Graduate Studies Practicum

In the second and final terms, students complete two practicum courses:

• PHARM 652 – Advanced Principles of Medication Management 2: Practicum (offered in the winter term)
• PHARM 658—Advanced Principles of Medication Management 3: Practicum (offered in the spring term)

These courses provide students with clinical experiences involving direct patient care in health care settings (hospital, primary care, long-term care, community practice).

Practicum courses are designed with flexibility given that individual students enroll with various levels of practice experience and interests. Students’ experiences will be tailored to meet their future practice goals contingent on site and supervisor availability. 

Depending on the site and types of services offered, practicum courses may be completed in 8 weeks full-time (40 hours per week) or 16 weeks part-time (20 hours per week).

The practicum will be supervised by a clinical supervisor, either a faculty member in the School of Pharmacy or a designated clinician affiliated with the School of Pharmacy.  Clinical supervisors will be responsible for student assessment.

The Graduate Studies Practicum courses will be comprised of one core practicum and one elective practicum. Students will normally complete 8 weeks at 40 hours per week or 16 weeks at 20 hours per week for each Graduate Studies Practicum course. The duration a student spends at individual core rotation sites will be finalized with the clinical supervisor.

Core practicum

During the core practicum course, students will develop knowledge and skills to manage complex patients and gain experience in general medicine while providing direct care to patients with a broad range of diseases and conditions.  

The common disease states students could encounter during this time include cardiovascular (e.g., hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure), endocrinology (e.g., diabetes, hypothyroidism), nephrology, neurology, and pulmonary disorders (e.g., asthma, COPD).

After completing the core rotation, students will have gained an expertise in obtaining patient history, conducting patient assessments including physical assessments, assessing, and evaluating laboratory and/or imaging data, and physiological parameters, enabling them to create comprehensive care plans and optimize therapy regimens.

Elective practicum

During the elective practicum course, students will have the opportunity to gain in-depth experience and knowledge in a specific area of clinical practice, patient safety, drug information, and pharmacy leadership or management. The elective rotation(s) will be chosen based on the student’s area of interest and availability of clinical supervisors at elective rotation sites.

In addition to the required employee training which is a requirement for all graduate students in Pharmacy, MPharm students must complete pre-practicum requirements before beginning the start of the graduate practicum courses (unless otherwise specified), as required by the school and/or site, which may include:

• Student interest and skills assessment interview*
• Verification of licence (Part A Ontario Pharmacist)
• CPR/First Aid/AED Level C
• Proof of immunization, as required
• Vulnerable Sector Check (Includes Criminal Record Check Information), if required
• Site confidentiality agreement and policy reviews, depending on the site
• WSIB forms:
  • student declaration of understanding (completed prior to start of rotation)
  • safety orientation checklist (completed with the preceptor in week 1 of rotation)
• N95 mask fit testing, if required
• Consent to release health requirements form, if required

*will take place soon after acceptance of admission into the program 

Upon successful completion of the MPharm practicum courses (PHARM 652 and PHARM 658) students should be performing as highly skilled, advanced practice pharmacist practitioners who can serve as medication experts in the provision of care. This will be achieved through the following four objectives:

Objective 1:

Utilize problem-solving and decision-making skills to develop and implement a comprehensive pharmaceutical care plan for individual patients in collaboration with patients and other health care providers using principles of evidence-based practice.

Outcomes:

At the end of the rotation, the student should be able to:

• Conduct a patient assessment, identify Drug-related Therapy Problems (DTPs), and develop patient care plans
• Perform physical assessment as appropriate to the case
• Interpret relevant laboratory results
• Recommend evidence-based patient care
• Demonstrate clinical reasoning and shared decision making by collaborating with other healthcare providers
• Apply expertise to assess complex clinical situations

Objective 2:

Effectively communicate drug and health information as well as care plans to patients, health care providers, policy makers and the lay public using appropriate verbal and written communication skills.

Outcomes:

At the end of the rotation, the student should be able to:

• Communicate effectively and efficiently with healthcare providers through verbal discussions and/or documentation in medical records
• Communicate verbally and/or non-verbally with patients and caregivers in plain language (depending on the practicum site) when providing complex and sensitive information in an effective way
• Provide medication/practice related education to other healthcare providers and patients (depending on the practicum site)
• Present information in an organized and professional manner with confidence to communicate therapeutic knowledge effectively with healthcare providers
• Communicate effectively with different types of people at the health care site or organization
• Work effectively in a team-based environment

Objective 3:

Demonstrate leadership and management behaviours and attitudes in clinical practice.

Outcomes:

At the end of the rotation, the student should be able to:

• Explain the difference between management and leadership skills
• Develop expertise in leadership and administration 
• Demonstrate management skills by interpreting structure, culture, and key performance indicators of the organization
• Develop time management skills by completing assigned projects on time and with appropriate and timely updates
• Demonstrate conflict resolution skills by utilizing active listening skills and self-evaluation

Objective 4:

Develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

Outcomes:

At the end of the rotation, the student should be able to

• Identify relevant literature that pertains to their patients
• Critically analyse relevant evidence to resolve medication related problems and assess treatment outcomes
• Develop strategies to counter or minimize harm related to misinformation
• Apply evidence-based information to patient care

Student progress will be evaluated using the Ontario Pharmacy Patient Care Assessment Tool (OPPCAT). Individual elements for assessment will include knowledge base, patient care skills, clinical decision making, communication, professionalism, practice management and ability to work collaboratively with an interprofessional health care team. The rubric will be completed by the designated clinical supervisor who is expected to observe the performance of the student in the clinical environment. 

Student evaluation timeline:

Informal Evaluation:

During the second week of the course, the clinical supervisor and student should meet to provide the student with initial informal feedback. 

Regular communication (e.g., weekly, or biweekly) between the clinical supervisor and student is expected to ensure sufficient feedback is provided to allow for student’s continued development and progress.

Formal Evaluation:

Student progress will be formally evaluated by the clinical supervisor twice: at midpoint, and at the end of the practicum.

The student and clinical supervisor will each complete the mid-point and final evaluations, and review together to assess the student's ongoing progress and identify areas of further development, as appropriate.

Clinical supervisor evaluation

The purpose of this evaluation is to provide feedback to the clinical supervisor for the continuous improvement of the practicum experience. Students will complete clinical supervisor evaluations at the end of the rotation.

Site evaluation

The purpose of this evaluation is to provide feedback about the clinical practicum site to assist in the continuous improvement of the rotation experience.  The student will complete the site evaluation at the end of the rotation.