title: A course introducing the principles of pharmaceutical care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop, implement, and assess a course that introduces students to the process and application of pharmaceutical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  The course was offered to students in the third semester of the PharmD curriculum. The course's ability outcomes were to integrate and apply scientific and therapeutic knowledge in the delivery of evidence-based pharmaceutical care, and to develop the skills of a professional, lifelong learner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The students successfully applied the information learned in this course to the practice of pharmaceutical care. The 3 components of the course that appeared to be the most challenging were identifying drug-therapy problems, creating compound goals, and creating a care plan.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This course was effective in meeting ability-based outcomes. The assessment data helped the instructors determine what changes should be made to increase the course's success when it is offered again.
authors.affiliation: Belmont University School of Pharmacy, Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing, 1900 Belmont Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37212, USA. julie.hudgens@belmont.edu
authors.forename: Julie Rafferty
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hudgens
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chirico
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services; D010601:Pharmacology, Clinical / Q000193:education*; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000379:methods; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013714:Tennessee