Table 1.

Essential Content in Doctor of Pharmacy Curricula

Content Area	Knowledge Areas of Focus	Skill Areas of Focus
Research methods	Study types and limitations: prospective, retrospective, experimental, observational Steps in designing a research project: defining the research question stating the hypothesis obtaining IRB1 approval common measurement tools accepted surrogate markers.	Define a study question State a research hypothesis Conduct a comprehensive literature review Assess the appropriateness of published research methods
Biostatistics	Levels of measurement/data types Descriptive/Inferential/Non-parametric statistics Hypothesis testing Power analysis Commercially available programs Advanced statistics (correlation/regression, survival curves)	Interpret statistical analyses from primary literature Assess appropriateness of applied tests
Literature evaluation	Types of published literature Systematic method of evaluating primary literature Criteria for assessing cause-effect relationship for adverse drug reactions Criteria for assessing literature on efficacy of drug treatment	Application of research methods and biostatistics to a patient case Identify knowledge gaps based on interpretation of the literature Interpret data in figures and graphs
Research ethics	Institutional review boards and informed consent HIPAA (covered entities)2 Good Clinical Practice Ethical principles of research Animal research regulations FDA3 regulations (drug & device) Special populations (children, women, prisoners)	Identify when IRB1 approval is required Delineate required from optional consent elements Discuss inappropriate research conductance

¹IRB-institutional review board

²HIPAA-Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

³FDA-Food and Drug Administration