Students in Year 1 of the PharmD program at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy,  University of Toronto's complete several foundational courses which are important in preparing them to become medication therapy experts.  Courses are taught in a variety of formats which include large class discussions, small group discussions, laboratory-based simulation, seminar discussions, and online learning. 

Course Descriptions

PHM101H1 Pharmacotherapy 1:  Foundations and General Medicine

This is the first of a series of courses taught over three years of the program which will provide the required knowledge and skills to effectively manage patients’ drug therapy. In addition to covering selected therapeutic topics, the course will integrate relevant pathophysiology, pharmacology, clinical pharmacokinetics, selected pharmaceutics and principles of evidence-based pharmacotherapy. Principles of drug therapy in geriatrics, pediatrics and other special populations will be addressed. Various learning and teaching methodologies will be used including didactic teaching, small group case discussions, and in-depth discussions of cases in small case study seminar groups.  This course will help students prepare for the Medication Therapy Management Course and the other Pharmacotherapy courses.
Prerequisite:    PHM113H1; PHM142H1; PHM144H1; PHM145H1; PHM146H1
Co-requisite:    PHM105H1; PHM141H1; PHM143H1

PHM105H1 Medication Therapy Management 1

Medication Therapy Management (MTM) involves a partnership between the patient, pharmacist, and other heathcare providers to promote safe and effective medication use so that dersirable patient outcomes are attained. It is founded on the philosophy of Pharmaceutical Care, and may encompass an array of services, whereby the pharmacist employs a systematic patient-centred approach to define and achieve goals related to optimal pharmacotherapy. The MTM series of courses will be delivered longitudinally over three years of the undergraduate program, with MTM 1 being the first of the four-part course series. MTM 1 will allow students to begin to apply knowledge and develop skills needed to undertake MTM, with content drawn from co-requisite and pre-requisite courses. Lecture and laboratory sessions will be designed to facilitate guided, independent, and collaborative learning. A key element of MTM 1 is that students will have the opportunity to undertake the role of a pharmacist in a simulated community practice and will be responsible for various tasks such as conducting patient interviews, assessing the appropriateness of pharmacotherapy, providing mediation-related patient education, actively participating in the medication-dispensing process, responding to drug information queries from patients and heath care providers, documenting pharmacotherapeutic recommendations, and interpreting the pharmacist’s ethical and legal obligations within provincial and federal regulatory frameworks. This course will introduce and develop fundamental knowledge, skills, and attitudes intrinsic to the pharmacy student’s professional identity development; these attributes will be transferable to diverse practice settings, and prepare students for their first year early experiential rotation.
Prerequisite:    PHM110H1; PHM113H1; PHM130H1
Co-requisite:    PHM101H1; PHM114H1; PHM141H1

PHM110H1 Health Systems 

This course introduces pharmacy students to Canada’s health care system, including the structures, functions and the policies that underpin health care services. Students will learn about the roles and responsibilities of the key health care providers in a variety of health care settings. Students will gain insight into how and where pharmacy and medications fit within the larger system of care. Historical context will be used to explain why the health care system exists and critical reflection will be encouraged to explore how and why the system may be evolving, especially with respect to the roles that pharmacists and other professionals play within the system. The course provides an introduction to essential management, communication, leadership, and interprofessional skills that are required by health care professionals. Interprofessional collaboration is a key component to optimal patient care and an efficient health care system. Students will participate in small groups with other health professional students to explore team work, roles and team dynamics.

Prerequisite:    PHM110H1

PHM113H1 Pharmacy Informatics

Pharmacy informatics introduces students to two core types of information: 1) patient-specific information created in the care of patients and 2) knowledge-based information, which includes the scientific literature of health care. Informatics also implies the use of technology in managing information and knowledge. Students will develop the introductory knowledge and skills to assume responsibility for identifying, accessing, retrieving, creating and exchanging relevant information to ensure safe and effective patient care throughout the medication use process. This course will utilize an innovative e-Resource and ample opportunity to develop skills in this emerging area.

PHM114H1 Social and Behavioural Health

This course is composed of three components: 1) introduction to sociological theories and concepts that impact health and health care; 2) introduction to professionalism and ethics and 3) introduction to the ways in which individual psychology shapes and affects health and health care. Topics such as the social determinants of health and related ethical issues; the social construction of disease; and the exploration of when and why people seek health care services will be used to stimulate discussion about how social forces impact pharmacy practice. Codes of ethics and other ethical principles for guiding professional practice in pharmacy will be discussed through the analysis of ethics cases. Behaviouralist, cognitivist, developmentalist, and psychoanalytic theories will be used to help students understand the range of responses and behaviours individuals may demonstrate when dealing with health-related issues. Students will apply these theories to discussion of different patient education (counselling) approaches designed to optimize personal and health-related outcomes.

