Pharm.D. Educational Competencies

Think critically and solve complex problems.
Communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
Demonstrate interpersonal skills and a professional demeanor.
Make rational, legal, ethical and responsible decisions.
Demonstrate sensitivity and tolerance of the cultural, societal and economic diversity in patients.
Assume responsibility for optimizing patient outcomes related to medication therapy.
Identify and analyze emerging issues, products and services, in order to maintain professional competency. Self-assess learning needs to design, implement, and evaluate strategies to promote intellectual growth and continued professional development.

Design, implement, monitor, evaluate, and adjust evidence based pharmacy care plans that are patient specific; address health literacy, cultural diversity, behavioral and psychosocial issues.

Integrate and apply evidence-based knowledge of the biomedical, pharmaceutical and clinical sciences.
Collect information to prevent, identify and solve drug related problems.
Retrieve, analyze, and interpret the professional, lay, and scientific literature to provide drug information and counseling to patients, their families or care givers, and other involved health care providers
Develop a patient centered pharmacy care plan.
Monitor patients to determine if the therapy is appropriate, effective and safe.
Effectively communicate information to patients, caregivers and other health professionals regarding rational drug therapy, wellness and health promotion.
Document interventions and outcomes in writing.
Provide initial emergency care by becoming certified in first-aid and CPR.
Identify, prevent, manage and document adverse outcomes of medication therapy.

Manage a successful patient-centered practice (including establishing, marketing, and being compensated for medication therapy management and patient care services rendered).
Provide population-based care, through the ability to develop and implement population specific, evidence-based disease management programs and protocols based upon analysis of epidemiologic and pharmacoeconomic data, medication use criteria, medication use review, and risk-reduction strategies.
Manage and use resources of the health care system, in cooperation with patients, prescribers, other health care providers, and administrative and supportive personnel, to promote health; to provide, assess, and coordinate safe, accurate, and time-sensitive medication distribution; and to improve therapeutic outcomes of medication use.
Manage medication use systems, through the ability to apply patient- and population-specific data, quality improvement strategies, medication safety and error reduction programs, and research processes to minimize drug misadventures and optimize patient outcomes; to participate in the development of medication use criteria and health policy; and help design pharmacy benefits.

Evaluate drug orders or prescriptions.
Accurately and safely compound and dispense drugs.
Perform pharmaceutical calculations.
Ensure that medications are properly administered.
Demonstrate competence in informatics.
Note: Competencies in informatics include basic terminology (data, information, knowledge, hardware, software, networks, information systems, information systems management); reasons for systematic processing of data, information and knowledge in health care; and the benefits and current constraints in using information and communication technology in health care. (Adapted from recommendations of the International Medical Informatics Association).

Promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in cooperation with patients, communities, at-risk populations, and other members of an interprofessional team of health care providers.

Legend: Numbers indicate a competency; Letters (subsections) indicate an enabling competency.