Electives

Professional Electives for the Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Availability of electives is subject to change and not all electives on this page are offered every semester. Please visit the class schedules page to see which courses are currently available.

The course listing on this page was last updated on October 19, 2010

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Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products (MEDC)

MEDC 804: Drug Discovery Targets 1(3). Prerequisite(s): CHEM 466 or equiv.; permission of instructor. Provides an introduction to the isolation, structure determination, biosynthesis and synthesis of important natural products; emphasis on aspects relating to medicinal chemistry. Spring. Jarstfer.
MEDC 842: Therapeutic Proteins: Production, Mechanism & Clinical Use (3). Prerequisite(s): PHCY 421, PHCY 422. Course explores selected Case studies of the discovery and medical applications of recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Spring. Bastow.

Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics (MOPH)

MOPH 801: Nuclear Pharmacy I (3). Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Fundamental principles of radiation physics, instrumentation, radiation safety, and radiobiology with specific application to nuclear pharmacy and nuclear medicine practice. Fall. Kowalsky.
MOPH 802: Nuclear Pharmacy II (3). Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. This course explores the chemical principles underlying the preparation and control of radioactive drugs and the procedures used in nuclear medicine. Spring. Kowalsky.
MOPH 810: Drug Metabolism (3). Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Metabolic transformations and metabolic enzymes, contemporary techniques in drug metabolism, and clinical relevance of metabolic processes in the design and development of safe and efficacious drugs are discussed. Fall, odd years. Thakker.
MOPH 840: Biopharmaceutics in Drug Delivery (2). Prerequisite(s): DPET 855 or equivalent coursework in pharmacokinetics is recommended. Concurrent enrollment in DPET 855 will satisfy this suggested prerequisite. This course will present and discuss the factors affecting the rate and extent of drug absorption in vivo, primarily via the oral route. Other routes of administration, delivery via prodrugs or selective delivery to tissue or cellular sites within the body will be evaluated. Physicochemical and physiological factors that influence drug delivery will be considered, with emphasis on how these may be modulated. Fall, odd years. Smith.
MOPH 890: Introduction to Research / Independent Study in Pharmaceutics (1-3). Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Students participate in research projects designed to introduce them to research opportunities in the pharmaceutical sciences. Fall, Spring, Summer. MOPH faculty.
MOPH 862: Advanced Pharmaceutics (2). Prerequisite(s): PHCY 410 and 411 or equivalent with permission of instructor. This course provides a discussion of industrial approaches to pharmaceutical formulation development. Spring, even years. Cho

Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (DPOP)

DPOP 801: Pharmacoeconomics (3). This course focuses on the empirical investigation of the economic and health impact of major pharmaceutical policies, regulations, market conditions, prescription drug use, and pharmaceutical care. Spring, odd years. DPOP faculty.
DPOP 803: Social and Behavioral Aspects of Pharmaceutical Use (2). This course will draw on medical sociology and health psychology to familiarize students with core theories, research, measures, and design issues relevant to conducting social/behavioral research surrounding pharmaceutical use. Spring, odd years. Sleath & Blalock
DPOP 806: Pharmaceutical Policy (2-3). Course examines policies that influence pharmacy. Structured methods of policy analysis are examined and used to assess theoretic and analytic applications for evaluating pharmaceutical policy. Fall, even years. Farley.

Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics (DPET)

