Teaching pharmacology within a multidisciplinary organ system-based medical curriculum

Abstract

We have described how the pharmacology of agents that act on the central nervous system (CNS) and endocrine system were incorporated into a case-based, multidisciplinary, integrated sophomore medical curriculum at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIUSM). Faculty members from the Departments of Pharmacology, Pathology, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Neurology were major participants in the CNS block, and faculty with primary expertise in radiology, epidemiology, and immunology also participated. Integrated sessions involving the entire class were organized around brief patient cases, which were given to the students in advance of the session. During the sessions, each patient case was presented by a physician or pathologist who briefly described symptoms, history, physical findings, differential diagnosis, and the classification of the subtypes of the particular class of disorder. The pathophysiology of the disease was discussed, and the pharmacology of agents to be considered for therapy was presented in the context of the Pharmacology Mental Algorithm, a systematic and rational approach to drug therapy. The session was completed by a clinician who added further clinically relevant information, which was followed by a question-and-answer period involving all faculty participants. The CNS block was presented over a 1-month period and included standardized patients and real patients who consistently exhibited specific disease findings, and these patient-oriented sessions were followed with small group tutorial sessions. Single discipline large-group sessions were also used to present material that is introductory or unique to a particular discipline. Student knowledge was assessed, using integrated evaluations based on case vignettes with multiple-choice questions provided by each discipline. The goal of the examination was to evaluate knowledge base in the discipline areas and its application to clinical problem-solving. A practical evaluation of each student's patient examination skills in CNS was also performed by clinicians. Feedback from the students on the organ system activities was obtained using a questionnaire. Development of these sessions required leadership and a considerable amount of time to organize, improve, and update sessions. The integrated approach largely eliminated the use of conflicting terminology and redundancy of material common with separate presentations on the same subject by different disciplines. The multidisciplinary, case-based sessions were perceived to be instructive, valuable learning experiences, based on formal and informal student and faculty feedback.

Evaluation of Pharmacology Didactic Lectures for Graduating Nursing Students: a Questionnaire Based Comparative Study Between Two Colleges in Nepal

“…3, [8][9][10] Moreover, this study suggests that it is a challenging job on teacher's part to increase the knowledge level of the student during the end of the session as majority of the students (75-85%) thought that they acquired only some knowledge in pharmacology subject at the end of the subject course (Table-1). …”

Development of a Therapeutics Curriculum to Enhance Knowledge of Fourth-Year Medical Students About Clinical Uses and Adverse Effects of Drugs

“…However, this course has been mounted over the last 7 years as a 4th-year elective by physicians with primary appointments in clinical departments who possess clinical pharmacology expertise in collaboration with preclinical pharmacologists with considerable experience in presenting integrated curricula. 26 This Advanced Therapeutics course could serve as a model for presenting important information in medical schools that lack sufficient clinical pharmacology faculty.…”

“…It is a simplification of our original algorithm 26,27 with increased emphasis on pharmacovigilance, which stresses the balance between positive and negative effects of drugs. Pharmacovigilance is greatly underemphasized in U.S. education.…”

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“…Attempts have been made all over India to make the teaching of pharmacology more interesting and relevant. To make pharmacology teaching more innovative and interesting learning experience, efforts have been made by formulating new educational strategies to meet the educational objectives [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . Present study is an effort to know the effect of teaching pharmacology (important clinical aspects) in the bedside along with the didactic lectures.…”