Traditionally pharmacists are the first source of advice and assistance to many simple and major health concerns.

The role of the pharmacy is to serve society as a profession responsible for the appropriate use of medications, devices and services to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. This is achieved through professionalism in pharmaceutical education, patient care, public services and research. The educational component provides training in scientific background of drug products, therapy, communication skills and applying knowledge in a wide range of areas including sources of raw materials, quality of products, patient care and rational, safe and cost-effective use of drugs.

There is increasing concern about the involvement of the pharmacist in the drug use decision-making process, establishing therapeutic goal for each patient, selecting the most suitable drug dosage form, drug product source of supply, dose and dosage schedule, monitoring compliance, detecting adverse reactions and interactions and assessing improvement in therapeutic outcomes. Most of these activities were not included, until recently, in the actual training of this profession.
Accordingly, the curriculum should integrate classroom and experiential learning clerkship in pharmaceutical industry, dispensing functions and bed-side practices.

A production (industrial) pharmacist develops expertise in quality control, technical dispensing functions and drug development research, while a patient-care (clinical) pharmacist is one of the health team directly involved with patient management. A graduate trained in both aspects has a wider range of opportunities. In the USA about 70% practice in community pharmacies in the dispensing using pharmaceutical knowledge and pharmacy laboratory skills. The remainder pharmacists are employed as hospital pharmacist, in-patient health careers, home health care providers, nursing home consultants. A few continue their graduate studies to become drug development scientists, researchers and teachers in colleges and universities.

2.1 Educational developments
The current trends in medical education went a long way in curriculum design and specifications following newer effective choices if philosophy, strategies and models like problem-based learning (PBL), community orientation or community-based education (CBE), self-directed learning (SDL), and continuous evaluation (CE), based on semester (credit) hours of both core and elective courses. Except for very few universities world-wide, pharmacy education has not adopted the recent educational trends, and remained traditional, with very limited innovations. The National College, is open-minded to such developments. It has adopted the now very popular choices of current trends in the training of physicians and will proceed with allied health specialties wherever a reputable innovation proved successful, in agreement with the local needs and authorities. Problem-based learning modules will be introduced, similar to Dalhousie University, although the latter is adopting a yearly system. The choice of semester (credit) hour system for studies and evaluation will be followed, with modification in adoption of longitudinal or block courses to assure intensive and specialized training. It is hoped that in the very near future the concern of the pharmacy authorities would work with the National College towards the design of specific objectives, in each course, similar to those written for the medical program.

2.2 Pharmacy developments
In countries where pre-pharmacy curriculum is offered in community and paramedical colleges, students are further selected to join the college of pharmacy for another four or five years of professional program consisting of early two to three years of didactic education and one to two years of experiential rotation with qualified practitioners. The degree offered at the end is regarded as a basic degree in pharmacy, similar to the bachelor degree offered in Sudan The National College adopted a similar approach, of two semesters in general requirements, four semesters in pharmacy professional courses, and an addition of two semesters of experiential (clerkship) training in or both industrial and clinical services.

3.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM (COLLEGE)
The objectives of the National College- pharmacy program- are to:
1.Emphasize values and ethical heritage of the Sudanese Nation in its curriculum, and follow strategies that lead to strengthening these values, as an important component of the National College philosophy and message.
2.Graduate a practitioner with a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B Pharm), with strong community orientation and ethical components, in both the clinical and industrial aspects. Attempts will start with the accreditation authorities to introduce the D.Pharm option.
3.Contribute to community development through health services provided in its own health institutions and other institutions including pharmaceutical industries, co-operating with them, through the following: (a) partnership in designing health programs and plans, and implement whatever is feasible in utilizing the experience of specialists, (b) Contribution in continuous education through short and long term courses, to improve efficiency of health workers and for the professionals to learn from each other for better mutual understanding and services, and (c) Provision of essential and appropriate equipments and supplies to improve quality of services, through partnership with the Ministry of Health, and Industry.
4.Strengthen pharmacy research, making use of the University's accessibility and communication privileges.

