Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D)

Chokniti Khongchum / pexels

Admission into Crown University College - College of Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) Programme

The College of Pharmacy – School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Crown University is inviting applications from qualified applicants for admission into its Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) Programme for the academic year leading to the award of Doctor of Pharmacy.

Entry Requirements:

In line with CROWN General Regulations regarding admissions, the College of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy Programme has an entrance examination and an interview of eligible candidates with the following backgrounds:

• WASSCE: Must have credit passes (at least Grade C6) in three core subjects, namely, English, Mathematics and Integrated Science, and in three Elective subjects namely Biology, Chemistry, and either Physics or Mathematics. Additionally, candidates shall be required to pass core Social Studies.

• SSSCE: Must have credit passes (at least Grade D) in three core subjects, namely, English, Mathematics and Integrated Science, and in three Elective subjects namely Biology, Chemistry, and either Physics or Mathematics. Additionally, candidates shall be required to pass core Social Studies.

• GCE (Cambridge) – ‘A’ Levels: Three (3) ‘A’ Level subjects comprising Chemistry, Biology, and either Physics or Mathematics. In addition, they must have at least five (5) passes including English and Mathematics at the Cambridge ‘O’ Level. Any other external qualifications which have equivalencies to the Senior Secondary School Certificate of Education (SSSCE) and the GCE (Cambridge) – ‘A’ Levels including:

• International Baccalaureate (IB): Applicants must have at least Grade 5 in Chemistry, and either Biology or Physics at the Higher Level. In addition, applicants must have at least grade 4 in English Language/Literature (SL) and Mathematics SL and at least grade C for the third science at the IGCSE or equivalent.

• WASSCE/SSSCE/GCE (Cambridge) – ‘A’ Levels/IB etc plus Medicine Counter Assistance: Holders of Medicine Counter Assistance Certificate plus good WASSCE/SSSCE/GCE (Cambridge) – ‘A’ Levels/IB etc

• Higher National Diploma (HND) top-up: Holders of Higher National Diploma in Dispensing Technology (Pharm.D Top-up).

• Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) holders (Pharm.D Top-up)

• Other Health Science qualifications such as medicine, nursing, public & allied health sciences, etc for applicants who may want to swift to Pharm.D would be evaluated by the Academic Affairs Directorate to determine their academic relevance and equivalency.

© Crown University College

© Crown University College

What is the Doctor of Pharmacy?

The Doctor of Pharmacy (often abbreviated as Pharm.D. or PharmD or D.Pharm) is a Six (6) year degree program that is required as part of the processes of becoming a registered or licensed pharmacist by the Pharmacy Council of Ghana or other approved regulatory bodies in any jurisdiction/country. The Pharm.D is a professional doctorate degree similar to a Doctor of Medicine (M.D) or Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB)or Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) qualifying one as a Doctor.

Duration of the course

Pharm.D: The duration of the course is six academic years (five years of study and one year of internship or residency). The period of six years duration is divided into two phases:

• Phase I – consisting of First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth academic year.
• Phase II –consisting of internship or residency training during the sixth year involving posting in specialty units. It is a phase of training wherein a student is exposed to actual pharmacy practice or clinical pharmacy services and acquires skill under the supervision of a preceptor so that he or she may become capable of functioning independently.

Pharm. D. (Post Baccalaureate): The duration of the course shall be for three academic years (two years of study and one-year internship or residency). The period of three years duration is divided into two phases –

• Phase I – consisting of the First and Second academic year.
• Phase II – consisting of Internship or residency training during the third year involving posting in specialty units. It is a phase of training wherein a student is exposed to actual pharmacy practice or clinical pharmacy services, and acquires skill under the supervision of a preceptor so that he or she may become capable of functioning independently.

Medium of Instruction and Examinations

The medium of Instruction and Examination shall be English.

Mode of Learning

Campus-based, Blended/hybrid, Online

Working days in the academic year

Each academic year shall consist of not less than 200 working days.

Attendance and Progress

A candidate is required to put in at least 80% attendance in theory and practical subjects separately. The candidate shall complete the prescribed course satisfactorily to be eligible to appear for the respective examinations.

Academic Work

A regular record of attendance both in Theory and Practical shall be maintained by the teaching staff of respective subjects.

Internal Assessment Marks:

Theory: Three sessional examinations evenly spread during the academic year shall be conducted by the constituent colleges. The average marks of the best two examinations shall be computed out of a maximum of 30 marks and shall constitute the sessional award in theory. Provided further the colleges may conduct one special theory sessional examination towards the end of the academic session for those who might have missed any one of the regular sessional examinations on genuine grounds.

