Beyond lectures and practical courses: Teaching pharmacology using imaginative pedagogical tools.

Pharmacology has broadened its scope considerably in recent decades. Initially, it was of interest to chemists, doctors and pharmacists. In recent years, however, it has been incorporated into the teaching of biologists, molecular biologists, biotechnologists, chemical engineers and many health professionals, among others. Traditional teaching methods, such as lectures or laboratory work, have been superseded by the use of new pedagogical approaches to enable a better conceptualization and understanding of the discipline. In this article, we present several new methods that have been used in Spanish universities. Firstly, we describe a teaching network that has allowed the sharing of pedagogical innovations in Spanish universities. A European experience to improve prescribing safety is described in detail. The use of popular films and medical TV series in biomedical students shows how these audiovisual resources can be helpful in teaching pharmacology. The use of virtual worlds is detailed to introduce this new approach to teaching. The increasingly important area of the social aspects of pharmacology is also considered in two sections, one devoted to social pharmacology and the other to the use of learning based on social services to improve understanding of this important area. Finally, the use of Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation in pharmacology allows to know how this approach can help to better evaluate clinical pharmacology students. In conclusion, this article allows to know new pedagogical methods resources used in some Spanish universities that may help to improve the teaching of pharmacology.

PharmaMemory: an interactive, animated web application for learning autonomic physiology and pharmacology.

Medical students face challenging but important topics they must learn in short periods of time, such as autonomic pharmacology. Autonomic pharmacology is difficult in that it requires students to synthesize detailed anatomy, physiology, clinical reasoning, and pharmacology. The subject poses a challenge to learn as it is often introduced early in medical school curricula. To ease the difficulty of learning autonomic pharmacology, we created a free web application, PharmaMemory (www.pharmamemory.com), that interactively depicts the effects of high-yield autonomic drugs on the human body. PharmaMemory provides users with the opportunity to read and quiz themselves on the mechanisms, side effects, indications, and contraindications of these drugs while interacting with the application. We provided PharmaMemory to first-year medical students for three consecutive years of quality improvement and assessed the application's perceived effects on learning via user surveys. Survey feedback showed that users viewed PharmaMemory favorably and self-reported increased knowledge and confidence in the subject of autonomic pharmacology. Comments revealed that users liked the website's visuals, opportunity for challenged recall, and conciseness. PharmaMemory utilizes challenged recall, visual stimulation, and interactive learning to provide users with a multifaceted learning tool. Preliminary data suggest that students find this method of learning beneficial. Further studies are needed to assess PharmaMemory compared with more traditional learning methods such as PowerPoint or text-based learning. Additionally, further research is needed to quantitatively assess reduction in cognitive load.NEW & NOTEWORTHY PharmaMemory (www.pharmamemory.com) is a free web application that interactively depicts the effects of high-yield autonomic drugs on the human body.

Presentation of the obsolete drug reserpine in three German-language pharmacology textbooks.

For several decades, reserpine was used to treat hypertension and, to a limited extent, psychoses. Over time, however, the indication became more and more restricted to the point of obsolescence. This study examines the extent to which textbooks are up to date in their content and oriented towards therapeutic guidelines, using the obsolete drug reserpine as a paradigm. Three German pharmacology textbook series were examined for the coverage of reserpine from 1964-2023: Allgemeine und Spezielle Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (Aktories), Allgemeine und Spezielle Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (Karow) and Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (Lüllmann). We compared the textbook content with data on reserpine prescriptions and hypertension guidelines and analysed the relevance of reserpine in examinations using German federal exam questions by the Institute for medical and pharmaceutical exam questions (IMPP). The textbooks differ conceptually from each other. The indication of reserpine for hypertension has become more restricted over time in all three textbooks, yet they partially show discrepancies with hypertension guidelines. The reserpine prescription figures show a strong decline , and reserpine has not been queried by the IMPP, which underlines the obsolescence of the drug. Overall, our study shows that the presentation of a representative obsolete drug in pharmacology textbooks lags current medical practice. We also unmasked more differences in the presentation of an obsolete drug in standard textbooks than anticipated. In conclusion, the analysis of obsolete drugs in pharmacology textbooks is an informative way of assessing how up-to-date they are.

