Program Description
The University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy offers the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree for working pharmacists in a part-time, or nontraditional, format. All didactic courses are delivered online, via the Internet. Online courses provide maximal accessibility and flexibility to working pharmacists, and provide opportunities for interaction with the faculty and with the other pharmacists in the program, and for active participation in learning. Experiential training is also flexible. Some clerkships can be challenged for academic credit based on your experiences as a pharmacist. Others are available part time, or can be performed where you work.
The Nontraditional PharmD program (NTPD) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). The program is designed to offer excellent, contemporary pharmacy education in a format that will fit into your professional and personal life. Each pharmacist determines his or her own course load each semester, to find their best personal balance.
No campus visits are currently required.
Through your computer, you will typically obtain lecture handouts and readings, view slide shows, listen to audio lectures from faculty, participate in office hours and discussion groups with faculty and classmates, submit assignments, take exams, view grades, link to the medical library, and receive and send messages.
The NTPD program requires the completion of 35 semester credit hours of didactic coursework (11 courses) and 30 credit hours of experiential training in advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) or clerkships (equivalent of six full-time 5-week rotations), for a total of 65 semester credit hours. Students may be able to receive credit for up to four clerkships by preparing portfolios that document relevant work experience.
Five foundation courses support the Advanced Disease State Management courses and develop skills that are important to the effective functioning of clinical pharmacy practitioners:
- Clinical Skills Foundations - 2 credits
- Immunology - 3 credits
- Evidence-based Pharmacy Practice - 3 credits
- Advanced Drug Literature Evaluation and Clinical Applications - 1.5 credits
- Instructional Methods, with Seminars in Pharmaceutical Care - 2 credits
Six Advanced Disease State Management (ADSM) courses form the core of the didactic curriculum. Each course addresses the pathophysiology, advanced pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacokinetics, and professional skill development for two to three body systems. For example, one course contains cardiovascular and renal modules. As an illustration, the programmed learning experiences within the cardiovascular section include:
- The pathophysiology of common cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and dysrhythmias;
- Pharmacotherapeutic management of patients with these disorders, including design of patient-specific individualized drug therapy treatment plans;
- Pharmacokinetics of drugs used to treat cardiovascular disorders;
- Basic cardiovascular physical assessment skills such as blood pressure monitoring;
- Problem-based case discussions of patients with cardiovascular disorders;
- Other appropriate clinical skills development activities.
The ADSM courses are 3.5-4 credit hours each. Each ADSM course is delivered in a format which will require about four hours of "class time" online per week. Readings and other course preparation or assignments are likely to add about another 4 hours weekly for 4 credit hour courses. About one-half of ADSM class time is allocated to clinical skills development. ADSM courses may be taken in any sequence.
The final 35 credit hours are completed through experiential training clerkships. Each 5-credit rotation is equivalent to five weeks of full-time work. Please see our Experiential Training section for more information.
Last updated: 8/27/08