DPET 802: Acute Care (3). Prerequisite(s): PY3 Status. This course extends knowledge of common acute diseases, developed in required courses, using discussion and case presentation format. Rationale for therapeutic choices, dosing guidelines, and monitoring for drug efficacy and toxicity emphasized. Fall. J. Rodgers.
DPET 806: Introduction to Research / Independent Study in Pharmacotherapy. (2-3). Prerequisite(s): Variable; permission of and contract with instructor required. Fall and Spring. Students participate in research projects designed to introduce them to research opportunities in pharmacotherapy. Students usually work with a single faculty member in laboratory experiments, literature reviews, case audits, drug utilization reviews and patient studies. Fall, Spring, Summer. DPET faculty.
DPET 809 (PHCY 609i): Topics in Pharmacy Practice. Hubbard Program (3). Prerequisite(s): PY3 status, permission of instructor. This interdisciplinary course for health professions students in medicine, allied health, nursing, public health, pharmacy, dentistry, and social work trains students to practice collaboratively in the care of their older patients, fostering an appreciation of the patient's community, family, and home as a context for care decisions. Spring. Roth
DPET 810: AIDS: Principles, Practices, and Politics (2). Prerequisite: PHCY 449 (152). This course is a two part series. Part one includes only pharmacy students and combines HIV-related presentations by faculty and topic discussions by students. Part two consists of a series of multidisciplinary presentations to both graduate professional and undergraduate students on the epidemiology, sociology, psychology, and therapeutics of HIV/AIDS nationally and worldwide. Spring. Corbett. Available to students on the UNC campus only.
DPET 812: Advanced Oncology/Hematology Pharmacotherapy (3). Prerequisite: PHCY 447 (151). This course explores non-pharmacologic treatment modalities, complications of cancer and treatment, supportive care issues and subspecialties and reviews current cancer screening and prevention guidelines and cancer research. Spring. Walko.
DPET 813: Advanced Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy (3). Prerequisite(s): PHCY 444 (85). Combined lecture (faculty content experts) and class discussion provide in-depth exploration of cardiovascular pharmacotherapy. Topics build on content from PHCY 444 (85), with special emphasis on review of the primary literature. Spring. Patterson.
DPET 818: Foundations in Exercise Prescription (2). Prerequisite(s): Open to PY3 students. The goal of this course is to provide the fundamentals of exercise testing and prescription for healthy and patient populations for the pharmacist. Topics include basics of exercise physiology, nutrition, performance enhancing drugs and supplements, and discussion of current guidelines for exercise prescription. Spring. Persky. Available to students on the UNC campus only. Not currently available.
DPET 830: Development and Clinical Investigations of Drugs (2). Prerequisite(s): PY3 standing. Fall. Discussions include preclinical drug safety evaluation, preclinical pharmacology, design of protocols for Phases I-IV, FDA guidelines for clinical study, preparation of a study plan, statistics in clinical trials, data analysis and FDA interactions with industry. Fall. Raasch, Cato.
DPET 831: Quantitative Methods in Clinical Research (3). Prerequisite(s): Introductory biostatistics or general statistics; graduate student standing or PY3 standing and permission of instructor. This course reviews statistical concepts and discusses the most commonly used statistical methods for analysis of data from clinical studies or research experiments. Students will analyze problem datasets using SAS. Spring. Hull.
DPET 832: Introduction to Applied Pharmacogenomics (2). Prerequisite(s): PY3 or graduate student status, or permission of the instructor. Students will develop knowledge of common pharmacogenomic terminology and the major technologies employed in pharmacogenomic research, the ability to critically evaluate pharmacogenomic literature, with special emphasis on trial design and methodology, and to perform simple calculations used in the study of human genetics. Spring. Hawke.
DPET 833: Experimental Design Considerations in Clinical Research (2). Prerequisite(s): Prior general statistics or biostatistics course; graduate student standing or PY3 standing and permission of instructor. Provides an overview of clinical trial methodology, focusing primarily on designs of (and common flaws in) clinical drug trials and non-clinical research experiments intended to answer clinical questions. A second objective of the course is to show the interrelationship between experimental design decisions and their impact on the appropriate statistical analysis. Fall. Hull.
DPET 834: Methods in Quantitative Systems Pharmacology. This course will introduce students to the philosophy and methodology underlying contemporary quantitative systems pharmacology as a general approach to drug discovery and development. Prerequisite: DPET 855, Principles of Pharmacokinetics. Pre- or co-requisite: DPET 856, Advanced Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. Spring, even years. Pollack.
DPET 836: Elements of scientific Writing and Communication. This course is designed to help students develop strategies for presenting research ideas and results in written and oral form, and for participating effectively in the peer review process. Spring. Pollack. Not currently available.
DPET 838: Methods in Pharmacogenomics. The goals of this course are to provide graduate students with an understanding of major genomic discovery methodologies and their application for solving translational research problems. Spring. Wiltshire, Wagner.
DPET 855: Principles of Pharmacokinetics (3). Prerequisite(s): PHCY 413. This course is an introduction to pharmacokinetic theory, mathematical model development, and data analysis techniques. Fall, odd years. Paine.
DPET 856: Advanced Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics (4). Prerequisite: DPET 855, permission of instructor. This course examines the advanced treatment of contemporary pharmacokinetic theory and application, with emphasis on model development, analytical approaches to parameter estimation, and experimental design/data analysis. Spring, even years. Paine.

Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Experience (DPPEE)

DPPE 800: Geriatric Pharmacy Practice (3). Prerequisite(s): Students will have the opportunity to learn key geriatric pharmacotherapy principles and gain insight into the complex needs of older adults through didactic instruction, case-based problem solving, and direct interaction with geriatric patients. Spring. Burkhart.
DPPE 801: Public Health Perspectives in Pharmacy (3). Prerequisite(s): PY3 standing. This course examines the scope and implications of current public health concerns at the community, state and national level. Practical approaches to the integration of public health activities in both the community and institutional pharmacy settings will be discussed, developed and experienced. Fall. Coker. Not currently available.
DPPE 803: Ambulatory Care Pharmacy (3). Prerequisites(s): PY3 status. This course consists of sessions related to common ambulatory care topics, consisting of therapeutic discussions, debates, and practice management concepts. Each content area is facilitated by an instructor with clinical expertise in that topic area. Working in groups to complete cases and active participation during class is required. Fall. P. Rodgers, Cox
DPEE 804: Teaching and Learning Concepts for Pharmacy Practice (3). This course introduces teaching and learning theories and educational psychology for application to educational roles of pharmacists in all settings. Course activities and discussions integrate theory into practical teaching and learning strategies. Spring. J. Robertson.
DPEE 806: Medication Therapy Management (2). Prerequisite(s): PHCY 442-446. This course examines the role pharmacists play in the provision of medication therapy management (MTM) services. Knowledge of pharmacotherapeutic, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic principles will be used to identify, resolve and prevent medication-related problems. Approaches to the development and implementation of MTM services in the community pharmacy will be discussed, developed, and experienced. This course also incorporates the MTM certificate program developed by APhA/ASCP. Spring. Williams.
DPPE 808: Critical Care Therapeutics (3). Prerequisite(s): PY3 Status. The course is designed to expose students to the pharmacotherapeutic challenges commonly encountered in the intensive care unit and expand their knowledge base regarding roles that pharmacists play in dealing with these issues. A patient case format is used to discuss drugs and disease states commonly encountered in the ICU as well as on-site ICU visits.. Spring. Raasch
DPPE 810 (DPET 801): Hospital Pharmacy Practice (3). Prerequisite(s): PY2 Status or permission of instructor. This course introduces students to the different practice opportunities in hospital pharmacy, from operations to clinical services. Various practitioners will lecture about their work environments and how they support the overall activities of a hospital pharmacy. Spring. S. Eckel.
DPPE 811: Advanced Infectious Diseases (2). Prerequisite: PHCY 449. Course consists of infectious disease case presentations by small groups of students. Discussion of a specific infectious disease, its drug therapy and specific antibiotics are evaluated extensively at each session. Spring. Raasch.
DPPE 812: Advanced Pediatric Pharmacotherapy (3). Prerequisite: PY3 Status. This course is designed to enhance the student's understanding of specific pharmacotherapeutic considerations in the pediatric populations. Spring. Farrington.
DPPE 814 (DPET 814): Entrepreneurial Pharmacy Practice (3). The goal of the course is to provide students with “hands-on” experience in starting, owning and running your own business. Each session will focus on a unique aspect of independent pharmacy ownership or pharmacist driven business along with management skills required to effectively operate the business. Fall. Ferreri. Not currently available.
DPPE 820: Managing the Practice of Pharmacy (3). Prerequisite(s): PY3 Status or Permission of instructor. Case-based discussion format offered to PharmD students as an exercise in individual personal and professional development. Content emphasizes conceptual issues and ideas relevant to the practice of pharmacy, rather than on particular factual content, or narrowly focused problem identification skills. Fall. F. Eckel.
DPPE 828: Independent Study in Pharmacy Practice. Variable credit. Fall, Spring. DPPE faculty.
DPPE 830: The Leadership Challenge (2). Prerequisite(s): PY2 or PY3 Status. This course introduces students to the principles of leadership and strategies used by leaders, regardless of position or pharmacy practice setting, and helps prepare student pharmacists to meet the leadership challenge. Active learning strategies are used to examine and model leadership principles. Guest instructors will lead discussions on various topics pertaining to leadership. There are no pre-requisites to this course. Fall. Cox
DPPE 831: Applied Case Studies in Self Care Therapeutics (3). Prerequisite(s): PHCY 452 and PY3 Status. This course emphasizes evaluating literature to determine the best practices for patients seeking self care. It utilizes a team-based learning (TBL) approach to engage students in a higher level of active learning as it relates to community pharmacy practice and to simulate real-world application by shifting the focus of the course from the transmission of factual information to the application and communication of concepts to address self-care issues. It builds upon the baseline knowledge taught in the required course. Fall. Ferreri/Marciniak
DPPE 836: Inter-professional Team Work and Communication – Keys to Patient Safety. This inter-professional course focuses on understanding roles, teamwork and communication to improve patient safety within the health care environment. National standards and initiative will be foundational to the course.

