University Of Southern Nevada
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
Pharmacy Curriculum
The University utilizes the block system of curricular design, which provides students with the opportunity to study one content area intensely. Faculty, using a variety of educational strategies, help students achieve the learning objectives for each block. The program does not award students traditional letter grades (e.g., A, B, C, D or F). However, faculty require students to demonstrate competency by successfully passing every assessment (examination) that is associated with each block. The program also offers a unique experiential training program that places students in a community pharmacy practice setting within the first two weeks after beginning classes in the University.
The curriculum of the University of Southern Nevada College of Pharmacy PharmD program can be divided into two major components: the didactic component and the experiential component.
04. PHAR 600 APPE - Year 3
When: Third academic year
Number of Hours: 1,440 (six, six-week rotations; minimum of 40 hrs/week)
Outcomes:
In general, the outcome expectations for APPE represent further advancement of student abilities to include the provision of pharmaceutical care and disease state management. Each preceptor is supplied with a checklist of abilities that the student is expected to demonstrate by the end of the six-week experience. A copy of the checklist is submitted for review by the College after the third week and at the end of the rotation.
Required APPE
Each student must complete each of the following rotations:
- Ambulatory Care
The purpose of this rotation is for students to gain professional skills in an ambulatory care practice environment. The Ambulatory Care rotation affords students the opportunity to effectively participate in the patient care decision-making process. Students will participate in a variety of clinical activities, functioning as an integral member of the healthcare team. Emphasis will be placed on the student’s ability to demonstrate their understanding of common disease states and treatment modalities as well as their ability to provide pharmaceutical care.
- Adult Acute Care
The overall goals of the Adult Acute Care experience are to promote student knowledge, skills and abilities and to effectively participate in the patient care, decision-making process in the inpatient institutional setting. During these experiences the student will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing clinical activities. The student will function as an integral part of the health care team and will gain experience with patient interviewing techniques, patient monitoring, clinical use of drugs, chemical concentrations in biological fluids, and manual and computerized methods for planning dosing regimens. Emphasis will be placed on student’s demonstration and understanding of common disease states and treatment modalities.
- Advanced Community
The overall goals of the Advanced Community experience are to promote student knowledge, skills and abilities and effectively participate in the patient care, decision-making process in the community pharmacy setting. Emphasis will be placed on disease state management, the development of professional attitudes and judgment needed to function in this practice setting.
- Institutional Practice
The purpose of this rotation is for students to gain professional skills in the distributive functions of pharmaceutical care in the inpatient setting (e.g., prescription orders and order entry, dispensing, record-keeping, patient interviewing and counseling, patient profiles, charts, third-party billing, legal requirements, compounding, sterile products, communication with other health care professionals, inventory control and etc.).
- Selectives
Selective experiences include all specialty pharmacy practice experiences. Students are required to complete two Selectives. The areas of specialty for these experiences include but are not limited to: ambulatory care, drug information, cardiology, critical care, pediatrics, geriatrics, infectious disease, hematology and oncology, surgery, nutrition, and pain management.
The number of the different selective experiences may vary annually based on site and preceptor availability.