COURSE DESCRIPTION

Emphasizes general pharmacology for the health related professions; covers general principles of drug actions/reactions, major drug classes, specific agent within each class, and routine mathematical calculations needed to determine desired dosages. Lecture 3 hours per week.

COURSE PURPOSE

The purpose of this course is to educate nursing students and other ancillary medical personnel how to administer drugs in a responsible, safe and effective manner department upon the area of their expertise and within the laws and scope of their areas of treatment and patient care. Emphasis is placed on knowledge of the major drug groups which includes the drugs use, dose, adverse drug reactions, and side effects that are pertinent to physiological and biochemical changes occurring during the disease and recovery state. (Calculation of doses for children, chemotherapy drugs, intravenous infusion and considerations for the elderly will be thoroughly discussed.)

ENTRY LEVEL COMPETENCIES

All students should have a background in anatomy, physiology, and chemistry, and a good concept of basic algebra.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. describe sources of drugs, different forms in which drugs are dispensed, and the derivation of drug names
2. discuss local and systemic effects of drugs and factors influencing the actions of drugs
3. discuss the calculation of drug doses
4. discuss the effects of the major drug classes and their influence on the pathophysiologic and biochemical changes in disease states

1. History of pharmacology and the current trends in pharmacology
2. Legal aspects of drug dispensing and administering of drugs by licensed personnel; this will also include discussion of the prescription laws and hospital drug orders written
3. Pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system including agonists and antagonists of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems
4. Pharmacology of the cardiovascular system
5. Pharmacology of the respiratory system.
6. Pharmacology of the central nervous system, including sedative and stimulant medicines
7. Pharmacology of the gastronintestinal system, including sedatives, antidiarrheals, antinauseants, etc
8. Pharmacology of the genito-urinary systems
9. Pharmacology of the kidney and its specific effects on the homeostasis of extracellular fluid
10. Discussion of antimicrobial drugs and chemotherapeutic drugs
11. Discussion of diabetes mellitus and drugs dealing with this disease and a discussion of the new insulins