Practical: Students are expected to perform the experiment listed in the respective syllabus. Marks shall be awarded out of a maximum of 10 to each of the practical exercises and an average of those shall be computed out of a maximum of 10 marks. In addition, three practical examinations evenly spread during each academic year shall be conducted. The average marks of the best of two practical examinations shall be computed out of a maximum of 20 marks. A total of 30 marks shall constitute the sessional award in practical. While awarding the sessional marks for practical experiments, the following considerations should be taken into account.

• Preparation of the candidate
• Manipulative skills
• Results of the experiment
• Knowledge of the experiment
• Viva voce pertaining to the experiments only.

The college shall maintain the sessional books of the students and the record of the sessional award of the students. A regular record of both theory and practical classwork and sessional examinations conducted in an institution imparting the course shall be maintained for each student in the institution. Marks shall be awarded as per the schemes given.

Conditions under which candidates are permitted to appear for university examination

The candidates are required to score a minimum of 50% marks in each of the subjects (Theory and practicals separately) in the sessional examination to be eligible to appear for university examination in the respective subject.

University Examinations

1. Every year there shall be an examination to examine the students.

1. Each examination will be held twice every year. The first examination in a year shall be the annual examination and the second examination shall be a supplementary examination.

1. The examinations shall have written and practical (including oral nature) carrying maximum marks for each part of a subject.

Declaration of class

The class shall be awarded at the end of I, II, III, IV, and V year of Pharm.D examination as shown below:

1. Distinction

1. First Class

1. Second class

75% and above
60% and above and less than 75%
50% and above and less than 60%

The result of the successful candidate shall be classified at the end of the final year examination on the basis of the aggregate of all subjects, theory and practicals, secured by the candidate in the I to V year examinations and completes the course in 5 years, as indicated below.

I Class: 60% and above
II Class: 50%-59%

Candidate securing an aggregate of 75% or above marks and have passed in all the subjects in a year in the first attempt shall be declared to have obtained Distinction.

Internship

The internship is a phase of training wherein a student is expected to conduct actual practice of pharmacy and healthcare and acquires skills under supervision so that he or she may become capable of functioning independently. Every student has to undergo a one-year internship as per the Pharmacy Council of Ghana regulations.

Practical training

1.Hospital posting―Every student shall be posted in constituent hospital for a period of not less than fifty hours to be covered in not less than 200 working days in each of second, third & fourth-year course of Pharm.D and in the first and second year of Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate). Each student shall submit a report duly certified by the preceptor and duly attested by the Head of the Department or Institution as

prescribed. In the fifth year, every student shall spend half a day in the morning hours attending ward rounds on a daily basis as a part of the clerkship. Theory teaching may be scheduled in the afternoon.

2. Project work―

1. To allow the student to develop data collection and reporting skills in the area of community, hospital, and clinical pharmacy, a project work shall be carried out under the supervision of a teacher. The project topic must be approved by the Head of the Department or Head of the Institution. The same shall be announced to students within one month of commencement of the fifth year classes of Pharm.D and second year of Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate). Project work shall be presented in a written report and as a seminar at the end of the year. External and the internal examiners shall do the assessment of the project work.

1. Project work shall comprise of objectives of the work, methodology, results, discussions, and conclusions.

3.Objectives of project work―The main objectives of the project work is to―

1. show the evidence of having made an accurate description of published work of others and of having recorded the findings in an impartial manner; and

1. develop the students in data collection, analysis, and reporting and interpretation skills.

4.Methodology―To complete the project work following methodology shall be adopted, namely:

1. students shall work in groups of not less than two and not more than four under an authorized teacher;

1. project topic shall be approved by the Head of the Department or Head of the Institution;

1. )project work chosen shall be related to the pharmacy practice in community, hospital, and clinical setup. It shall be patient and treatment (Medicine) oriented, like drug utilization reviews, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacovigilance or pharmacoeconomics;

1. project work shall be approved by the institutional ethics committee;

1. the student shall present at least three seminars, one in the beginning, one at middle and one at the end of the project work; and

1. two-page write-up of the project indicating title, objectives, methodology anticipated benefits, and references shall be submitted to the Head of the Department or Head of the Institution.

5. Reporting―

1. Students working on the project shall submit jointly to the Head of the department or Head of the Institution a project report of about 40-50 pages. The project report should include a certificate issued by the authorized teacher, Head of the Department as well as by the Head of the Institution

1. Project report shall be computer typed in double space using Times Roman font on A4 paper. The title shall be in bold with font size 18, sub-tiles in bold with font size 14, and the text with font size 12. The cover page of the project report shall contain details about the name of the student and the name of the authorized teacher with font size 14.

1. Submission of the project report shall be done at least one month prior to the commencement of the annual or supplementary examination.