Interdisciplinary Courses and Non-Divisional Courses

PHCY 426: Pharmacoinformatics (2) Prerequisite(s): None. This course covers the application of information and communication technologies in medicine and pharmacy. Students learn how to use the general purpose informatics software and acquire hands-on skills in web page design and development. Fall. Golbraikh
PHCY 604i: Aging and Health (3). Prerequisite(s): Permission of Instructor. Introduction to basic concepts relevant to living and working with older persons, normal aging phenomena and experiences, theories of aging, effects of aging on physical and mental health, and aspects of the health care system relevant to older persons. Fall. Roth.
PHCY 607i: Aging and Public Policy (3). Prerequisite(s): Permission of Instructor. This course provides students with a general background in the major economic, health and social policy issues facing the nation and the state resulting from the aging of our society. Issues pertaining to informal support systems and disadvantaged groups are explored in the context of aging policy. Spring. Roth.
PHCY 608i: Managing Diabetes (2). Prerequisite: PY3 Status. This multidisciplinary team course examines the current issues involved in managing diabetes mellitus in persons over their lifespan. Spring. Ives.
PHCY 613i: Intermediate Spanish for Health Care I (3). Prerequisite: college-level Spanish 2, a minimum score on a self-assessment test and permission of instructor. This primarily e-learning course provides public health students with the opportunity to improve their oral communication skills in Spanish at the intermediate level via DVD, Web, and workbook. Students who meet the criteria but are still not sure if the course is right for them can view a video accessible on the Web along with a sample from the workbook to determine if the course materials are a good match for their abilities. Fall, spring and summer. Lorch
PHCY 615i: Advanced Spanish for Health Care I (3): Prerequisite: college-level Spanish 3, requirements and/or credit for PHCY 613I. This course is a continuation of PHCY 613I.
PHCY 805: Independent Study and Research in Pharmacy. Prerequisite(s): to be arranged with the faculty member in each individual case; permission of and contract with a faculty member required. Credit: variable (1-6); prior approval required to count these credits as “professional electives.” Fall and Spring. Provides opportunities for professional (doctor of pharmacy) students to conduct independent study or participate in research projects designed to introduce them to specialized areas of practice and/or research in pharmacy. Students work with a single faculty member to focus study on a specialized problem through laboratory experiments, literature reviews, case audits, drug utilization reviews or patient studies. Fall, Spring, Summer. Staff (any SOP or AHEC faculty).
PHCY 806: Contemporary Topics in Pharmacy. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Credit: Variable (1-3). Fall and Spring. Experimental course, for professional (doctor of pharmacy) students, offered to determine the need and demand for courses in new content areas. Topics will be chosen by faculty based on current issues in pharmacy practice or research and proposed syllabi reviewed by the PharmD Curriculum Committee prior to delivery. Fall, Spring, Summer. Staff (any SOP or AHEC faculty).
PUBH 496 Section 960 (2): Introduction to Spanish for Health Care (listed Spring 2008 as a “Readings in Public Health” course. Prerequisite(s): None (no prior Spanish language education necessary). This course provides students with an opportunity to develop oral communication skills for applications within health care settings; explore Latino culture in the United States; and appreciate how personal attitudes and beliefs affect the patient/health care provider relationship. Spring. Claire Lorche. Currently unavailable.

Health Affairs Electives

Note: Other courses may be candidates for addition to the list. Unless offered as an online option, these courses are available only to students on the UNC campus.

Microbiology and Immunology (MCRO)

MCRO 631: Advanced Molecular Biology I (3). DNA structure, function, and interactions in prokaryotic and eurkaryotic systems, including chromosome structure, replication, recombination, repair, and genome fluidity.
MCRO 614: Immunobiology (3). Prerequisites, a strong background in molecular biology, eukaryotic genetics, and biochemistry, and permission of instructor. Advanced survey course with topics that include molecular recognition, genetic mechanisms of host resistance, development of cells and cell interactions; hypersensitivity, autoimmunity, and resistance to infection.
MCRO 630: Virology (4). Prerequisites, molecular biology and cell biology. Current concepts of the chemistry, structure, replication, genetics, and natural history of animal viruses and their host cells.

