| UNIT TITLE |
Introduction to Pharmacology |
| UNIT CODE |
SCH1105 |
| CREDIT POINTS |
15 |
| FULL YEAR UNIT |
No |
| PRE-REQUISITES |
SCH1134 - Human Structure and Function
or
SCH1143 - Systems Physiology
|
| MODE OF DELIVERY |
On-campus
|
| |
This version of the unit will be offered from 1/01/2014 |
|
|
DESCRIPTION
|
|
Basic pharmacology is presented in such a way that students with little background in physiology or biochemistry will be able to understand the principles of drug actions, reactions and interactions. All commonly used drugs will be described with regard to their use, mechanism of action, side effects and abuse potential. Brief descriptions of pathophysiological processes will be given where appropriate.
|
| |
| LEARNING OUTCOMES |
On completion of this unit students should be able to:
- explain the principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics;
- identify the major groups of drugs used in the treatment and management of disordered physiology;
- apply the basic concepts of pharmacokinetics to drug therapy with special reference to the use of drugs in young, elderly, pregnant and lactating persons;
- describe and interpret the poisons and drug regulations of Western Australia;
- identify some drugs that are commonly abused and describe the physiological effects of them.
|
| |
| UNIT CONTENT |
- Drug history, classification, nomenclature and scheduling.
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
- Drug interactions.
- Unwanted effects of drugs: adverse effects and allergic responses.
- Idiosyncrasies, pharmacogenetics, age, sex, pregnancy, tolerance, disease and diet - their effect on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
- Central nervous system pharmacology.
- Cardiovascular system, haematological and immune system pharmacology.
- Renal, gastrointestinal and respiratory pharmacology.
|
| |
| TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESSES |
Lectures and tutorials. Laboratory demonstrations.
Students will have the opportunity to work on case studies for WANADA (WA Network for Alcohol and other Drug Agencies). |
| |
| TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES |
Students will have access to hardcopy of MIMS and be provided with links to current drug pharmacopoea.
Case studies and problem solving exercises relevant to WANADA (WA Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies) will be provided.
Extracts for scientific and medical journals will be provided when relevant.
Sample packaging and drug delivery systems will be available for study during tutorials. |
| |
| GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES |
The following graduate attributes will be developed in this unit
- Ability to communicate
- Critical appraisal skills
- Ability to generate ideas
|
| |
| ASSESSMENT |
| Grading Schema 1 |
| |
| Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners. |
| |
| It is expected that to pass the unit, students should attend and participate in 90% of the tutorial sessions timetabled. |
| |
Item
|
On-Campus Assessment
|
Value
|
|
Test
|
Take home Case-study test
|
50%
|
|
Examination
|
End of semester examination
|
50%
|
|
|
| |
| TEXTS |
| A copy of the text is required for this unit. |
| |
| Bullock, S., & Manias, E. (2011). Fundamentals of pharmacology (6th ed.) Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education. |
| |
| SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES |
| Students will be directed to, and provided with extracts from scientific and medical journals during classes. |
| |
| Karch, A. M. (2011). Lippincott's nursing drug guide Canadian Edition Philidelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins |
| Eckman, M., Labus, D., & Thompson, G. (Eds.). (2008) Nursing pharmacology made incredibily easy (2nd ed.). Philidelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins |
| McFadden, R. (2009). Introducing pharmacology for nursing and healthcare (1st ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education. |
| |
| JOURNALS |
| Australian Prescriber |
| Current Therapeutics |
| Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin |
| MIMS |
| |
| WEB SITES |
| Recent web sites and apps (applications) for Android and iPhone (TM) will be provided during classes. |
| |
| Prentice Hall Nurses's Drug Guide www.prenhall.com/drugguides |
| |
| |
| |
| Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005) | |
| For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Student Equity, Diversity and Disability Service website: |
| http://intranet.ecu.edu.au/student/support/student-equity |
| |
| |
Academic Misconduct
Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
- plagiarism;
- unauthorised collaboration;
- cheating in examinations;
- theft of other students’ work.
Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.
The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.
|
