PHR1122 · How medicines work 3: Pharmacology

Overview

This unit builds upon PHR1031 How the body works to provide an overview of how drugs interact with their therapeutic targets to alter normal physiological processes in the body. The effects of drugs to reverse the pathophysiology associated with a number of diseases and disorders will also be described to illustrate the benefits of various medical therapies. To address these key areas, you will study the fundamentals of pharmacology with an emphasis on drug-target interactions as it relates to the mechanisms of action of medicines. You will explore through example agonists and antagonists, receptors, signal transduction, enzymes, transporters, ion channels, natural products and biological therapeutics as they relate to pharmacological interventions. These examples will be studied with a view to how they lead to beneficial (and occasionally detrimental) effects on patients.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook lists an examination for this unit.

In-semester assessments 60%; Final assessment 40% This unit contains one or more competency hurdle assessment tasks that you must successfully complete to be able to pass the unit. You have one attempt, plus an additional assessment capped at 50% of the available marks for the task, to demonstrate your competency in the competency hurdle assessment task. If you fail to meet the hurdle requirement, you will receive a fail grade for the unit regardless of the total marks you achieve.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Explain the methods used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of agonists and antagonists
2. List and describe different drug targets and predict the downstream effects of drug-target interactions in physiological and pathophysiological settings, with respect to a/an: a. Antagonist b. Agonist c. Enzyme inhibitor d. Uptake inhibitor e. Ion channel modulator f. Biological therapy
3. Describe different types of pharmacological drug-drug interactions and predict their impact on different physiological systems
4. Work in teams and individually to effectively communicate (orally and written) pharmacological concepts to peers, lay people and other healthcare professionals
5. Work in teams and individually using a structured approach for problem solving

Workload

• Twenty four hours of independent study • Twenty four hours of discovery or pre-learning activities (2 hours per week) • Twenty four hours 1 hour lectures (2 hours per week) • Twelve hours of 2 hour workshops

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.