Clinical and Health Services Pharmacy – (M.Sc.)

Contents

Module details There are four compulsory course units for the Diploma:

* Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Therapeutics I
* Medicines Management and Practice Research
* Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Therapeutics II
* Health Care Management.

The Diploma programme commences in September each year and is part-time for two years. The total credit rating for the diploma course is 120. This is derived from four different modules, each of which comprises 12 full study days. All students will be required to prepare for the study days by reading the directed reading material provided prior to each session.

Course content for year 1 Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Therapeutics I (30 credits) includes concepts of pharmaceutical care and a patient-focused approach to practice. It develops a systematic approach to problem-solving in a practice setting. There is also emphasis on developing of communication skills relevant to practice.

One element of the module comprises a wide range of tutorials covering laboratory data interpretation, therapeutics of common disease states and clinical skills. The second element is a structured period of practice in hospital settings. Skills to be developed include completion of patient profiles, identification of drug-related problems, drug history taking, patient counselling and discharge planning.

There is one Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) lasting 2 hours (40%) and one 2-hour exam (40%). Two patient profiles (5% each) and a calculation assessment (10%) comprise the course work for the module. A completed patient portfolio and calculation workbook is a requirement of the module.

Medicines Management and Practice Research (30 credits) includes the exploration of the principles of medicines management, research methods and their application to the practice of pharmacy. The module reviews concepts of prescribing and evidence-based practice, and their application to the management of medicines. Students develop a critical approach to the evaluation of medical and health services literature.

Practical exercises in the use of different research methods and a review of the basic principles of statistics and research ethics help students to write a research proposal. Tutorials involve a mixture of short presentations, discussions and practical exercises. For example, students will participate in practical exercises in evaluating a published paper or designing a own drug use evaluation.

There is one 1-hour exam (50%) and an assignment to develop a protocol for a piece of research (50%).

Course content for year 2 Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Therapeutics II (30 credits) includes the development and understanding of therapeutic decision-making in different patient groups. This is done through the application of pharmacokinetics to clinical practice, the development of a knowledge base of therapeutic options in the management of specific diseases and skills in monitoring the desired outcomes and adverse effects of treatment.

Each tutorial is moderated by a clinical pharmacist with expertise in a particular therapeutic area. The subjects covered encompass those in which pharmacists can make a significant contribution to patient care. The tutorial format involves lecture material, case discussion and review of pertinent, current medical and pharmaceutical literature.

Assessment is by one 3-hour unseen exam (70%), a written case report (25%) and a patient profile (5%).

Health Care Management (30 credits) includes the development and understanding of the economic, management and organisational issues in health and pharmaceutical care. Students explore these aspects and determine how they impact on health and pharmaceutical service provision. Students gain a greater depth of understanding of the expanding role of health economics in decision-making.

In the first half of this module, students develop skills and knowledge in the economic analysis of medicines and pharmaceutical services, and a wider awareness of the economic constraints in health care provision. In the second half of the module, the students concentrate on the pharmacists' role in health care management. Students are normally given a problem or case study before each study day, which will be used as the basis for workshop activity.

Students are assessed by one 1-hour unseen exam (50%) and a written assignment on a pharmacy-related health care management topic (50%).