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INSTITUTION: |
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COURSE TITLE: |
Basic Pharmaceuticals |
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COURSE NUMBER: |
AH 194 |
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CREDITS: |
1 semester |
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INSTRUCTOR: |
Deborah Newton |
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CONTACT INFORMATION: |
Email: dnewton@msugf.edu Phone: (406) 771-4391 – leave message with administrative assistant – Pam Buckheit.. |
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides basic knowledge of the most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals needed to analyze health care information for various allied health support functions. Emphasis is on classification, indications, therapeutic effects, side effects, interactions, and contraindications of new, current, and newly introduced applications of existing medications.
II. COURSE MATERIALS:
III. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Given the need to understand the basic types of drugs and medications in order to appropriately analyze, abstract, bill, collate, and organize health information, as measured by a course grade of "C" or better, the student will be able to:
1. Use a reference manual to identify a selected list of drugs by generic and proprietary names.
2. Identify common antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitic agents, their general and specific uses, and their side effects.
3. Identify common sulfonamides, and antihistamines, their general and specific uses, and their side effects.
4. Identify common hormone drugs, autonomic nervous system drugs, prostaglandins and prostaglandin inhibitors, their general and specific uses, and their side effects.
5. Identify common antineoplastic drugs, immunizing agents and immunosuppressives, tranquilizers and antidepressants, and central nervous system drugs, their general and specific uses, and their side effects.
6. Identify common Skin, Respiratory, Circulatory, Digestive, and Urinary system drugs, their general and specific uses and their side effects.
7. Identify geriatric health and nutritional problems, and their effects on medication regimes in the elderly patient.
8. Identify drug addiction and withdrawal symptoms, interactions between alcohol and drugs, and symptoms and sequence of drug overdoses.
IV. COURSE OUTLINE:
Chapter 9: Drug Dosage in Standardized Units
Chapter 10: Introduction to Pharmacology
Chapter 11: Drug Legislation and Drug Standards
Chapter 12: Pharmaceutical Preparations
Chapter 13: Introduction to Drug Dosage
Chapter 14: Administration of Medications
Unit 1: Quiz 1
Chapter 15: Vitamins, Minerals and General Nutrition
Chapter 16: Antibiotics and Antifungal, Antiviral, and Antiparasitic Agents
Chapter 17: Antihistamines
Chapter 18: Drugs that Affect the Skin and Mucous Membranes
Chapter 19: Drugs that Affect the Respiratory System
Unit 2: Quiz 2
Chapter 20: Drugs that Affect the Circulatory System
Chapter 21: Drugs that Affect the Central Nervous System
Chapter 22: Pain Medications
Chapter 23: Tranquilizers and Antidepressants
Chapter 24: Prostaglandins and Prostaglandin Inhibitors
Unit 3: Quiz 3
Chapter 25: Drugs that Affect the Autonomic Nervous System
Chapter 26: Drugs that Affect the Digestive System
Chapter 27: The Endocrine Glands and Hormones
Chapter 28: Diuretics and Other Drugs that Affect the Urinary System
Chapter 29: Antineoplastic Drugs
Unit 4: Quiz 4
Chapter 30: Immunizing Agents and Immunosuppressives
Chapter 31: Innovations: Gene Therapy
Chapter 32: Drug Therapy in Older Adults
Chapter 34: Substance Abuse
Chapter 35: Herbal Therapies and Drug-Herb Interactions
Unit 5: Quiz 5
Comprehensive
Final Examination
V. COURSE EVALUATION
Assignments: There will be
brief study questions for each unit.
These will be posted in the assignment dropbox
and responses should be posted there as well.
Assignments must be posted by
Quizzes: There will be five unit quizzes. Each quiz will cover material for the current unit only – they will not be comprehensive. These quizzes may consist of multiple-choice, short answer, and brief essay questions. Makeup tests will be permitted only with instructor approval. Tests are closed book. You will have an hour to complete each test. You will also have a comprehensive final examination which will cover material from the entire semester. This will be held during finals week. You will have two hours to complete the final.
Discussions: Each student will post three reports to the discussion area. Each report should summarize a current (2004-06) article on a drug. This may be a new trial, a new use for a current drug, development of a new drug, problems with a drug that has just been discovered, or any other recent article you read. Make sure to summarize the article in your own words (do not cut and paste from the article). Use proper grammar and punctuation. Include the citation for the article. These may come from the internet, but you need to be sure that are taken from a valid site. These may also include herbal or naturopathic remedies. These are worth 10 points each. Due dates for the three are on the posted schedule. Read other postings first and do not duplicate information that has already been posted. You will not be given credit for these if they are posted after the due date or if you duplicate information from another student.
GRADING SCALE:
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A |
92 – 100% |
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B |
82 – 91% |
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C |
72 – 81% |
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D |
62 – 71% |
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F |
61% and below |
VI. Special Accommodations: Students with documented disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations in their classes. If you would like to use accommodations for this class, please contact Jill Davis, Disability Services Coordinator, in Academic Resources to make arrangements.
VII. POLICIES & PROCEDURES
FOR ONLINE COURSES
E-mail: The instructor will check her e-mail regularly each morning. Please send questions to the instructor in the WebCT e-mail area. Be specific in your subject field.
Course confidentiality: When e-mailing the course, do NOT send phone numbers or addresses to public conferences, ONLY send them directly to the private mailbox of a specific individual/instructor. This will maintain each student's privacy. The College or the instructor cannot and will not be held responsible for the content of any personal messages sent from one student directly to another student using this e-mail delivery system.
Course courtesy: All students are expected to adhere to accepted codes of ethical, personal, and civil conduct when communicating online, using e-mail, or engaging in any real time online chat sessions. Failure to follow conduct codes and etiquette will result in a failing grade for the course.
Attachments: Due to the large number of different word processing programs, e-mail attachments can be a problem in online courses when they appear garbled and full of symbols. The College has Word 2000 as its current standard. Save all your attached files in a compatible format such as Word or Rich Text Format). Courses materials will be posted as web pages – you can print them off. Anything sent out as attachments should be saved in Word (doc) or Rich Text Format (rtf) and then attached.
Grammar & Spelling: Due to the need for clear communication in the online environment, grammar and spelling becomes even more important. I recommend that online course members compose all responses in their word processing program, check spelling, and revise. Then the file can be attached to an e-mail message or cut and pasted into an e-mail message. This process will also prevent frustration with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) when it becomes congested and your access time on the Internet slows down. By first using your word processing program you can work on the course without typing up phone lines. Then you can quickly send a message with an attached file at anytime that is convenient for you.
Technical course issues: Each course member is encouraged to make hard copies of assignments and to communicate with the instructor when computer crashes and disasters happen. It is the responsibility of the course member to access the course on another computer in the event of hardware/software problems.
Perceptions of Distance Learning coursework: Course members often have a perception that taking a course online will be easier since physically attending classes at a specific place and time is not required. However, not having a physical structure can make it easier to get behind in the course. The online environment provides flexibility and convenience, but does not make the course easier, since personal involvement and participation are more important. Make sure that you adhere to the posted schedule and contact the instructor immediately if you get behind.