Pharmacy education is undergoing a significant shift as schools rethink how to prepare students for a profession that has expanded beyond traditional dispensing roles. At the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, leaders say those changes helped drive a sweeping redesign of its Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.
The school will launch its new M-Pact PharmD curriculum in fall 2026, replacing a more traditional lecture-based model with a competency-driven approach designed to better reflect modern pharmacy practice and workforce demands.
Agnes Feemster, PharmD, associate dean for the PharmD program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, said the decision to reimagine the curriculum came as pharmacy education reached what leaders saw as a tipping point.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for pharmacists to be flexible and adaptable to a rapidly changing and very uncertain environment,” she said. “We realized the need to move to a student-directed model that focused on the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied in an evolving practice environment.”
As pharmacists take on expanded clinical responsibilities and increasingly diverse roles, Dr. Feemster said workforce shifts played a central role in shaping the new curriculum. M-Pact is designed to give students earlier exposure to practice through longitudinal experiential learning, allowing them to explore both traditional and nontraditional career paths sooner in their education.
The curriculum also introduces a seminar series built around three themes: medication expertise, professionalism and what the school calls “pharmapreneurship.” Rather than isolating professional skills into individual courses, the seminars integrate competencies such as communication, resilience, reflective practice, interprofessional collaboration and self-growth across the curriculum.
Structurally and philosophically, M-Pact represents a clear departure from the school’s legacy model. Dr. Feemster described the redesign as a shift away from a content-heavy, course-centered approach toward a learner-centered, competency-based framework.
“M-Pact intentionally distinguishes ‘need-to-know’ from ‘nice-to-know’ material,” she said, emphasizing a focus on the knowledge, skills and attitudes graduates must demonstrate to deliver effective and culturally responsive pharmacy care.
The curriculum reduces time spent in didactic coursework and introduces earlier, more intentional exposure to practice. Foundational content has been streamlined and better sequenced to reduce redundancy and more closely align with how pharmacists apply knowledge in real-world settings. The school also built in individualized academic support aimed at promoting student success and progression.
Health system partners and employers were closely involved in shaping the redesign. During the reimagination process, the school held multiple town halls that brought together faculty, students, alumni, preceptors, employers and practice partners to gather feedback on workforce needs and evolving expectations for pharmacists.
According to Dr. Feemster, input from employers and health system leaders reinforced the need for graduates who are adaptable, practice-ready and prepared for emerging roles. Those partners will continue to support the program by offering longitudinal experiential learning opportunities and advanced practice rotations.
A defining feature of M-Pact is its emphasis on developing a “pharmapreneurial” mindset. Students are taught to start with problems — identifying unmet needs in patient care, medication use, workflow, access or equity — and then apply clinical knowledge to design and evaluate solutions.
“Pharmapreneurship is not limited to starting a business,” Dr. Feemster said. “It includes leading new initiatives, expanding services, leveraging technology and advocating for new and different ways pharmacists can help improve patient care.”
She added that the approach reflects the pace at which pharmacy practice is evolving and the increasingly nonlinear career paths pharmacists are likely to navigate.
To evaluate the success of the new curriculum, the school plans to track a range of outcomes, including student competency development and progression, feedback from experiential partners and employers and licensure and career outcomes.
Looking ahead, Dr. Feemster expects pharmacy education more broadly to continue moving toward competency-based models that prioritize what graduates can do in practice rather than how much content they are exposed to. She also anticipates greater flexibility and individualized pathways as career trajectories become more diverse.
“As with M-Pact, I expect pharmacy education to increasingly emphasize innovation, leadership and problem solving,” she said, “alongside a strong commitment to equity, well-being and sustainability.”
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