3.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE CURRICULUM
A graduate of the National Pharmacy Program should be able to [parentheses indicate the courses or publication fulfilling the objective]:
1.Adopt the strategies of the National College-Sudan and abide by its objectives and rules stated in its constitution and directives [the Student Guide].
2.Observe in his/her practice, the health professional ethics which agree with the Nation's values, beliefs and norms (as stated by Sudan Medical Council), and maintain good and honest relations with his/her patients, their families, his/her colleagues across all sectors involved in health.
3.Assist in the diagnosis and management of cases related to drug side effects, dependence or deprivation, and other health problems prevalent at the level of the individual, family or society, with special emphasis on the nutritional and environmental problems common in developing countries, and plays an active role in health promotion.
4.Integrate basic pharmacy, community and clinical training, and industrial situation in solving community, family and individual health problems.
5.Use scientific knowledge in diagnosis and management of the relevant health problems, according to known methods of problem solving and integration, and explains the scientific structural (anatomical), functional (physiological, biochemical), morbid (microbiological, pathological), and therapeutic (pharmacological) background related to the problems.
6.Manage emergencies relevant to drug intake, and decide and act properly on cases needing referrals to specialized centers or personnel.
7.Accepts to work in all settings according to needs, and act to improve health service delivery systems both quantitatively and qualitatively.
8.Encourage community participation and act in recruiting various sectors in defining drug and health-related problems, planning and providing suitable solutions, recognizing the community beliefs, ethics, and traditional practices.
9.Adhere to "health team" approach, acting as an efficient member, capable of its leadership sometimes, dividing labor and responsibilities among its members, and ensuring both effectiveness and homogeneity among the members [in courses on education, communication, community practice and clerkships]
10.Administer a pharmacy "unit" or "center", or a pharmaceutical firm efficiently according to scientific, medical, statistical, economic and legal bases.
11.Continue to consider elements of efficiency, costing and economic implications in his/her therapeutic choices and advices.
12.Acquire the skills of teaching, learning and communication efficiently to carry out his/her duties in health education and in winning the confidence of patients and their families and societies.
13.Acquire the skills of self education, and contribute to availing opportunities for planning and implementing continuous education activities to upgrade his/her own abilities and those of his/her colleagues in the health team [in courses on education, computer, research methodology and report writing].
14.Carry health or health-related research on drug therapy or industry, alone or with other member(s) of the health team, using scientific methods known in such activities [in courses oneducation, research methodology, statistics, computer and report writing, medical ethics].
15.Use computer in word processing, statistics and graphics to achieve success in other objectives of his/her career [in courses on computer, research methodology and report writing], and find out pharmacy information from the net.
16.Acquire postgraduate qualification in the discipline of his/her choice, recognizing the needs of the society for certain specialties, particularly the general clinical pharmacist [in clerkship].

The curriculum consists of biomedical sciences (anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and statistics), pharmaceutical sciences (pharmaceutical mathematics, physical pharmacy, drug delivery and dosage forms, biopharmaceuticals and pharmacokinetics, biomedicinal chemistry and biotechnology), clinical and administrative sciences (pathophysiology, pharmacotherapy, drug information, management and pharmacoepidemiology) and pharmacy practice (dispensing, jurisprudence, contemporary pharmacy practice, drug and society and ethics). The emphasis in clinical pharmacy track is on pharmacotherapy.
Phases:
The program is of five years’ (10 semesters’) duration divided into three phases, comprising about 200 CHs. A semester is 18-20 weeks in Phase 1 and 2, and 22-24 weeks in Phase 3. There are three compulsory Summer courses and three electives; credit hours of electives are included in the total.

Phase 1:Introductory courses and College requirements = Semesters 1
Phase 2: Integrated basic pharmacy course = Semesters 2-6
Phase 3: Clerkships in Clinical and/or Industrial Pharmacy = Semesters 7-8
Clerkships in Clinical and/or Industrial Pharma = Semesters 9-10

• MEDICAL PROGRAM
• PHYSIOTHERAPY PROGRAM
• COMPUTER AND HEALTH INFORMATICS PROGRAM
• RADIOGRAPHY PROGRAM
• DENTISTRY PROGRAM
• NURSING AND MIDWIFERY PROGRAM
• MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
• MANAGEMENT STUDIES- ACCOUNTANCY PROGRAM
• MANAGEMENT STUDIES-BUSINESS ADMIN PROGRAM
• MANAGEMENT STUDIES- MARKETING PROGRAM
• MANAGEMENT STUDIES-BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROGRAM