Pharmacy Practice

This course provides core knowledge of physiology to understand normal body function and to acquire the ability to analyze and interpret immediate and long-term compensatory responses to common disease states. Basic and applied terminology as well as the basic morphology of systems are discussed, and the relationship between anatomy and function of the systems considered is included.

These courses provide an opportunity for students to work with individual faculty mentors on research projects of variable scope that are intended to lead to publication, an abstract or a poster. All special projects/research require the approval of the appropriate department chair and Dean.

These courses provide an opportunity for students to work with individual faculty mentors on research projects of variable scope that are intended to lead to publication, an abstract or a poster. All special projects/research require the approval of the appropriate department chair and Dean.

Through active participation in lecture discussions and workshops, the student will be prepared to implement health screening programs in pharmacy practice settings. The course focuses on risk factor assessment and hands-on experience with screening devices for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The course also addresses regulatory requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and development of policies and procedures for screening programs.

This course is designed to introduce the pharmacy student to the history of pharmacy. This will be accomplished by focusing upon the historical development of pharmacy in the United States by examining the growth and professionalization of the field, its statutory regulation and its product development. Students will be able to apply the lessons of history to current and future practice philosophies.

This course is designed to provide an overview of common diseases and symptoms encountered in terminal patients. Emphasis will be placed on the appropriate selection of medications to palliate symptoms such as pain, dyspnea, excess secretions, constipation, diarrhea, hiccups, pruritus, etc. Common diseases include but are not limited to: breast, brain, lung, colon and renal cancers; COPD; dementia; and CHF. Patient cases will be used during each session to illustrate symptom management issues.

This elective course offers exposure to various concepts related to pharmacy practice in rural settings. This course will connect students with various pharmacists practicing in rural settings with interactive discussion of various topics relevant to rural pharmacy practice.  The course will be structured as a weekly showcase of selected rural pharmacy practitioners/sites leading topic discussions addressing areas of concern for rural healthcare.   

Upon completion of this course students will understand how to assess pain; understand the differences between addiction, dependence and tolerance; be able to recommend appropriate medication therapies for nociceptive and neuropathic pain; understand the reasons for the multitude of available analgesic choices; understand the role of complementary and alternative medicine; and be conversant with the legal and ethical issues of pain management.

This course provides a forum for students to learn how to manage patients with rare and interesting disease states. The pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic tests or procedures, treatment and the pharmacist’s role in the management for each disease state/genetic abnormality/adverse drug event will be reviewed. Activities will simulate patient work up and written/oral presentations in clinical practice.

This course provides the student an overview of the various aspects of nuclear pharmacy. This includes basic nuclear physics, radiation measurement and safety, regulatory considerations, radiopharmaceutical preparation, products, quality control, and imaging modalities.

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of advanced topics in women’s health particularly related to reproductive health. Expanded information in topics such as contraception, infertility, drug use in pregnancy, and mood disorders related to pregnancy are provided. The course utilizes various teaching methods including lectures, case studies, readings, assignments, and discussions. Students will develop a working knowledge to aid them in caring for women with gender-related disease states.

This course teaches the skills necessary to become a primary source for vaccine information and administration. It teaches the basics of immunology and focuses on practice implementation and legal/regulatory issues. Students must complete 12 hours of self-study prior to the class and must submit the completed material upon arrival to class.

This course provides an overview of dentistry and its relation to healthcare. Discussion includes questions that pharmacists often are asked regarding oral lesions, injuries to the oral cavity, and efficacy of OTC remedies. Information about various dental specialties will help the pharmacist refer their patients to the appropriate specialist. Misuse and abuse of dental drugs and medications and investigation and enforcement of dental regulations concerning dmg abuse will be discussed.

Post-graduate pharmacy residency programs are highly valuable and are becoming increasingly competitive. This elective course provides guidance on the residency selection decision process, curriculum vita (CV) development, creation of a strong letter of intent and interviewing skills. Students will learn and apply how to incorporate experiences from their didactic, experiential, and co-curricular education into their residency application and interview. To meet the learning objectives, students will complete interactive written and verbal activities to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities. Achievement of learning objectives will be evaluated by assessment rubrics tailored to each activity.

This course provides an in-depth review of postmenopausal women’s health issues. Through active participation in patient case studies and class discussion, students will learn to design pharmacotherapeutic plans to address symptoms of menopause during the menopause transition and to reduce risk factors for chronic medical conditions common during this life stage.

This elective course provides students with an in-depth review and expansion of knowledge regarding the management of medical pharmacotherapy in patients with acute cardiovascular issues, building upon concepts that were introduced in Integrated Sequence 4 and 5. The class is focused on application of knowledge to improve patient care. Learning techniques that will be utilized include lecture, discussion, formulation of a Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process (PPCP) for patient cases, evaluation of primary literature, and student debates.

