Background of the department

Department of Pharmacy is one of the departments in the College of Health Sciences. It was establishing as a department in 1998 EC academic year under Oromia Regional Health Bureau to produce educated man power in pharmacy profession at diploma level (Druggist) based on demand of local or national needs of this profession. In 2007 E.C the department started teaching undergraduate students in Bachelor level in weekend program to more produce competent, adaptable and responsible professionals who can contribute to the development of the country and transform the livelihood of the Ethiopian population. Following change in pharmacy curriculum to clinical oriented and increased demand for clinical oriented pharmacist, the department was adopted nationally harmonized curriculum of pharmacy and launched teaching undergraduate students in Bachelor level in regular program stating from 2009 EC to contribute for the establishment of a strong health care system in the countries.

C. About Department

ü Objectives of the program

The department has the following Objectives that are in line with vision and mission of the university

to train manpower that is more patient-oriented while still having a broad pharmaceutical knowledge that can easily adapt to working in any of the pharmaceutical services of the country,
To provide practice-based training so that future pharmacists acquire problem-solving skills.
To facilitate and assist in the transfer and adaptation of pharmaceutical knowledge
To conduct problem solving research and give community service based on the Arsi University

ü Graduate Profile

It is envisaged that pharmacy graduates with the B.Pharm. Degree will be capable to assume the following responsibilities and attributes:

Core graduate competencies

Organize and control the manufacturing, compounding and packaging of pharmaceutical products;
Organize the selection, procurement, storage, and distribution of pharmaceutical materials and products;
Provide Pharmaceutical Care and Dispense and ensure the optimal use of medicines by the patient;
Provide pharmacist-initiated care to patients and ensure the optimal use of medicines;
Provide education and information on health care and medicines;
Promote community health and provide related information and advice; and
Conduct in research to ensure the optimal use of medicines.
Demonstrate a high level of professional ethics in order to satisfy the pharmaceutical needs of the society.
Maintain and expand knowledge through self-directed learning.
Be able to work as a member of the health team.
Possess the necessary background to pursue further advanced study in the pharmaceutical sciences.

ü Program profile

To be effective health care team members, pharmacists need skills and attitudes enabling them to assume many different functions. The concept of the “seven-star pharmacist” was introduced by WHO and taken up by FIP in 2000 in its policy statement on Good Pharmacy Education Practice to cover these roles: caregiver, decision-maker, communicator, manager, life-long learner, teacher and leader. The function of the pharmacist as a researcher was later on added.

These roles of the pharmacist are described below and include the following functions:

Caregiver: Pharmacists provide caring services. They must view their practice as integrated and continuous with those of the health care system and other health professionals. Services must be of the highest quality.
Decision-maker: The appropriate, efficacious, safe and cost-effective use of resources (e.g., personnel, medicines, chemicals, equipment, procedures, and practices) should be the foundation of the pharmacist’s work. At the local and national levels, pharmacists play a role in setting medicines policy. Achieving this goal requires the ability to evaluate, synthesize data and information and decide upon the most appropriate course of action.
Communicator: The pharmacist is in an ideal position to provide a link between prescriber and patient, and to communicate information on health and medicines to the public. He or she must be knowledgeable and confident while interacting with other health professionals and the public. Communication involves verbal, non-verbal, listening and writing skills.
Manager: Pharmacists must be able to manage resources (human, physical and financial) and information effectively; they must also be comfortable being managed by others, whether by an employer or the manager/leader of a health care team. More and more, information and its related technology will provide challenges as pharmacists assume greater responsibility for sharing information about medicines and related products and ensuring their quality.
Life-long-learner: It is impossible to acquire in pharmacy school all the knowledge and experience needed to pursue a life-long career as a pharmacist. The concepts, principles and commitment to life-long learning must begin while attending pharmacy school and must be supported throughout the pharmacist’s career. Pharmacists should learn how to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
Teacher: The pharmacist has a responsibility to assist with the education and training of future generations of pharmacists and the public. Participating as a teacher not only imparts knowledge to others, it offers an opportunity for the practitioner to gain new knowledge and to fine-tune existing skills.
Leader: In multidisciplinary (e.g., team) caring situations or in areas where other health care providers are in short supply or non-existent the pharmacist is obligated to assume a leadership position in the overall welfare of the patient and the community. Leadership involves compassion and empathy as well as vision and the ability to make decisions, communicate, and manage effectively. A pharmacist whose leadership role is to be recognized must have vision and the ability to lead.
Researcher: The pharmacist must be able to use the evidence base (e.g., scientific, pharmacy practice, health system) effectively in order to advice on the rational use of medicines in the health care team. By sharing and documenting experiences, the pharmacist can also contribute to the evidence base with the goal of optimizing patient care and outcomes. As a researcher, the pharmacist is able to increase the accessibility of unbiased health and medicines-related information to the public and other health care professionals

