Curriculum within a Doctor of Pharmacy program is spread out over a number of years, which challenges Faculty to design an integrated learning experience that meets current practice guidelines. Approaching this challenge with organ systems and disease states as the focal points of an integrated modular-based curriculum will result in improved learning and can overcome this challenge.

Developing the managerial and administrative infrastructure to ensure that all Faculty involved in the redesign of a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum is a much more captivating challenge. This particular challenge must be addressed at the onset of this significant initiative. Further, as curriculum within the Doctor of Pharmacy program undergoes radical change, it will affect the required inter-disciplinary courses and intra-disciplinary exchanges that help build the integrated modular-based curriculum.

While the Accreditation Standards and Key Elements for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree guideline describes the requirements of a college of pharmacy and that of a modern curriculum, this presentation sets out to explore strategy to meet the needs of the guideline. Fundamental to the redesign of curriculum is an in-depth understanding of what constitutes foundational knowledge. Foundational knowledge established in tiers is the cornerstone of an integrated modular-based curriculum.