Overview
The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program is a professional, intensive five-year degree program launched at the University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy at the beginning of the 2019–2020 academic year. It stands as one of the first PharmD programs in Iraq. The program is designed to train highly qualified clinical pharmacists capable of integrating effectively into multidisciplinary healthcare teams and delivering advanced, patient-centered pharmaceutical care to ensure the safe and effective use of medications.
Program Duration and Structure
The total duration of the program is five academic years (ten semesters), comprising 250 credit hours according to the updated 2024 curriculum. This includes intensive clinical training distributed across the latter years, with particular emphasis on practical application within real-world healthcare settings.
Program Objectives
The program aims to achieve several strategic objectives, including:
1. Preparing clinical pharmacists with a strong scientific foundation and advanced clinical skills.
2. Developing graduate competencies in pharmaceutical care, medication therapy management, patient communication, and scientific research.
3. Contributing to Iraq’s national healthcare needs by producing qualified professionals capable of improving therapeutic outcomes and promoting rational drug use.
4. Enabling graduates to work across diverse sectors, including hospitals, community pharmacies, the pharmaceutical industry, and regulatory bodies.
Program Features
The program is distinguished by several key aspects:
- A comprehensive and balanced curriculum integrating basic sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, and clinical applications.
- Extensive supervised clinical training, with over 1,500 hours of practical experience in hospital settings, structured as follows:
- Introductory training (fourth year) in hospital pharmacy practice.
- Advanced training (fifth year) comprising eight clinical rotations in specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, critical care and emergency medicine, oncology, surgery, psychiatry and neurology, among others.
- A graduation project enhancing students’ research capabilities and critical thinking.
- Competitive admission criteria based on second-year cumulative GPA (50%) and a competitive entrance examination (50%), ensuring the selection of high-achieving students.
In conclusion, the PharmD program at the University of Baghdad provides rigorous scientific and clinical education that effectively prepares graduates for the workforce, with a strong focus on practical training and research. However, continued development remains imperative particularly in pursuing formal accreditation and curriculum modernization to align with global standards and contemporary healthcare challenges in Iraq