Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Students enrolled in the first year of the Bachelor of Pharmacy course require a strong grounding in the role of contemporary pharmacists and pharmacy assistants in providing healthcare products and information to patients, in the correct use of scheduled and non-scheduled medications and in communication skills that are necessary to disseminate drug knowledge to patients in a format that is easy to understand. This introductory unit will provide an overview of the activities of a community pharmacy, including the processing of prescriptions, complementary medicine products and other front of shop merchandise. A particular emphasis of this unit will be to provide a foundation of practical knowledge and skills that will enhance the student's experiential placements which will commence in the second year of the pharmacy course. Additionally, the provision of retailing skills such as merchandising, stock control and computerised point of sales systems will allow the students to appreciate the role of a pharmacist in a retail environment.

Aims

The aims of this unit are to:

1. Describe the historical aspects of the pharmacy profession in the supply of pharmaceutical products to provide a context for modern day practices of contemporary pharmacists.

2. Introduce the student to a role of a pharmacist in the dispensing pharmaceutical products and counselling patients on their correct use.

3. Provide students with the legal and technical requirements for the dispensing and labelling of 'over the counter' (OTC) medication.

4. Review the complementary medicines and nutraceutical products that are available in the community pharmacy environment.

5. Introduce the skills required for merchandising, stock control, and sales

Objectives

On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the role and responsibilities of pharmacists in a community and hospital environment.

2. Demonstrate an ability to dispense OTC and scheduled pharmaceutical products and provide counselling on their proper usage to patients.

Content

Pharmacy Practice: Role of Pharmacists in the modern day health profession, including communication & dispensing skills, introduction to quality use of medicines (QUM) - clinical counselling techniques, introduction to disease state management, introduction to business management including human resources, stock control and the regulations pertaining to the dispensing of medications.


Retail Pharmacy: An introduction to the role and responsibilities of Pharmacists in the retail environment including customer interactions and sales, , accepting prescriptions for processing, stock control and merchandising of retail products.

Over the Counter (OTC) medications: A practical introduction to the dispensing and counselling issues of cough/cold medications, antifungal, and a variety of other scheduled medications. Pharmacology of cough and cold medications.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The subject matter will be presented to you as lectures (2 hours per week) and practical training in the counselling and dispensing of OTC products, will be provided in a model pharmacy environment (3 hours per week).

Assessment

In order to obtain a passing grade for SCB208 students must obtain a pass mark (50%) in all Assessment items.Students will receive their results from the progressive assessment in this unit and have the opportunity for individual feedback from teaching staff.

Assessment name: Portfolio
Description: Submission of dispensing labels performed during tutorials. (Formative and summative.)
Relates to objectives: 2
Weight: 10%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Ongoing

Assessment name: Examination
Description: There are two theory exam's throughout the semester. There is a Mid-semester theory exam. Formative and summative. Weighting 15%. There is also an End of semester theory exam. Summative. Weighting 30%
Relates to objectives: 1-5
Weight: 45%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: See Blackboard Site

Assessment name: Examination (practical)
Description: There are two practical exam's throughout the semester. There is a Mid-semester practical exam. Formative and summative. Weighting 15%. There is also an End of semester practical exam. Summative. Weighting 30%
Relates to objectives: 2 - 4.
Weight: 45%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: See Blackboard Site

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

1. Australian Medicines Handbook, current edition, Adelaide: AMH Pty Ltd

2. Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulations (1996) Queensland Health (available on-line)

3. The Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons. Canberra, ACT: Australian Govt Dept of Health and Aging

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit. You will be made aware of evacuation procedures and assembly areas in the first few lectures. In the event of a fire alarm sounding, or on a lecturer's instruction, you should leave the room and assemble in the designated area which will be indicated to you. You should be conscious of your health and safety at all times whilst on campus. More information on health and safety can be obtained from http://www.hrd.qut.edu.au/healthsafety/healthsafe/index.jsp

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 24-Sep-2012