6.Evaluation ―The following methodology shall be adopted for evaluating the project work―

a) Project work shall be evaluated by internal and external examiners.

b) Students shall be evaluated in groups for four hours (i.e., about half an hour for a group of four students).

c) Three seminars presented by students shall be evaluated for twenty marks each and the average of the best two shall be forwarded to the university with marks of other subjects.

d) The evaluation shall be done on the following items: Marks

1. Write up of the seminar (7.5)

1. Presentation of work (7.5)

1. Communication skills (7.5)

1. Question and answer skills (7.5)

Total: (30 marks)

e) Final evaluation of project work shall be done on the following items: Marks

1. Write up of the seminar (17.5)

1. Presentation of work (17.5)

1. Communication skills (17.5)

1. Question and answer skills (17.5)

Total: (70 marks)

Explanation― For the purposes of differentiation in the evaluation in case of the topic being the same for the group of students, the same shall be done based on item numbers b, c, and d mentioned above.

Award of Ranks

Ranks and Medals shall be awarded on the basis of aggregate of all the five and two university examinations of Pharm.D. and Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate), respectively. However, candidates who fail in one or more subjects during the Pharm.D/ Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate) courses shall not be eligible for the award of ranks.

Moreover, the candidates should have completed the Pharm.D course in the minimum prescribed number of years, (five years for Pharm.D and two years for Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate)) for the award of Ranks.

Award of degree

Candidates who fulfill the requirements mentioned above will be eligible for award of degree during the ensuing convocation.

Duration for completion of the course of study

The duration for the completion of the course shall be fixed as double the actual duration of the course and the students have to pass within the said period, otherwise, they have to get fresh Registration.

Revaluation I Retotalling of answer papers

There is no provision for revaluation of the answer papers of failed candidates in any examination.

However, the failed candidates can apply for totaling.

Re-admission after a break of study

A candidate who seeks readmission to the course after a break of study has to get approval from the university by paying a condonation fee.

No condonation is allowed for the candidate who has more than 2 years of break up period and he/she has to rejoin the course by paying the required fees.

Clerkship examination – Oral examination shall be conducted after the completion of the clerkship of students. An external and internal examiner will evaluate the student. Students may be asked to present the allotted medical cases followed by discussion.

Students’ capabilities in delivering clinical pharmacy services, pharmaceutical care planning, and knowledge of therapeutics shall be assessed.

** 30 marks – viva-voce (oral), 70 marks – Thesis work

Criteria for pass

Candidates who have secured a minimum of 50% marks in the Theory (including sessionals) and Practical (including sessionals) separately in any subject or subjects shall be declared to have passed in that subject/s and exempted from appearing in that subject/s at the subsequent examination.

Theory and Practical of a particular subject are considered as individual subjects for the purpose of pass criteria.

Those candidates who fail in one or more subjects shall have to appear only in the subject so failed, in the subsequent examinations.

Program Curriculum

Year 1

• Human Anatomy and Physiology

• Pharmaceutics

• Medicinal Biochemistry

• Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry

• Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry

• Remedial Mathematics/ Biology

Year 2

• Pathophysiology

• Pharmaceutical Microbiology

• Pharmacognosy & Phytopharmaceuticals

• Pharmacology-I

• Community Pharmacy

• Pharmacotherapeutics-I

Year 3

• Pharmacology-II

• Pharmaceutical Analysis

• Pharmacotherapeutics-II

• Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence

• Medicinal Chemistry

• Pharmaceutical Formulations

Year 4

• Pharmacotherapeutics-III

• Hospital Pharmacy

• Clinical Pharmacy

• Biostatistics and research methodology

• Biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics

• Clinical toxicology

• Pharmacotherapeutics I & II

Year 5

• Clinical Research

• Pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics

• Clinical Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacotherapeutic

• Drug Monitoring

Clerkship *

Project work (Six Months)

Sixth Year:

• Internship or residency training including postings in specialty units. The student should provide the clinical pharmacy services to the allotted wards, under the supervision of a preceptor.

• Six months in General Medicine department, and

• Two months each in three other specialty departments

Cost of the Programme

• Application fee: Ghanaian Applicants Ghc250, International Applicants $100
• Tuition fees per semester: Ghanaian Students Ghc 4,500, Top-Up: Students Ghc 5,800
• Tuition fees for International Students per semester: $3,500, Top-Up: $4,800

NB: The Board of Standards and the Academic Council may review fees from time to time without prior notice

Who Can Apply:

This Programme is especially targeted at:

• Ghanaian candidates who qualify for admission locally in Ghana.
• International/Foreign candidates in the sub-region and globally who want to study Pharmacy