Teaching and learning pharmacology in Brazil before COVID-19 pandemic: a case study in Rio de Janeiro.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of pharmacology is crucial for physicians to perform rational and safe medicine. Medical professionals are responsible for prescribing drugs and a weak performace of those can result in medication errors leading to disability, hospitalization, and death, among other situations. It occurs worldwide, including in Brazil, so that learning pharmacology impacts on public health service. We aim to investigate the current pharmacology educational practices in medical schools in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. METHODS: We surveyed 14 of 22 medical schools in Rio de Janeiro. Pharmacology teachers (n=16) and medical students (n=89) answered a semi-structured questionnaire that included questions about the staff characteristics, pharmacology content, teacher's concepts, and common practices and resources that were used in pharmacology classes. RESULTS: Our results revealed that the medical schools had similar overall curriculums. Pharmacology teachers work more than 30hs a week (75%) and conducted both research and teaching (62.5%). We also found that the multimedia projector was the most common resource (71.9%), and passive pedagogical methodologies (e.g., expository classes) remain a current strategy in pharmacology classes (89.9%). In general, medical students are poorly motivated (55%), which may be related to their performance in assessments. In addition, students believe that pharmacology is a complex (52%) or very complex subject (46%) since for its full understanding the student needs concepts from other disciplines, which can have an impact on the performance and motivation of students. As a result, these medical students do not fully understand the integration between pharmacology's basic concepts and their clinical applications. CONCLUSION: These data seem to demonstrate that the adopted teaching and learning pharmacology strategies and methodologies can be improved in Rio de Janeiro.

The effects of an active learning mechanism on cognitive load and learning achievement: A new approach for pharmacology teaching to Taiwanese nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students require learning strategies when studying pharmacology. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence of online self-study. The design of effective online learning materials has therefore become vital to nursing education. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe the active learning mechanism that helped nursing students learn pharmacology through interactive learning materials and to demonstrate that no increased cognitive load in nursing students when studying pharmacology using interactive learning materials. METHOD: We designed an active learning mechanism to help nursing students study pharmacology by using interactive learning materials. An experimental pre- and post-test design was conducted. The participants were second-year nursing students (age 16-17) in a junior college of nursing. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 98) and a control group (n = 90). RESULTS: We developed multi-media interactive learning materials and an active learning mechanism to enable nursing students to learn pharmacology. The proposed approach not only improved learning achievements but also reduced the cognitive load of nursing students. CONCLUSION: The major contribution of this study exhibits a new approach to practice wherein active learning is incorporated into interactive pharmacology materials for nursing students. This can be attributed to the design features of "explanation," "quiz and feedback," and "encouragement." Our results aid the development of effective interactive learning materials for pharmacology for Taiwanese nursing students.

Bringing Clinical Context to the Classroom in Nursing Pharmacology: A Case Study.

ABSTRACT: Patient safety is part and parcel of nursing care and is taught throughout nursing education, particularly in core pharmacology, first-semester courses. This timing does not allow for clinical application and fosters a theory-practice gap. Transformational learning theory explains how teachers can engage students in active learning and introduce clinical context into a didactic classroom. To that end, an innovative pharmacology assignment, using a real-time nurse case study, was a structured, in-class activity. Post-class reflection focused on contextualizing learning for nursing students without clinical experience. Students reported transformed thinking regarding the importance of meaningful learning in nursing pharmacology.

Bullet screen in pre-clinical undergraduate pharmacology education: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: The lack of interaction and communication in pharmacology courses, especially since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which required a fast shift to remote learning at medical schools, leads to an unsatisfactory learning outcome. New interactive teaching approaches are required to improve pharmacology learning attention and interaction in remote education and traditional classrooms. METHODS: We introduced bullet screens to pharmacology teaching. Then, a survey was distributed to first-, second- and third-year pre-clinical undergraduate medical and nursing students at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from November 2020 to March 2022. We evaluated the essential features, instructional effectiveness, and entertainment value of bullet screens. Responses to structured and open-ended questions about the strengths and weaknesses of the bullet screen and overall thoughts were coded and compared between medical and nursing students. RESULTS: In terms of essential features, bullet screens have a high degree of acceptability among students, and this novel instructional style conveniently increased classroom interaction. Considering instructional effectiveness, bullet screen may stimulate students' in-depth thinking. Meanwhile, students tended to use bullet-screen comments as a way to express their support rather than to make additional comments or to express their different viewpoints. The entertainment value of bullet screen was noteworthy. The lack of ideas might lead to relative differences between medical and nursing students, indicating that guiding the appropriate use of bullet screen is necessary. CONCLUSIONS: The bullet screen may be popularized as an auxiliary teaching approach to promote interaction between teachers and students in the classroom as well as during remote education. It is an interesting and beneficial tool in pharmacology courses, yet there are several aspects of this device that should be improved for popularization.

