Evolution Towards A Clinical Pharmacy Degree Program: A U.S. Perspective

Abstract

Pharmacy practice is progressing toward the future with the addition of 2 years to the Japanese pharmacy school curriculum by the year 2006. With a 6-year pharmacy degree, graduating pharmacists can provide more pharmaceutical care to patients in hospitals and community pharmacies than ever before. In the United States, the clinical pharmacy movement began to evolve during the 1960's. Several key philosophical changes and structural modifications to the pharmacy curriculum prepared graduates for new roles in patient education, communication with physicians, independent learning, and problem-solving. Patient case discussions through the small group, problem-based learning (PBL) approach are essential courses for the development of analytical thinking skills. Students are required to justify their choices with evidence-based primary literature. The curriculum is also strengthened by including participatory experiences, such as clinical rotations, within the curriculum structure prior to graduation. The clinical pharmacy movement was successful and now pharmacists in the United States perform a broad scope of patient-oriented clinical practice activities, such as preventative healthcare screening and monitoring of cholesterol, blood glucose, and hemoglobin Alc blood levels, taking blood pressure measurements, administering immunizations and providing more patient education than ever before.