Objectives: To create, implement, and evaluate an elective course on the foundational aspects of exercise prescription to increase pharmacy students' knowledge about exercise and confidence in offering exercise advice in pharmacy practice.
Design: A course was designed as an elective using the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for exercise prescription for healthy and clinical populations.
Assessment: Surveys of students who did and did not take the elective were conducted over 2 years to assess the impact of the course on students' confidence in knowledge and counseling. Students' confidence in counseling patients about exercise increased after taking the course and remained higher after 6 months.
Conclusions: This course increased pharmacy students' knowledge and confidence in incorporating exercise prescriptions in their advice to various patient populations.
Keywords: counseling; exercise; nutrition; public health; service-learning.