This professional elective course is designed to use a book club/current topics format to provide the pharmacy student with an introduction to the art of patient care and the issues healthcare providers face regarding their own biases and stereotypes. The purpose of this course is to thoughtfully tackle some of the assumptions we make as health care providers and explore ways to be more thoughtful in our decisions and care of our patients.

This elective will develop the basic verbal and written skills required to effectively communicate with the Spanish speaking patient in the pharmacy setting. There will be a strong focus on patient interviewing skills and counseling on the most common topics seen in the community setting. This course assumes the student is already familiar with basic Spanish and therefore introductory level Spanish.

This elective that will provide an introduction to current therapies, management of patients and other operations requirements within specialties including Solid Organ Transplant/BMT, Oncology, Inflammatory (Rheumatology, Dermatology), and Infectious Disease (HIV and Hepatitis C). The course is composed of alternating disease state overview presentations with student case study presentations the following week for practical application.

This course focuses on the clinical aspects of the pharmaceutical care of patients with hematologic and oncologic diseases. Clinical topics include disease state management, supportive care, hospice/palliative care, management of drug shortages and literature evaluation.

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of managed care pharmacy and how it impacts the US healthcare system. The course prepares students to understand and learn about professional practice opportunities in managed care pharmacy by exploring: healthcare reform, managed healthcare delivery models, prescription benefit design, pharmacy networks, utilization management tools, P&T Committees, pharmacy data management, pharmacy benefit managers, specialty pharmacy and pharmaceutical manufacturers. In addition, the course focuses on how business principles are integrated into the managed care pharmacy department, and address how clinical pharmacy, quality improvement, medication therapy management/disease management programs are coordinated within the managed care pharmacy environment.

This course focuses on specific issues related to the treatment and care of pediatric patients. Clinical topics include common childhood illness and treatments as well as drug delivery systems used for pediatric patients, current controversies in pediatric pharmacotherapy, commonly used over the counter medications and alternative therapies used by pediatric patients. This course incorporates lectures, projects and reading assignments to enhance student learning about pediatric issues.

This course introduces students to current trends in Medication Therapy Management (MTM) with a particular focus on the provision of pharmacist’s services as an integral part of managing patient drug therapy. Students will gain insight into the challenges and opportunities that are presented to pharmacists when they address drug therapy misadventures and perform comprehensive medication reviews for patients with complex drug regimes. Particular attention is focused on development of drug therapy intervention skills that will maximize the results achieved when patient interventions are performed. In addition, students learn basic information about how the online intervention process works. The course includes having students role play case study examples of both therapeutic interventions and comprehensive medication reviews.

This course is designed to enhance students’ knowledge and skills related to geriatric pharmacotherapy. The course provides an introduction to general principles of aging, roles of pharmacists in working with geriatric patients, and an overview of geriatric syndromes. The format of the course involves brief lectures, and students will be expected to actively participate in discussions and case-based assignments. There is an emphasis on managing the healthcare needs of patients with multiple comorbidities.

This course is designed to enhance the knowledge of future community pharmacists in the area of small animal veterinary pharmacology, dispensing of common small animal prescriptions, and recommendations of OTC medications for common household pets. Primary focus will be on cats and dogs. This course includes an on-site session with CVM Faculty at the MWU Companion Animal Clinic.

This course is filled with opportunities for you to discover for yourself a new context for leadership in your life. The course is designed to increase workability in your relationships with others as well as increase performance in your work. The focus of this course is discovery through inquiry. Rather than engaging in typical case studies or using a model of learning that focuses on you “knowing the right answers to questions”, we will engage in an Inquiry model. This inquiry will focus on you “discovering for yourself what leadership in your life actually looks like”. This new model requires your participation in class discussions and completing the class assignments. If you have not participated in this type of course before, it may be unfamiliar at first, yet easy to adapt to as the course unfolds. By the end of this course, you will be standing on a powerful foundation for exercising leadership in your life.

This elective course provides students with exposure to "Grand Rounds" where contemporary clinical content is taught utilizing patient cases. The presenters will be pharmacists in practice or in post-graduate training. Students will gain clinical knowledge and practice pearls on a potpourri of clinical topics and benefit from exposure to the "Grand Round" format, which is a common form of continuing education in practice. Students will also gain experience in providing constructive written feedback to near-peer presenters and insight regarding the difficulty in providing feedback that is clear and specific. This course will develop the student’s written communication skills which are a central element in the Pharmacist’s Patient Care Process (PPCP), as well as a vital component of personal and professional development. Additionally, this course will allow the students the opportunity to develop assessment, feedback, and self-awareness skills.

