Unit Outline

Pharmacy Skills in Practice 3A focuses on the issues and concepts associated with professional pharmacy activities and clinical pharmacy practice. You will be introduced to a range of topics, including quality use of medicines, pharmaceutical care, patient counselling and communication skills, dispensing skills, medication adherence, prescription and non-prescription medication provision, legal aspects of pharmacy practice and other professional issues. The practical component covers prescription dispensing, identification and resolution of drug-related problems, and patient counselling. The overall objective of the unit is for you to develop a good practical knowledge and understanding of pharmacy practice. Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of knowledge gained from all units within the pharmacy course and application of that knowledge to solve practice-related problems.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Identify medication-related problems in the context of pharmacy practice.
2	Resolve medication-related problems in the context of pharmacy practice
3	Practice within the legal, ethical and professional requirements.
4	Conduct a thorough history taking to enable appropriate diagnosis of minor ailments and/or identify patients in need of referral.
5	Provide suitable OTC treatment option(s) and/or referral for the management of minor ailments in community pharmacy.
6	Counsel patients orally on medications and self-care strategies, using patient -centred communication.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CSA209 and CSA231 and CSA288 and CSA208
Co-requisite	CSA322

Alterations as a result of student feedback

In response to the feedback from previous student cohort, changes have been made to the learning outcomes and the assessments. As always, the teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2026, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s Unit Survey following your completion of the unit.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Oral: Over the counter counselling	Week 2	15 %	LO4, LO5, LO6
Assessment Task 2:	Mid-semester Quiz	Week 8	25 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Practical test	Exam Period	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 4:	Oral Exam	Exam Period	30 %	LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Oral: Over the counter counselling

Task Description:

You will undertake 6 minute oral OTC counselling cases in class. Your score will be an average of your scores across the study period.

Task Length:

6 minutes

Due Date:

Week 2

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Take a systematic medication and medical history	LO4
2	Diagnose the simulated patient's ailment	LO4
3	Provide a suitable treatment option(s) including non-pharmacological management and referral (If required) to treat the minor ailment	LO5
4	Counsel patients orally on medications, in a clear, safe and comprehensive manner, demonstrating patient centred care.	LO6

Assessment Task 2: Mid-semester Quiz

Task Description:

You will sit a 50 minute multiple choice and short answer quiz conducted in class including law and ethics questions and pharmaceutical calculations. Specified resources are permitted for this test.

Task Length:

50 minutes

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify medication-related problems in basic clinical cases	LO1
2	Resolve medication-related problems in basic clinical cases	LO2
3	Apply legal, ethical and professional knowledge to clinical scenarios.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Practical test

Task Description:

You will sit a 50-minute practical test, based on the dispensing of simulated prescriptions as well as short answer questions. Specified resources are permitted for this test.

This is a hurdle assessment

Task Length:

50 minutes

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify medication-related problems in the context of pharmacy practice.	LO1
2	Resolve medication-related problems in basic clinical scenarios	LO2
3	Apply legal, ethical and professional principles to clinical questions	LO3

Assessment Task 4: Oral Exam

Task Description:

Undertake an oral exam. More detail will be provided on MyLo

This is a hurdle assessment

Task Length:

18 minutes

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply legal, ethical and professional knowledge to determine if a prescription is legal	LO3
2	Take a systematic medication and medical history	LO4
3	Diagnose the simulated patient's ailment	LO4
4	Provide a suitable treatment option(s) including non-pharmacological management and referral (If required) to treat the minor ailment	LO5
5	Counsel patients orally on medications, in a clear, safe and comprehensive manner, demonstrating patient centred care.	LO6

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.