PHARMACY 701 : Medicine Optimisation 1
Medical and Health Sciences
2025 Semester One (1253) (45 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
This course aims for students to develop advanced skills and knowledge in medicines optimisation, evidence-based practice and the delivery of clinical pharmacy services with analysis of health service design approaches.
Course Contacts
Prof Jeff Harrison
Email: jeff.harrison@auckland.ac.nz
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | People and Place |
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Apply knowledge about how drug treatment of individual patients can be optimised with reference to cancer, neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 7.2 and 8.1)
- Critically appraise evidence to support safe and appropriate clinical decision-making. (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2 and 8.1)
- Locate and appraise information appropriately in response to medicine information enquiries showing increasingly advanced skills in medicines information. (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1 and 8.1)
- Implement the provision of optimal pharmaceutical care to case patients with reference to ethical reasoning and the interpretation of the law related to pharmacy. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1 and 8.2)
- Perform dispensing and aseptic compounding processes safely, accurately and with increasingly advanced skills. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1 and 8.1)
- Apply increasingly advanced skills in clinical communication across different patient and health care groups. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1 and 8.2)
- Test and refine personal approaches to making positive contributions in teamwork and leadership settings, including applying critical self-review and reflection on future growth points. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2, 8.1 and 8.2)
- Analyse and critique health service design approaches with a lens on addressing inequities in access to medicines and health services for population groups that experience inequitable health outcomes in New Zealand/Aotearoa and abroad. (Capability 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2 and 8.2)
- Compare and contrast health interventions for their responsiveness to Māori health. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2 and 8.2)
- Outline and evaluate key concepts in approaches to Quality Improvement in health care, and apply frameworks from implementation science to pharmaceutical care service design (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2 and 8.2)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Exit Tests | 50% | Individual Coursework |
| Other Coursework | 20% | Group & Individual Coursework |
| Law Test | 10% | Individual Coursework |
| Objective Structured Clinical Exam | 20% | Individual Coursework |
| Placement* | Individual Coursework | |
| Interprofessional Learning week* | Individual Coursework | |
| 6 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Exit Tests | ||||||||||
| Other Coursework | ||||||||||
| Law Test | ||||||||||
| Objective Structured Clinical Exam | ||||||||||
| Placement* | ||||||||||
| Interprofessional Learning week* | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 45 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 40 hours of lectures, a 40 hours of workshops/laboratory sessions/tutorials, 80 hours of off-campus placement time, 145 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 145 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is required at scheduled activities including labs/tutorials/workshops/placement to complete course components.
Attendance on campus is required for all written and oral tests and clinical exams (OSCEs).
Most lectures will be available as recordings. Exceptions include consumer-led sessions or where confidential or sensitive material is discussed. The Course Director reserves the right to edit recordings to potentially sensitive clinical case information. Other learning activities, including seminars/tutorials/labs will not be available as recordings.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
- Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 6th Edition Editors: Cate Whittlesea Karen Hodson Paperback ISBN: 9780702070112 eBook ISBN: 9780702070099 Imprint: Elsevier Published Date: 7th August 2018
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
- Re-structuring case management workshops.
- Revising how structured feedback on assessment outcomes is provided.
- Modifying the teaching and learning resources related to the Integrated Assignment, and
- Reviewing the internal processes used to map assessments (including Exit tests) against learning outcomes and their related teaching activities and resources.
Other Information
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Recording of a class on a personal device requires the explicit permission of the instructor leading the teaching and learning activity being recorded. While permission will not be withheld unreasonably, recording teaching sessions without permission will be considered a breach of conduct.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
The use of AI tools to support learning is acceptable but these tools should not be used to write/author assignments for submission; the final product should be the student's own work. Where AI tools have been used, students must cite them appropriately in the reference list.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.