PHM130H1 Pharmaceutical Calculations

As pharmacists, you are expected to integrate your knowledge and skills gained throughout the pharmacy curriculum to provide direct patient care.  Pharmacy practice is calculations intensive and accuracy is critically important to safe and effective patient care.  As medication therapy experts, patients and other health care providers value and depend on pharmacists’ expertise and accuracy in pharmaceutical calculations.  Throughout the course, students will be required to complete pharmaceutical calculations with a focus on accuracy.  A case based approach will be taken to familiarize students with real life examples of common calculations required to practice in community and hospital settings.  The objective of this course is to prepare the student to apply knowledge and skills gained to other courses in the program, such as the early practice experience (EPE 1).

PHM140H1 Molecular Pharmacology

Many drugs act via the receptors and other proteins that mediate cellular signalling. Such proteins can be grouped into several families on the basis of their structural and functional similarities. Examples from each family are examined at the molecular level from a pharmacological, biochemical and biophysical point of view for insight into their structure, their mechanism of action, their modulation by drugs and the underlying dysfunctions toward which the drugs are directed. Basic principles of molecular pharmacology are introduced as a tool for decoding the relationship between dose and response across all families, with an emphasis on the explicit nature of concepts such as potency and efficacy.
Prerequisite:  PHM142H1

PHM141H1 Pharmaceutics

Achieving effective treatment of a disease while minimizing adverse effects of a drug requires rational selection, formulation and administration of an appropriate dosage form. This course teaches the scientific background and technical aspects important in dosage form design and their therapeutic applications.  This course will focus on the biopharmaceutical considerations and physiochemical foundation of various dosage forms.  Discussion will include preformulation factors (melting point, solubility, viscosity, dissolution, particle and solid state properties), rheology, pharmaceutical solutions, pharmaceutical powders, colloids and dispersions, complexation chelation, and protein binding.

PHM142H1 Metabolic Biochemistry and Immunology

This course examines aspects of mammalian biochemistry, metabolism and molecular immunology pertinent to pharmacologically significant drug actions in vivo. Where appropriate the biochemical basis, mechanism, and effect of specific drugs on human physiology are also discussed. In addition this course examines the biochemical basis of pharmacogenetics and metabonomics differences seen in different human populations.

PHM143H1 Pathobiology and Pathology

This course is designed to introduce pharmacy students to the physiological and biochemical mechanisms which lead to pathological states and includes the laboratory investigation and follow-up associated with specific diseases.
Prerequisite:    PHM145H1

PHM144H1 Pharmacokinetics

This course will examine how physiologic and biochemical processes influence the fate of drugs in the body. The interrelationship between the physiochemical properties of the drug and the rate/extent of absorption will be explored.  Mathematical modeling of the plasma concentration time curves following drug administration will constitute a major part of the course. Fundamental pharmacokinetic principles and quantitative relationships will be used to determine approaches in designing dosage regimens, evaluating pharmacologic response and explaining mechanisms of drug-drug interactions. The resulting theory will form the basis for selecting a particular route of drug administration, determining the frequency of administration and identifying patient factors which require a modification of normal drug dosing regimen.

PHM145H1 Human Histology and Anatomy

This course introduces the student to the structure of the human body and its relationship to function. Following an introduction to basic human histology, the course will use a systemic approach to the study of human anatomy.

PHM146H1 Fundamentals of Pharmacology

This course will introduce students to fundamental principles of pharmacology.  The principles of drug-receptor interactions will be examined and various examples of protein targets of drug action shall be presented.  The pharmacology of drugs that modify fundamental physiological processes such as the autonomic nervous system and endocrine and autocrine pathways will also be examined to serve as a background for future pharmacotherapy modules.
Co-requisite:    PHM145H1

PHM151H1 Early Practice Experience

(Pending approval of the Committee on Curriculum and Assessment.)

This course is the first of two early experiential rotations. Students will undertake this first EPE-1 during the summer following Year 1 (sometime between May and August). Each student will actively participate in day-to-day services within a community pharmacy practice setting, thus enabling application of knowledge, skills and values introduced in faculty-based courses and simulated practice environments (laboratories). Required activities include prescription/medication order processing, patient education, drug information provision, medication history taking, and observation of/participation in patient safety processes in the practice setting. Students also need to demonstrate effective communication skills, professionalism and teamwork during the rotation.
Pre-requisite:    PHM101H1; PHM105H1; PHM110H1; PHM113H1; PHM114H1