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Introduction to Pharmacy Practice Education (Year 1)

This introductory experiential course provides foundational concepts and skills required in provision of quality patient care. Students will:

• Learn about the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process ()
• Explore the role of a pharmacists in a diversity of practice settings
• Prepare for health fairs and projects aimed at serving the local community
• Learn about principles of professional and ethical pharmacy practices
• Create a professional Curriculum Vitae (CV) and participate in internship interviews
• Being introduced to the core competencies of interprofessional education and practice 
• Participate in reflection activities as part of the continuing professional development process

Discussion, observation, and patient care experiences will occur longitudinally during the Fall and Spring semesters of the first professional year.

Introduction to Pharmacy Practice Education (Year 2)

Building on the concepts introduced in year 1, this introductory experiential course provides foundational concepts and skills required in the provisions of quality patient care. Students will:

• Prepare for experiential rotations by learning about the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process () and other rotation related activities
• Participate in patient encounters aimed at serving the local community with the basic clinical skills which may include, but are not limited to immunizations, blood pressure screenings, and blood glucose screenings
• Learn about principles of professional and ethical pharmacy practices
• Continue development of Curriculum Vitae (CV) and conduct interviews
• Learning and participation in “Phone Interviewsâ€�
• Explore the role of inter-professional competencies in clinical settings
• Participate in reflection activities as part of the continuing professional development process

Discussions, observation, and patient care experiences will occur longitudinally during both the Fall and Spring semesters of the second professional year

Introduction to Pharmacy Practice Education (Year 3)

P3 year:  During the P3 Year, students will participate in four; six-week, 16 hour per week rotation experiences that meet Monday – Thursday, 8:00 am – 12 noon.

PHAR 4270 Community Pharmacy Practice: This rotation experience reinforces and further develops the student’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the care of patients, monitoring for progress on chronic drug therapy, screening patients for potential diseases, dispensing medications and counseling patients on the safe and appropriate use of medications in community pharmacies.  It has been designed to develop realistic patient care activities that are currently available in community pharmacies that focus on patient care and are needed for the practice of all community pharmacies to become more patient focused and not just focused on medication dispensing.

PHAR 4274 Institutional Pharmacy Practice:  This rotation experience is designed to provide a basic foundation in hospital pharmacy practice. This rotation provides practical experiences in hospital drug distribution and support systems, with special emphasis on drug distribution systems, preparation of sterile products, pharmaceutical calculations and knowledge of drugs used in the hospital setting.

PHAR 4275 Ambulatory Clinical Skills:   The rotation experience is designed to develop basic  clinical skills in providing direct patient care in the Ambulatory Care setting.  The skills developed will be necessary to successfully complete subsequent rotation experiences. Students on this rotation will use their content knowledge and communication abilities obtained in the classroom and laboratory to learn and/or improve their basic clinical skills provided in the outpatient health care setting. The rotation is designed to enhance the student’s understanding of the unique characteristics of patients, communication skills, physical assessment skills, and pharmacotherapy management of chronic or acute disease states in the Ambulatory Care setting to improve the student’s necessary abilities to provide direct patient pharmaceutical care and disease management.

PHAR 4276 Inpatient Clinical Skills:  This rotation experience is designed to provide basic knowledge and hands-on experience in the area of clinical pharmacy practice. The focus will be on orientation into the inpatient setting as it pertains to clinical practice.  The purpose of this rotation is to develop clinical skills and to deliver pharmaceutical care to inpatient patients. This experience is designed to enhance the students understanding of the unique characteristics of the inpatient patient population, inpatient disease states, inpatient pharmacotherapy, and to improve the student's ability to provide pharmaceutical care.  This course provides students with a foundation of basic clinical skills that they will use to provide pharmaceutical care to patients admitted to a hospital or other related facility.  During the rotation experience, students will be asked to write-up patients, present patients, perform several activities (SOAP Notes, Care Plans, DI questions, etc.) all in an effort to foster the development of critical thinking skills.  This rotation is meant to present the skills that will be necessary to successfully complete the Adult Medicine Rotation Experience and other inpatient rotations during a student’s P4 professional year.  

