PHAR 230 - Pharmacology for the Health Sciences | Biomedical and Molecular Sciences | School of Medicine

PHAR 230 - Pharmacology for the Health Sciences

Fall 2024 (On-Campus)

Year 2

10-11 hours/week

3 units

Available

On-Campus Course

Lecture series on the following topics: principles of drug action, autonomic pharmacology, cardiovascular-renal pharmacology, neuropsychopharmacology, chemotherapy, drugs acting on the endocrine system, over-the-counter drugs, and therapeutic applications.

NOTE This course is only available to Nursing students.

Prerequisites

PHGY 210/6.0 or PHGY 214/6.0 or KNPE 225/3.0 or KINE 225/3.0.

Exclusions

No more than 3.0 units from PHAR 230/3.0; PHAR 270/3.0; PHAR 340/3.0

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student should be able to:

Define and apply the following concepts regarding drug receptors to problems in pharmacology and patient care: receptor, drug, agonist, antagonist, partial agonist, affinity, efficacy.
Differentiate and contrast the generic names of drugs with their trade names, and explain why use of generic names is preferable.
List the mechanisms by which drugs can cross cell membranes.
Describe the major mechanisms by which drugs are metabolized and the most important organs that are involved in drug metabolism.
Describe the ways in which drugs can be removed from the body by the kidney, liver and lungs.
Compare and contrast the beneficial and limiting features of the major routes of drug administration.
Apply the following concepts regarding pharmacokinetics to the dose and dosage interval for drugs used in individual patients: half-life, rate constant of elimination, apparent volume of distribution, first-order kinetics, zero-order kinetics, clearance.
List important prototype drugs from the topics listed in the lecture outlines.
List the properties of each prototype drug with reference to:
- Mechanism of action.
- Potential adverse effects and outcome of specific drugs.
- Therapeutic uses.
- Important interactions with other drugs or solvents.
List the factors that might alter the pharmacokinetics of each prototype with reference to:
- Age, gender, weight, and pregnancy.
- Hepatic and renal function.
- Drug-drug or drug-solvent interactions.
- Co-existing disease states.

Evaluations

Drug Literature Evaluation (D.L.E.) Project: 15%

Online Quizzes (best 3 of 4 will count): 10%

Mid-Term Examination (one hour, multiple-choice): 25%

Final Examination (three hours, multiple-choice): 50%

Time Commitment

Lecture 3 hours per week

Tutorial 1 hour per week

Textbooks and Materials

There is no required textbook. A number of textbooks are available online to be used as reference material, e.g. B. Katzung, Basic and Clinical Pharmacology.

Grading Method

Letter Grade	Percentage
A+	90-100
A	85-89.9
A-	80-84.9
B+	77-79.9
B	73-76.9
B-	70-72.9
C+	67-69.9
C	63-66.9
C-	60-62.9
D+	57-59.9
D	53-56.9
D-	50-52.9
F	0-49.9