Undergraduate Pharmacy Education in the United States and New Zealand: Towards a Core Curriculum?

Abstract

In recent years, bodies such as the World Health Organisation have attempted to provide guidance to pharmacyeducators on the preparation of students for future careers in pharmacy. Although a global core curriculum has not been defined, there appears to be wide consensus on the knowledge, skills and attributes that a modern pharmacygradu- ate should possess. The undergraduate pharmacy programmes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and at the Universityof Otago (Otago) are described and evaluated here in the context of global developments. These programmes broadly represent the ”American” and ”British” models of pharmacy education, respectively. Despite many similarities,there are also major differences. These include:a separatepreregistration year (Otago); a high degree of in-course experiential Work (UNC-CH); a greater”practice”orientationat UNC-CH and a corresponding”science” orientation at Otago; and the nature of the qualification (PharmD at UNC-CH, BPharm at Otago).