The FCOP offers a four-year professional doctorate degree program, the doctor of pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.). The first three professional years of the program are primarily based in the classroom and laboratories on campus at UT Tyler. The fourth professional year is comprised of in-depth practice experiences where students learn at pharmacy practice locations with community practitioners and faculty members.
The FCOP uses a different approach to classroom teaching from the methods most students have encountered. Rather than having courses taught using traditional lectures, pharmacy students actively engage in their learning by spending classroom time solving problems as part of a team. Students come to the classroom prepared to work on cases related to the pharmacy profession and solve those using critical thinking and communication skills. This method of teaching and learning greatly enhances comprehension and application of the content. More information about team-based learning can be found on the FCOP website at: http://uttyler.edu/pharmacy/about/learning.php.
Pharm.D. Curriculum
The FCOP Pharm.D. curriculum is a combination of classroom (including the foundational and clinical sciences), laboratory, and experiential learning and is available at: https://www.uttyler.edu/pharmacy/admissions/curriculum.php.
Didactic Courses
The Pharm.D. Curriculum is organized into fall and spring semesters. Globally, the course content in the first year focuses on the foundational sciences. The second and third years of the curriculum focus on the clinical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, pharmacy law, and elective coursework. Each of the required courses in the didactic portion of the curriculum is taught using team-based learning. Laboratories, elective, and experiential coursework may include other teaching methods.
Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences
Included throughout the first and second years of the curriculum are the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs). During IPPEs, students apply the knowledge gained in the classroom, laboratory, and model pharmacy settings to direct patient care in a healthcare setting. During the IPPEs, students are under the direct supervision of a preceptor. All students must be licensed as a pharmacy intern/intern trainee to participate in the IPPE courses.
Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences
The fourth professional year includes the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE), which are completed over a 12-month period. Course numbering corresponds to the semester and session the course is taken rather than specific content. There are a minimum of four required APPE rotations and two elective rotations. Students have the option of completing a seventh elective rotation, space permitting. Elective APPEs may be completed a variety of practice settings and specialty areas such as psychiatry, transplant, nuclear pharmacy, academia, and managed care. The APPE rotations are developed and monitored by the FCOP Office of Experiential Education.
Pharm.D. Program Learning Outcomes
The Pharm.D. curriculum is designed to develop 15 key skills and characteristics necessary for FCOP graduates to enter the profession and practice at the highest level of their credentials. These Program Learning Outcomes influence the development of curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities within FCOP:
- Foundational knowledge: Integrate and apply scientific, social-behavioral, and clinical knowledge to make therapeutic decisions and recommendations.
- Patient-centered care: Develop individualized patient health-care plans.
- Medication use systems management: Manage medication use systems to improve healthcare outcomes.
- Health and wellness: Promote health and wellness strategies to prevent and manage chronic diseases.
- Population-based care: Integrate population-based data into the development of healthcare plans.
- Problem solving: Identify and resolve medication-related problems.
- Education: Provide education about pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies.
- Patient advocacy: Advocate for health-care needs on individual and population-based levels.
- Interprofessional collaboration: Collaborate in decision making as part of a healthcare team.
- Cultural sensitivity: Incorporate the traditions of diverse cultural groups into individual and community-based care.
- Communication: Communicate clearly on a level appropriate for the intended audience.
- Self-awareness: Identify areas for self-improvement and incorporate constructive feedback into personal and professional development.
- Leadership: Motivate teams to work towards shared goals.
- Innovation and entrepreneurship: Develop new ideas to improve patient care and advance the profession.
- Professionalism: Demonstrate respect for all members of the community.