Advanced Pharmacy Practice Education (Year 4)

P4 Year: During the P4 Year, students will participate in eight; six-week,  40 hours per week rotation experiences, meeting Monday through Friday with the exception of Wednesday afternoons when students will attend Grand Round sessions.  The fourth year experiences include 6 core rotation experiences – Rural Community, Advanced Hospital/Health Systems, Advanced Ambulatory Care, Advanced Pediatric Pharmacotherapy, Advanced Geriatric Pharmacotherapy and Advanced Adult Medicine. There are also 2 Advanced Elective rotations required that include but not limited to Advanced Community, Advanced Management, Advanced Oncology, Advanced Critical Care, etc.  There are also several rotation opportunities that are located out of the area as well as abroad.  P4 students also have the option of setting up their own elective rotations with the permission of the Experiential Program office.

PHAR 4653 Rural Community:  The purpose of this rotation is to develop clinical skills and to deliver pharmaceutical care within a rural community pharmacy and its diversified services to small and rural communities.  The student will be immersed in patient advocacy in a rural community through the following venues: preventative care, telecare, acute care, extended care, and ambulatory care.  Management principles should be interwoven throughout the rotation.

PHAR 4654 Advanced Hospital/Health Systems: The purpose of this rotation experience is to develop advanced hospital and health-system pharmacy practice management skills and to deliver pharmaceutical care within a hospital or other health-system pharmacy.

PHAR 4656 Advanced Ambulatory Care:  The purpose of this rotation is to provide the student with pharmaceutical care experiences with ambulatory care patients. The pharmacist can have various roles within a Primary Care patient setting. Typically, pharmacists provide global services to patients (e.g. counseling, assistance with disease management, management of drug therapy). These services may be in the form of a disease state management clinic or the pharmacist may be working alongside the physician in the primary care setting. Texas Tech faculty and preceptors offer these services to a variety of patient populations and practice settings. Although the types of experiences offered and disease states covered on rotations will differ for each site and with each preceptor, all sites offered are within a primary care setting. Through these experiences, students will become familiar with the management of both simple and complex patients.

PHAR 4657 Advanced Pediatric Pharmacotherapy: The purpose of this rotation is for the student to develop clinical skills and to deliver pharmaceutical care to pediatric patients.  This experience is designed to provide the student with understanding of the unique characteristics of the pediatric patient population, pediatric disease states, and pediatric pharmacotherapy.  Students will also develop an understanding of the implications of different ages on the practical administration of medications, and will also further develop their abilities to communicate with patients of all ages, parents or caregivers, and other health care professionals.  Activities performed on a daily basis during this rotation will serve to improve the students’ ability to deliver pharmaceutical care with a pediatric emphasis.

PHAR 4658 Advanced Geriatric Pharmacotherapy: The purpose of this rotation is for the students to be exposed to a high standard of pharmacy practice in Geriatric care settings, with a primary goal of providing a Core set of skills that will allow them to care for vulnerable elders in whatever practice setting they may ultimately choose to establish their careers.  Under preceptor supervision, students will engage in drug therapy evaluations for vulnerable elders, and interact with various disciplines to formulate assessments and recommendations to improve drug therapy and related outcomes. This course will provide instruction in a Core set of medical and medication-related problems associated with a population of elderly patients, and provide interdisciplinary experiences and patient encounters in a variety of settings, which may include outpatient clinic settings, inpatient settings, rehabilitation units, home health care, and long term care / SNF settings.  

PHAR 4675 Advanced Adult Medicine: This rotation experience is an extension of the P3 inpatient clinical skills clerkship (PHAR 4276), allowing for more intense and advanced experience.  Students will be exposed to adult inpatients with a variety of disease states during the rotation. Students will continue to refine their critical thinking skills that they have developed during their prior rotations and coursework, and will begin to apply all of the knowledge they have gained up to this point.  Students will be asked to be actively involved with following patients, interacting with health care professionals, and in presenting/researching various disease states/drug therapy that is specific to their given rotation (see core disease states).