Teaching during COVID-19 pandemic in practical laboratory classes of applied biochemistry and pharmacology: A validated fast and simple protocol for detection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike sequences.

The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) is still a major health issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the university teaching to consider in high priority the switch from in-presence teaching to remote teaching, including laboratory teaching. While excellent virtual-laboratory teaching has been proposed and turned out to be very useful, the need of a real-laboratory in-presence teaching is still a major need. This study was aimed at presenting a laboratory exercise focusing (a) on a very challenging therapeutic strategy, i.e. SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, and (b) on technologies that are playing a central role in applied biochemistry and molecular biology, i.e. PCR and RT-PCR. The aims of the practical laboratory were to determine: (a) the possibility to identify SARS-CoV-2 sequences starting from a recombinant plasmid and (b) the possibility to discriminate cells with respect to the expression of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. This activity is simple (cell culture, RNA extraction, RT-qPCR are all well-established technologies), fast (starting from isolated and characterized RNA, few hours are just necessary), highly reproducible (therefore easily employed by even untrained students). We suggest that this laboratory practical exercises should be considered for face-to-face teaching especially if the emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic is maintained. The teaching protocol here described might be considered in order to perform fast but meaningful in-presence teaching, making feasible the division of crowded classes in low-number cohorts of students, allowing the maintenance of the required social distance.

[A new curriculum to strengthen pharmacology and clinical pharmacology training in fundamental nursing education].

Among medical care incidents in Japan, an increase in medicine-related errors by nurses have been reported. These errors may be caused by a lack of knowledge of clinical pharmacology and drug interactions. It is important for nurses to acquire risk-management skills based on clinical pharmacology. In order to improve fundamental knowledge in pharmacology and clinical pharmacology for nurses, various training programs exist. We reviewed a number of educational programs in medicine and report our results. Based on our results, it is necessary for medical education programs to include the following 5 essential elements: 1) An analysis of frequently-occurring medication errors in the field of clinical pharmacology, 2) drugs administer for patient characteristic and patient observation practices, 3) an emphasis on the interactions between drugs and food or other drugs, 4) assessment of patient symptoms, risk-management, and the efficacy of drugs, 5) the necessity of using the package inserts. In a new curriculum, it is necessary to have systematic, step by step training in pharmacology and clinical pharmacology. It is also necessary to develop these teaching methods in cooperation with specialists and experts in the field.

Competencias profesionales del farmacólogo en farmacoepidemiología / The pharmacologist's professional competences in pharmacoepidemiology

Introducción: Los retos y las exigencias del mundo contemporáneo requieren de profesionales de la salud con una formación académica basada en competencias. La especialidad de Farmacología en Cuba no ha definido sus competencias profesionales. Objetivo: Definir las competencias profesionales de los especialistas en Farmacología para su desempeño como farmacoepidemiólogos. Métodos: Estudio de desarrollo en el que se obtuvieron las competencias profesionales genéricas y específicas que los especialistas en Farmacología debían alcanzar para desempeñarse como farmacoepidemiólogos. El trabajo se realizó en La Habana entre marzo de 2018 y febrero de 2019. Se aplicaron técnicas cualitativas y revisiones documentales sobre las temáticas relacionadas con el objeto de la investigación. Se trabajó con dos grupos de expertos en dos etapas. Se empleó la metodología Delphi. Resultados: Se construyeron 24 competencias, genéricas y específicas, de las áreas funcionales asistencial, investigativa, docente y gerencial, que los especialistas en Farmacología debían alcanzar para desempeñarse como farmacoepidemiólogos. Conclusiones: Las competencias definidas permiten al farmacoepidemiólogo lograr un uso racional de los medicamentos, lo cual tributa a su propósito clave: una atención de calidad durante el proceso salud-enfermedad(AU)