School of Public Health

BIOS 600: Principles of Statistical Inference (3). Prerequisite: knowledge of basic descriptive statistics. Major topics include elementary probability theory, probability distributions, estimation, and tests of hypotheses, chi-squared procedures, regression, and correlation.
BIOS 511: Introduction to Statistical Computing and Data Management (3). Introduction to use of computers to process and analyze data, components of digital computers, characteristics of magnetic storage devices, use of JCL and utility programs, concepts and techniques of research data management, use of statistical program packages and interpretation.
EPID 600: Principles of Epidemiology (4). An introductory course that considers the meaning, scope, and applications of epidemiology and the uses of morbidity, mortality, and other vital statistics data in the scientific appraisal of community health.
HBHE 709: U.S. Populations of Color (3). This course explores the various structural forces that impact the health status and health behaviors of populations of color in the United States.
HBHE 563: Introduction to Women's Health and Health Education (3). Using a lecture-discussion format, this course provides an overview of women's health-specific interests as family and community members, as patients, and as health professionals. Implications for health education practice as well as opportunities for future research are emphasized.
HBHE 727: Patient Advocacy: Healing the Healthcare System (3). Explore competing definitions of patient advocacy. Topics related to ethics, policy, and law will be covered in the context of what have often been termed patient rights and responsibilities. Three lectures hours per week. Fall. Earp. French.
HBHE 772: Planning Health Promotion in Community, Worksite, School, and Medical Settings (4). Prerequisite, permission required for non-majors. This course builds skills in developing components of health promotion programming in a variety of settings. It emphasizes use of needs and capacity assessments to identify focus of intervention; strategies for evaluating programs; application of health promotion models and program planning.
HPAA 350: Introduction to Health Services Systems (3). Prerequisite, permission of health policy B.S.P.H. program director, except for majors in health policy or health behavior and health education. An introduction to the current organization, financing, emerging trends, practices, and issues in the delivery of health services.
HPAA 220: Writing for Health Administrators (3). Designed to teach clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness of statement. Memoranda, reports, proposals, letters.
HPAA 230: Management of Human Resources (3). Prerequisite, permission of instructor for non-health policy and administration majors. General introduction to the field of human resource management in health organizations in the United States. Detailed treatment of selected topics with a view to help develop operational skills.
HPAA 340: Foundations of Health Care Financial Management (3). Prerequisites: BUSI 100, permission of instructor for non-B.S.P.H. students. Basic methods and techniques in financial management of health care programs including financial statement analysis, cost determination and allocation, pricing of services, and budgeting.
HPAA 330: Introduction to Health Organization Structure, Functions, and Design (3). Prerequisite: senior standing or permission of instructor. Basic concepts of organization structure, functions, and design, and relevant administrative behavior, as applied to health and human services organizations.
HPAA 510: Ethical Issues in Health Policy Administration (3). Introduction to ethical issues in HPAA including rationing, managed care, clinical research, organizational ethics and compliance programs, administrative ethics, and bio-ethical issues such as assisted suicide.
NUTR 240: Introduction to Human Nutrition (3). Prerequisites: BIOL 101/101L, CHEM 102/102L, or equivalents. Relationships of human nutrition to health and disease. Integration of biology, chemistry, and social sciences as related to human function. Nutrient composition of foods and safety of the food supply.
NUTR 400: Introduction to Medical Nutrition (3). Prerequisites, NUTR 240; CHEM 101, 102; BIOL 101. For advanced undergraduates and graduate students needing to enhance background prior to NUTR 600. Function of the human body focusing on nutrient interaction. Review of structure and function of cells and organs.
NUTR 600: Human Metabolism: Macronutrients (3). Prerequisite, NUTR 400 or equivalent. Cell biochemistry and physiology emphasizing integration of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids in whole-body metabolism, regulation of energy expenditure, food intake, metabolic adaptations, and gene expression, and macronutrient-related diseases (atherosclerosis, obesity).
NUTR 611: Nutrition of Children and Mothers (4). Prerequisite: NUTR 400 or equivalent, to be taken parallel with NUTR 600. Biologic bases for nutrient requirements and dietary recommendations as they vary throughout the life cycle. Covers the nutritional needs of women during childbearing years, infants, children, adolescents, and aging adults.
NUTR 620: Human Nutrition: Micronutrients (3). Prerequisite: NUTR 600 (110). Prerequisite, NUTR 400, 600 or equivalent. Cell biochemistry and physiology emphasizing metabolism of vitamins and minerals including antioxidant protection, immune function, nutrient control of gene expression and disease states induced by deficiencies (e.g., iron-deficient anemia).

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