Students will develop advanced knowledge of mental health and mental illness as it relates to the practice of pharmacy in the clinical setting and define the role of pharmacists in providing mental healthcare.

This course is designed to give students practical, hands-on experience in literature review, development of research questions and hypotheses, study design, analytics, and research reporting. Working iteratively throughout the course, students develop a research project on a topic of their choice, complete an ethics application, analyze the data, and produce a final research report. The report may be cited as a research project on applications for residency or fellowship and may be suitable for conversion after course completion to a poster presentation for one or more scientific meetings. Focus is on practical methods, effective project management, and basic interpretive techniques to facilitate research projects for residency, fellowship, or employment. The course prepares students to engage and collaborate effectively with a health care team, using evidence-based, accurate analysis and clear communication about statistical results.

In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism.

In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism. 

​​In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism.   

​​In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism.   

​This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings. 

This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

​​This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings. ​ 

This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

Students will explore cultural care concepts, including self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, adaptability, and respect for others. The course emphasizes public health principles relevant to pharmacists’ roles in disease prevention, health promotion, and advancing equitable outcomes. Students will examine how healthcare delivery adapts to diverse populations and acquire both general and specific cultural knowledge. Active learning activities will be used to strengthen skills for providing person-centered and equitable patient care.
 

This course provides an overview of the organization, delivery, and financing of medical and pharmaceutical care in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the interconnected roles of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, as well as the key institutions that shape patient care. Students will explore historical, social, economic, and political influences, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system, and consider strategies for improvement in contemporary practice.

This course equips students with the knowledge to assess patients and develop evidence-based plans for common self-care conditions. Through a combination of lectures and active learning, students will formulate comprehensive therapeutic recommendations, including non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic options. Students will explore common self-treatable conditions and develop strategies for assessing patients through diagnosis and identification of self-care exclusions, and recommending appropriate therapies. The course prepares future pharmacists to confidently guide patients in safe and effective self-care practices.

In this course, students will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to provide immunization services to patients through self-study, lectures, workshop, and simulation. The course incorporates the APhA Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery certificate training program to prepare students to provide care that promotes disease prevention and public health.

​​This course prepares first-year pharmacy students for Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences by applying pharmacy law to common practice situations. Emphasis is placed on recognizing legally valid, invalid, and higher-risk prescription scenarios; understanding the intern's scope of practice; and knowing when pharmacist involvement is required. Students review requirements for controlled substances, counseling obligations, and documentation expectations to support safe, compliant participation in community and institutional pharmacy settings.

This practice experience provides an opportunity for students to participate in basic patient care and distribution services in a community practice setting. Students gain experience in community pharmacy practice including the areas of professional communication, drug information, patient counseling for prescription and OTC medications, medication distribution, extemporaneous products, and application of federal and state pharmacy laws.

This practice experience will provide students an opportunity to participate in basic patient care and distribution services in a hospital or health system setting. Students will gain practical experience in the areas of professional and patient communication, medication order processing and verification, medication reconciliation, medication error prevention, medication distribution systems, sterile product preparation, hospital formulary management, interprofessional activities, and application of federal and state pharmacy laws.

This course deepens students’ understanding of cultural and structural humility, social determinants of health, and systemic inequities. Students will apply ethical principles—autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice—while examining public health challenges and professional dilemmas. Through active learning, they will strengthen skills for ethical reasoning, reflection, and person-centered decision-making. The course prepares students to deliver equitable, compassionate, and ethical pharmacy care within complex healthcare systems and diverse population contexts.

​​This course is the first in a two-course sequence designed to help students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize patient and population health outcomes by promoting optimal medication use. Using both lecture and hands-on activities and workshops, the course introduces students to designs, ethical considerations, analytics, and measures of quality for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which underpin most new drug approvals in the United States.​ 

​​This course is the second in a two-course sequence designed to help students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize patient and population health outcomes by promoting optimal medication use. Using both lecture and hands-on activities and workshops, the course introduces students to designs, ethical considerations, analytics, and measures of quality for observational studies and systematic reviews, which are among the most commonly published and influential designs in pharmacy practice.​ 

​​In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism.   

​In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism. 

​In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism. 

This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacists’ patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

This course prepares students to manage pharmacy operations across pharmacy settings. Content includes business and strategic planning, organizational leadership, human resources management, and operations management. Through a variety of learning activities, students will develop the skills necessary to lead teams, support pharmacy services, and ensure efficient pharmacy operations.