Introduction: The challenges and demands of the contemporary world require health professionals with competency-based academic training. The specialty of pharmacology in Cuba has not defined its professional competencies. Objective: To define the professional competences of pharmacology specialists for their performance as pharmacoepidemiologists. Methods: Development study that allowed obtaining the generic and specific professional competences that pharmacology specialists should reach to practice as pharmacoepidemiologists. The work was carried out in Havana between March 2018 and February 2019. Qualitative techniques were applied, together with documental reviews on the topics related to the research object. Two groups of experts participated in the work during two stages. The Delphi methodology was used. Results: Twenty-four competencies, either generic or specific, were determined, belonging to the functional areas of care, research, teaching and management, which pharmacology specialists should achieve to practice as pharmacoepidemiologists. Conclusions: The competencies defined allow the pharmacoepidemiologist to achieve a rational use of drugs, which contributes to the key purpose of the specialized profession: quality care during the health-disease process(AU)

Alternative to animal experimentation in pharmacology teaching: Development and validation of an equivalent digital learning tool.

Regarding animal experiments in pharmacology teaching, ethical considerations led us to examine an alternative approach to the use of living animals. This study aimed to assess whether digital tools could replace live animal experiments in terms of motivation and knowledge acquisition. The study was carried out with students enrolled in the 5th year of the industry/research stream at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Limoges. The participants were randomly assigned to groups of traditional or digital teaching methods, with the common theme of the class being the effect of a diuretic agent (furosemide) in rats. The scenario and learning objectives were identical for the two groups. Before the class and after randomization, the acceptance of the digital educational material was assessed with a scale, which predicts the acceptability of users according to individual dimensions and social representations, followed by the assessment of the motivation by a situational motivation scale (SIMS) for both groups. After the class, the students' motivation was assessed by a questionnaire based on Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory. In the end, the participants were evaluated for homogeneity, based on general knowledge of renal pharmacology, and for knowledge acquisition concerning specific knowledge related to this teaching session. This study revealed a good acceptance of the digital tool and a good motivation toward the digital method among all the students. It found the two teaching methods (digital and traditional) to be equivalent in terms of motivation and knowledge acquisition. In our study, digital pedagogical tools as an alternative to live animals did not affect students' motivation and knowledge acquisition.

Problemas que limitan la interdisciplinariedad entre la Farmacología y las asignaturas clínicas en Estomatología / Problems that limit interdisciplinary between Pharmacology and Stomatology clinical subjects

RESUMEN Fundamento: El desarrollo de la interdisciplinariedad entre la unidad curricular Farmacología y las asignaturas clínicas de la Disciplina Principal Integradora en la carrera Estomatología, resulta indispensable para la formación integral del futuro egresado. Objetivo: Identificar los problemas que limitan el desarrollo de la interdisciplinariedad entre la Farmacología y las asignaturas clínicas de la Disciplina Principal Integradora en la carrera Estomatología. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo transversal entre noviembre y diciembre de 2020 en la Facultad de Estomatología de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Santiago de Cuba. Se consideraron como unidades de análisis: actividades docentes y directivos académicos, se seleccionó una muestra aleatoria en ambos casos (n=18 y n=8, respectivamente). Se estudiaron las variables: relaciones interdisciplinarias con la Farmacología (se observa, no se observa y se observa poco), categoría docente, categoría científica, grado académico/científico, grado de especialización y opinión de directivos académicos (siempre, a veces y nunca). Como instrumento de medición se empleó guía de observación y de entrevista, respectivamente. Se empleó el porcentaje como medida de resumen. Resultados: En más del 50 % de las actividades docentes de las asignaturas clínicas de la Disciplina Principal Integradora, no se observa las relaciones interdisciplinarias con la Farmacología. En las entrevistas realizadas a los directivos académicos, predominó la opinión: nunca. Conclusiones: Las insuficiencias didácticas, metodológicas, académicas e investigativas identificadas, limitan el desarrollo de la interdisciplinariedad entre la unidad curricular Farmacología y las asignaturas clínicas de la Disciplina Principal Integradora en la carrera Estomatología.

