The didactic curriculum for the NTPD Program is composed of 35 credit hours. Students fulfill the credit hours through five foundation courses and advanced disease state management modules.
Foundation Courses: 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
Advanced Disease State Management (ADSM): ADSM modules form the core of the didactic curriculum; the modules are 1 to 3 credit hours each. Each module addresses the pathophysiology, advanced pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacokinetics and professional skills development for two to three body systems. For example, the cardiovascular module includes:
- 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.
Time Expectations: Each didactic course is delivered in a format which will require about one to two hours of “class time” per credit hour each week, plus one to two hours of completing assessments. Additional study time is student-specific.
The final 30 credit hours are completed through the experiential training component of the curriculum.
Advising Session: Students will contact the DDP office upon admission into the NTPD Program to schedule an advising session. During this session, the student will receive an individualized plan regarding the scheduling and completion of the NTPD Program requirements. Any student can request an advising session at anytime during the semester. Students experiencing academic difficulty are encouraged to schedule an advising session as soon as possible.