25 credit hours. If successfully completed, students will receive an incomplete at the end of the fall semester which is converted to a grade at the end of the Spring semester upon successful completion. Re-enrollment through Pathway during the Spring semester is not required.

Semester Six
PHARM 7245 Top 200 Drugs I (b).5
PHARM 7303 Pharmacokinetics & Biopharmaceutics 4
Professional Elective (c) 2
PHARM 7362 Pharmacology II 5
PHARM 7405 Pharmacotherapy I 3
PHARM 7463 Toxicology 2
PHARM 7334 Pharmacy Based Immunization Delivery 2

PHARM 7279 Aeseptic Technique and Sterile Product Preparation .5
Total(a)19

(b) PHARM 7245 must be successfully completed during either the fall or spring semester.

Summer Semester
PHARM 7378 Introduction to Community Pharmacy Practice 2
PHARM 7379 Introduction to Health-Systems Pharmacy Practice 2

Semester Seven
PHARM 7389 Advances in Drug Therapy 2
PHARM 7345 Top 200 Drugs II(d).5
PHARM 7406P General Medicine I(e) 4
PHARM 7420 Health Assessment & Pharmacotherapy II 7
PHARM 7451 Pharmacy Law 2
Professional Elective(s)(c) 4
PHARM 7199 Pharmacy Grand Rounds (*)  .25
Total(d)19.75 Semester Hours

Semester Eight
PHARM 7326 Evidence Based Medicine 5
PHARM 7345 Top 200 Drugs II(d).5
PHARM 7485P Health Assessment & Pharmacotherapy III 7

PHARM 7466 Pharmacy Practice Management 3
Professional Elective (c) 2

Total(d)17.5 Semester Hours

(c) A minimum of 10 credit hours of professional elective coursework must be completed while enrolled in the School of Pharmacy. No more than five credit hours of the 10 hours can come from courses outside the School of Pharmacy. Coursework completed before entry in the professional program will not transfer as professional elective credit. General and professional elective courses cannot be double counted.

The following is a partial list of courses approved to satisfy professional electives. A current list of approved professional electives is available on the School of Pharmacy home page at http://pharmacy.umkc.edu/ under the Current Students section.

• Principles of Nutritional Support
• Nuclear Pharmacy and Medicine
• Hospital Pharmacy
• Investigative Toxicology
• Zoonotic Illnesses
• The Pharmacists Role in Global Health
• Islam and Modern Practice of Medicine and Pharmacy
• Academic Service Learning
• Pediatric Pharmacotherapy
• Comprehensive Diabetes Management
• Career Planning
• Pharmacy in the 21st Century - Technology for Improved Patient Care
• Introduction to Dietary Supplement Therapeutics
• Oncology and Hematology Pharmacotherapy
• Concepts & Approaches of Epidemiology & Statistics in Research
• Pharmacy Seminar
• Directed Individual Study

(d) PHARM 7345 must be successfully completed during either the fall or spring semester.

(e) Students enroll in General Medicine I during the fall semester for 4.0 credit hours. Half of the General Medicine I course is completed during the fall and the remainder of the course during the spring semester. Spring re-enrollment is not required.

Semester Nine
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential Rotations Hours vary

PHARM 7199 Pharmacy Grand Rounds (*)  .25

Semester Ten
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential Rotations Hours vary
Refer to the School of Pharmacy Office of Experiential Programs for Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential course requirements and policies.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate, students must successfully complete all credit and non-credit requirements as listed. The curriculum includes a minimum of 200 hours (including the 31-hour pre-professional coursework requirement) and all non-credit requirements in effect at the time of completion. Prior to graduation, students also must demonstrate proficiency in English through completion of the Written English Proficiency Test. Within the 200 hours, the following minimums must be met:

Mathematics/Basic Science coursework 53 hours

Pharmacy Didactic coursework 81 hours
Professional Electives 10 hours
IPPE and APPE Experiential Learning 44 hours

Humanities and social science course requirements (including pre-pharmacy coursework):
English Composition 6 hours
Fundamentals of Effective Speaking & Listening 3 hours
U.S. Constitution course 3 hours