The Acute Care Medicine Concentration includes six (6) credit hours in didactic elective coursework and is designed to give PCOM School of Pharmacy PharmD program students in-depth preparation for a career in acute care pharmacy.
Graduates will be encouraged to apply for PGY 1 and 2 residencies for specialty training to develop acute care pharmacy skills and knowledge. As space is limited, students will be selected based on availability.
REQUEST PROGRAM INFORMATIONAcute care pharmacists consult with physicians to develop treatment plans, review and evaluate the effectiveness of medication therapies, and provide coverage to assist patients with medication-related questions and issues. They also provide valuable expertise and guidance in the proper and judicial use of antimicrobial agents in hospitals and healthcare systems.
As the drug therapy expert, an acute care pharmacist applies their training and expertise to caring for the critically ill in hospitals and healthcare systems. They also can practice and treat acutely and chronically ill patients at specialty clinics and other ambulatory clinics.
The Acute Care Medicine Concentration requires the completion of six (6) credit hours of elective coursework. Students will complete two, one-credit acute care courses per term in the third year (six courses for a total of six credits). Current course offerings are listed below and are subject to change. Consult the course catalog for additional information.
This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the pharmacotherapeutic management of pain while considering comorbid conditions, including advanced illnesses as well as concurrent medications. Relief of acute and chronic pain and support of advanced chronic illnesses by focusing on the physical, psychosocial, spiritual aspects of care for the best possible quality of life is also covered during this course. In addition, students are introduced to opioid stewardship, the coordinated intervention of all healthcare providers designed to improve, monitor, and evaluate the use of opioids in order to support and protect human health. Special attention is given to intervention strategies to mitigate misuse and potential abuse of opioids.
This course provides introduction to and active engagement in specialized topics affecting the pediatric population in efforts to prepare student pharmacists for a specialty or board certification in the field. Special topics of interest for this course will include nutrition, neonatal and pediatric intensive care management, congenital heart disease, poisoning and poison prevention, as well as unique disease management in this patient population.
This course will provide students with additional education about antimicrobial stewardship. The primary objective of the course is to expand and deepen student knowledge of microbiology and pharmacotherapy gained from core curriculum courses, with an emphasis on clinical application within the antimicrobial stewardship context. The course will introduce students to the principles of antimicrobial stewardship to facilitate the rationale of selection of antimicrobial regimens, stewardship interventions, quality improvement methods, and program development, implementation and evaluation.
This course is designed to expose the student to pharmacotherapeutic challenges encountered in the critical care setting and to expand the student’s knowledge base regarding the role of the pharmacist in the critical care setting. The course is designed in a patient-case format in order to discuss medications and disease states commonly seen in the critically ill patient. Students will have an opportunity to strengthen written and verbal presentation skills.
This course will benefit students who are seeking to write and publish an article in a peer-reviewed journal. Using knowledge acquired throughout the elective course, students will choose their own topic to publish, and will develop, author, format and submit a (an) abstract/manuscript for publication consideration. They will demonstrate an understanding of the publishing process, including ethics, disclosure and copyright issues. In addition, students will learn the profession of medical-technical writing and its unique characteristics.
* May also satisfy Managed Care Concentration.
This course will provide an overview of nuclear pharmacy including both PET and SPECT. The focus of the course will detail biology, physics, radiation, mathematical application to nuclear practice, regulatory bodies, guide to nuclear pharmacist licensing and practice, and good manufacturing practices.
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