ABSTRACT Background: The development of interdisciplinarity between the curricular Pharmacology unit and the clinical subjects of the Main discipline in the Stomatology career is essential for the integral formation of the future graduate. Objective: To identify the problems that limit the development of interdisciplinarity between Pharmacology and the clinical subjects of the Main Comprehensive Discipline in the Stomatology career. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive observational study was conducted between November and December 2020 in the Stomatology Faculty at the Santiago de Cuba University of Medical Sciences. The following were considered as analysis units: teaching activities and academic directors, a random sample was selected in both cases (n=18 and n=8, respectively). The following variables were studied: interdisciplinary relations with Pharmacology (observed, not observed and little observed), teaching category, scientific category, academic/scientific degree, specialization degree and the academic directors´ opinion (always, sometimes and never). Observation and interview guides were used respectively as measurement instruments. Percentage was used as a summary measure. Results: In more than 50 % of the teaching activities of the clinical subjects of the Main Comprehensive Discipline, interdisciplinary relations with Pharmacology are not observed. In the interviews conducted with academic managers, the prevailed opinion was never. Conclusions: The didactic, methodological, academic and research inadequacies identified, limit the development of interdisciplinarity between the curricular unit Pharmacology and the clinical subjects of the Main Comprehensive Discipline in the Stomatology career.

Defining and unpacking the core concepts of pharmacology education.

Pharmacology education currently lacks a research-based consensus on which core concepts all graduates should know and understand, as well as a valid and reliable means to assess core conceptual learning. The Core Concepts in Pharmacology Expert Group (CC-PEG) from Australia and New Zealand recently identified a set of core concepts of pharmacology education as a first step toward developing a concept inventory-a valid and reliable tool to assess learner attainment of concepts. In the current study, CC-PEG used established methodologies to define each concept and then unpack its key components. Expert working groups of three to seven educators were formed to unpack concepts within specific conceptual groupings: what the body does to the drug (pharmacokinetics); what the drug does to the body (pharmacodynamics); and system integration and modification of drug-response. First, a one-sentence definition was developed for each core concept. Next, sub-concepts were established for each core concept. These twenty core concepts, along with their respective definitions and sub-concepts, can provide pharmacology educators with a resource to guide the development of new curricula and the evaluation of existing curricula. The unpacking and articulation of these core concepts will also inform the development of a pharmacology concept inventory. We anticipate that these resources will advance further collaboration across the international pharmacology education community to improve curricula, teaching, assessment, and learning.

A simulation-based module in pharmacology education reveals and addresses medical students' deficits in leading prescription talks.

Although doctor-patient communication is essential for drug prescription, the literature reveals deficits in this area. An educational approach at the Cologne medical faculty aims at identifying and addressing those deficits in medical students.Fifth-year medical students first conducted a simulated prescription talk spontaneously. Subsequently, the conversation was discussed with peer students. A pharmacist moderated the discussion based upon a previously developed conversation guide. Afterwards, the same student had the conversation again, but as if for the first time. Conversations were video-recorded, transcribed and subjected to quantitative content analysis. Four days after the simulation, the students who conducted the talk, those who observed and discussed it, and students who did neither, completed a written test that focused on the content of an effective prescription talk.Content analysis revealed clear deficits in spontaneously led prescription talks. Even essential information as on adverse drug reactions were often lacking. Prescription talks became clearly more informative and comprehensive after the short, guided peer discussion. With regard to a comprehensive, informative prescription talk, the written test showed that both the students who conducted the talk and those who only observed it performed clearly better than the students who did not participate in the educational approach.Deficits regarding prescription talks are present in 5th year medical students. We provide an approach to both identify and address these deficits. It thus may be an example for training medical students in simulated and clinical environments like the EACPT recommended to improve pharmacology education.

Pharmacology Course Redesign Using High-Impact Practices.

BACKGROUND: Although pharmacology serves as a foundation for health care professions, a gap exists between education and the clinical application. Experiential learning has demonstrated benefit when integrated into pharmacology courses; however, professors struggle with the challenge of incorporating active learning modalities into traditional lecture courses. METHOD: Active learning and high-impact educational practices, based on cognitive theory, were incorporated into a pharmacology course sequence. After course completion and entry into the clinical setting, qualitative data were collected from students and clinical preceptors. RESULTS: Students and clinical preceptors reported an improvement in students' ability to recall and apply concepts clinically. Students identified the creation of cognitive aids as the most advantageous measure. CONCLUSION: Integrating active learning and high-impact educational practices into pharmacology courses could potentially aid in the ability to recall and apply concepts clinically, reduce medication errors and expenditures, and increase student confidence when entering clinical education. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(9):529-533.].