Maintaining Basic Science Content Throughout The PharmD Curriculum

Abstract

Pharmacy is a major academic unit (a college or school) at nearly every university offering the PharmD degree. This occurs because pharmacy education requires comprehensive instruction involving both basic and clinical content. A great deal of effort goes into the preparation of each student, including pre-pharmacy training in the physical sciences, and building the foundation for pharmacy education by presenting the basic pharmaceutical sciences. In my opinion, pharmacists are scientists as well as clinicians, and basic science knowledge is what separates them from technicians. No one is better prepared to give drug information from the basic science level to the clinical level, and to combine all elements of their education into a comprehensive understanding of drug therapy. Keeping in mind that nearly two thirds of a pharmacist’s training is in the basic sciences, why are we producing graduates who are afraid of basic science principles? In medicinal chemistry, we call these students “chemophobes,” but the concept applies equally well to biochemistry, pharmacology and pharmaceutics. As the amount of clinical information continues to expand, there is a danger that basic science content in PharmD programs will diminish.