Aim
What the students will be able to do as a result of this module.
understand basic pharmacological concepts
apply the pharmacological concepts to basic medical problem
calculate drug dosing based on (impaired) physiologic function
monitor for expected therapeutic outcomes, and potential adverse effects associated with the pharmacology of selected drug therapy
construct a therapeutic plan in a clear, concise, and organized manner
Content
Virtually all doctors prescribe medicines to their patients every day. It is not impossible to do this by looking up a guideline, choose a drug and look the dose up in one of the formularies. This cookbook approach works reasonably well when the student is dealing with a simple problem like an uncomplicated infection in a patient without any other problems. Unfortunately this is not what a typical patient looks like. Most are aged, have many medical problems at the same time, have failing organs (like reduced renal function) and may have an exaggerated response to a certain treatment. In addition it is rare that they are not treated with other medicines. These patients do not fit the general picture that is given in the guidelines and formularies. So the student needs to be able to create an individualized treatment plan for all patients. This requires knowledge about how drugs affect physiology and pathophysiology (pharmacodynamics: what does the drug do to the patient?) and how it is absorbed, handled metabolically, and excreted (pharmacokinetics: what does the patient do to the drug?).
The basic course in pharmacology is only the beginning, and the concepts the student will learn will return in many of the clinical courses and remain a part of each doctors’ professional life.
The purpose of this module is to introduce basic pharmacological concepts and therapeutic problem assessment in order to understand the process of pharmacotherapeutic management. Teaching will necessarily draw upon and therefore reinforce material (particularly physiology and biochemistry) taught in other courses. This integrated approach is fundamental to the understanding of drug action and hence to the effective and safe use of drugs in clinical medicine. Some aspects of the pharmacology curriculum will not fit readily into the existing clinical-based courses and will therefore need to be taught separately.
Therefore a basic pharmacology module has been developed to focus on understanding of drug action in the body as a whole rather than in isolated systems.