The teaching of pharmacokinetics is acknowledged to be a key aspect of the core curriculum in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, but is also widely acknowledged to be a very difficult part of the curriculum to teach. In order to assess the potential efficacy of interactive computer instruction in clinical pharmacokinetics we have developed a prototype computer-based instructional package. The courseware contains a comprehensive learning system including tutorial, simulation, and problem solving components. To determine the efficacy of this approach we randomly assigned senior medical student volunteers enrolled in the fourth year clinical pharmacology and therapeutics course to receive conventional teaching in clinical pharmacokinetics and/or adjuctive teaching using the computer-based instructional system. There was a high degree of acceptance of the program and over the short term of the trial those students using the computer program scored significantly higher [35%, P less than 0.05] on the mid-term pharmacokinetics quiz. The data suggests that a computerized instructional system in pharmacokinetics may significantly improve the teaching of clinical pharmacokinetics to medical students.

Lifting patients under the axilla has been found to be physically stressful for nurses and uncomfortable for patients. The goals of this study were to find out: how often educators teach this method and observe it in the clinical field; which assistive devices are used in teaching; and what authors of textbooks teach about the under-axilla method. A questionnaire was sent to 546 baccalaureate (BS) and associate (AD) degree programs; 358 educators responded and 337 responses were analyzed. Eighty-three percent of the educators teach the under-axilla method for in- and out-of-bed transfers; 94% observe it used in the clinical field. For lifting up in bed, 56% teach the under-axilla method; 86% observe it in the clinical field. When assistive devices are included in teaching, the hydraulic lift and gait belt are taught most often; less stressful and more comfortable devices are not taught or observed by most respondents. None of the authors of the 3 most frequently used textbooks describe the use of the under-axilla method; authors of 2 textbooks state patients should not have pressure placed on the axilla area.

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