Program duration

The bachelor degree in pharmacy requires 5 years or 10 semesters out of which the last 2 semesters (Year V) are dedicated to clerkships and community-based team training program.
The curriculum contains 32 modules with a total of 350 ECTS. The total ECTS is excluding two non-credited courses.

Admission Requirement

Regular Program

Admission requirements will be as per the University Senate Legislation

The University shall admit for undergraduate studies:

Students who have completed Ethiopian high school education and satisfy its entrance qualification assessments.
Applicants with foreign high school education of equivalent level to the Ethiopian high school education, as determined by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and who satisfy entrance requirements
Considering the extensive practical attachments of the program, students with major disabilities (vision, mobility and hearing-related problems or those who cannot effectively use both hands) shall not be admitted
Requests for transfer from other departments/disciplines shall be handled based on the relevant university regulation/senate legislation

Special Admission

Special admissions may be granted to attract potentially resourceful candidates such as mature students. Such special admissions shall be decided based on relevant university specific legislations and guidelines in line with the National direction.

Graduate requirement

Graduation requirement will be according to the rules and regulations of each university. Moreover, the following requirements must be fulfilled for a student enrolled in the B.Pharm program to be eligible for graduation:

Has taken all the required modules for the program
Obtained a minimum cGPA of 2.00
Has not scored ‘ F ‘grade in any course,
Has not scored less than ‘C’ grade in any of the major professional courses (course code starting with ‘Phar…’)
Has not scored ‘D’ or lesser on any of the supportive courses/modules
Has successfully completed and passed clerkship/professional practice program
Has carried out a student research project on a selected and agreed topic of research problem and scored a minimum of ‘ C’ grade
Has passed a written comprehensive exit examination to be set for the program. After completion of all deductive courses, research and clerkships in good academic standing, students must take the comprehensive exit exam and score 50% or higher to be eligible for graduation. The exit exam shall be graded as Pass/Fail and a pass mark is considered as a prerequisite to sit for the national licensure exam.
A student who fails to score a passing mark (50%) in the first comprehensive exit exam will be allowed to re-sit for the next exam after 3 months preparation with an appropriate academic support. The detailed conditions for remediation shall be in line with the National Remediation Guidelines to be introduced by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Health.

Degree Nomenclature

Up on successful completion of this program the graduate will be awarded “The Degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm)” in English and “የባችለር ዲግሪ በፋርማሲ” in Amharic.

Assessment & evaluation methods

Evaluation will be in the form of formative and summative assessment

Formative assessment consists of,
- Continuous assessment (test, quiz, case presentation, assignment /individual –group exercise)
- Bed side, round
- Supervision
- Log book
- Portfolio
- Assessment of practical skills
Summative assessment consists of:
- Final written exam
- Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
- Oral exam
- Internal comprehensive exam and External exam
- Exit exam

N.B:

Grading for internal comprehensive exam and external exam will be P/F, and the student should score greater than or equal to 50% to pass.
Grading for exit exam will be P/F, and the student should score greater than or equal to 60% to pass.

Grading system