This course builds on foundational pharmacy law principles to advance students’ regulatory competence. Students examine federal and state requirements governing prescribing, dispensing, controlled substances, recordkeeping, and pharmacy operations. Emphasis is placed on interpreting statutes and regulations, understanding operational and compliance expectations and requirements, and applying legal standards to routine and complex practice situations to support safe, practice-ready performance across diverse pharmacy settings.

This course focuses on systems-based approaches to managing medication use. Course topics include medication safety, quality improvement, economic evaluation, and the appropriate use of technology to support optimal medication use. Through a variety of learning activities, students will develop the skills necessary to promote safe, high-quality medication use for patients and populations across a range of settings.

​In this course sequence, students will develop knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to advance professional, personal, and career development. These courses are built upon one another and are designed to provide opportunities to demonstrate self-awareness, leadership, advocacy, and professionalism. 

This course sequence develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary for the practice of pharmacy. With an emphasis on the pharmacist’s patient care process, students will foster skills related to patient assessment, diagnosis and prescribing, drug therapy optimization, problem solving, and communication to deliver person-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

This course reinforces and expands upon the fundamental concepts introduced in the Pharmaceutical Calculations and Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics courses, focusing on the clinical application of math and problem-solving skills needed across diverse pharmacy practice settings. Students will apply these skills to meet patient-specific needs utilizing drug dosing, biostatistics, and clinical pharmacokinetic principles to support treatment strategies, therapeutic monitoring, and clinical decision making.

This course focuses on the advanced skills necessary for pharmacist-directed patient care in the acute care (hospital and health-system) setting. Through case-based lectures and clinical application, the course builds upon the fundamental information provided in the core curriculum. 

This course focuses on the advanced skills necessary for pharmacist-directed patient care in the ambulatory care setting. Through case-based lectures and clinical application, the course builds upon the fundamental information provided in the core curriculum. 

This practice experience will enable students to develop their skills and gain experience related to adult inpatient care. Emphasis is placed on participating in an interprofessional healthcare team, drug therapy assessment, patient care activities, and monitoring of outcomes in various patient populations. In addition, students will participate in drug therapy interventions, identify drug related problems, develop therapeutic care plans, and effectively communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals.

This practice experience will enable students to develop their skills and gain experience related to ambulatory care practice. Emphasis will be placed on participating in an interprofessional healthcare team, and sharing responsibility with patients, caregivers, and other healthcare professionals to achieve optimal drug therapy outcomes. In addition, students will participate in drug therapy assessment and intervention, identify drug related problems, develop therapeutic care plans, and effectively communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals.

This practice experience will enable students to develop their skills and gain experience in a variety of patient-oriented services in community practice. In addition to medication dispensing, students will focus on drug therapy assessment and intervention, identification, resolution, and prevention of drug related problems, education, and communication with patients and other healthcare professionals. Students may participate in additional services such as extemporaneous compounding, administration of immunizations, health screenings, and medication therapy and disease state management.

This practice experience will enable students to develop their skills and gain experience in a hospital or health system setting. Emphasis is placed on systems to promote safe and effective medication use to optimize patient outcomes. In addition to medication order processing, preparation, and distribution, students will focus on drug-use decision-making processes, individual patient drug therapy monitoring, formulary management, and communication with patients and other healthcare professionals. 

This practice experience will enable students to develop their skills and gain experience related to practice in direct or indirect patient care. The elective will complement required experiences of the experiential curriculum and provide students with additional opportunities specific to their chosen area of interest. Electives may take place within various practice settings such as, but not limited to, clinical specialty, industry, managed care, academia, long-term care, or pharmacy management. 

This practice experience will enable students to develop their skills and gain experience related to practice in direct or indirect patient care. The elective will complement required experiences of the experiential curriculum and provide students with additional opportunities specific to their chosen area of interest. Electives may take place within various practice settings such as, but not limited to, clinical specialty, industry, managed care, academia, long-term care, or pharmacy management. 

This longitudinal, final-year course is designed to prepare students for licensure through comprehensive review of foundational sciences, pharmacy calculations, top 200 drugs, and clinical therapeutics. Topics covered will systematically address the NAPLEX® content domains: Foundational Knowledge for Pharmacy Practice, Medication Use Process, Person-Centered Assessment and Treatment Planning, Professional Practice, and Pharmacy Management and Leadership.

This course begins with a general overview of pharmacy throughout history, with special emphasis placed on United States pharmacy and pharmacy associations.  The course ends with lectures focused on the history of the opioid epidemic, and a history of pandemics.

​​This course is designed to impart an understanding of the types and characteristics of pharmaceutical dosage forms, and the physico-chemical principles involved in design, development, formulation, preparation, and dispensing of non-sterile and sterile dosage forms.