Objectives: To implement an elective course in pharmacogenomics designed to teach pharmacy students about the fundamentals of pharmacogenomics and the anticipated changes it will bring to the profession.
Design: The 8 sessions of the course covered the basics of pharmacogenomics, genomic biotechnology, implementation of pharmacogenetics in pharmacy, information security and privacy, ethical issues related to the use of genomic data, pharmacoepidemiology, and use and promotion of GeneScription, a software program designed to mimic the professional pharmacy environment.
Assessment: Student grades were based on completion of a patient education pamphlet, a 2-page paper on pharmacogenomics, and precourse and postcourse survey instruments. In the postcourse survey, all students strongly agreed that genomic data could be used to determine the optimal dose of a drug and genomic data for metabolizing enzymes could be stored in a safe place. Students also were more willing to submit deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) data for genetic profiling and better understood how DNA analysis is performed after completing the course.
Conclusions: An elective course in pharmacogenomics equipped pharmacy students with the basic knowledge necessary to make clinical decisions based on pharmacogenomic data and to teach other healthcare professionals and patients about pharmacogenomics. For personalized medicine to become a reality, all pharmacists and pharmacy students must learn this knowledge and these skills.
Keywords: drug safety; instructional software; personalized medicine; pharmacogenomics.