Department of Pharmacy Practice

Additionally, this department includes faculty who are accomplished researchers in health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics. Many faculty have advanced certifications in their respective fields and are active across a broad range of professional organizations. Faculty in the Department of Pharmacy Practice are responsible for teaching both required and elective Jefferson College of Pharmacy (JCP) courses related to the clinical and administrative sciences such as pathophysiology, clinical diagnosis and pharmacotherapy, physical assessment and clinical skills, drug information and literature evaluation, preventive healthcare and self-care, healthcare communications and patient counseling, healthcare delivery systems, pharmacoeconomics, medication safety and pharmacy law.

Experiential learning is at the core of the curriculum, and students have opportunities for real-world experience in a diverse number of practice settings through both the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). The IPPEs take place during each semester of the first three years of the curriculum, while the APPEs occur during the student's final professional year. JCP students complete a total of twelve experiential courses in different pharmacy practice settings placed throughout the curriculum, each of which allows students to apply knowledge and skills being taught in the classroom. JCP students have hundreds of practice sites and preceptors from which to select their practice experiences, assuring that each student receives an individualized set of learning experiences consistent with their unique professional interests.

The department's state-of-the-art facilities include the Pharmacy Practice Simulation Center, a 3,000-square-foot facility which includes a Center for Informatics, a simulated community pharmacy, patient counseling areas and a sterile compounding area. A variety of active, lab-based activities have been conducted in this Pharmacy Practice Simulation Center that provide students with the opportunity to develop and apply skills in areas such as medication therapy management, immunization delivery, preparation of intravenous medications, patient counseling, chemotherapy preparation and handling, pharmaceutical care plan development, pharmacoeconomic modeling, drug information and literature evaluation.