THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
FACULTY OF MEDICINE, DENTISTRY AND HEALTH SCIENCES

INTRODUCTION
This unit covers mechanisms of drug action in the body (pharmacodynamics), the way in which drugs are handled in the body (pharmacokinetics), genetic influences on drug disposition and action, drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, clinical trials. It also introduces the actions of drugs that interact with adrenergic, cholinergic, serotonergic, nitrergic and other receptor systems.

UNIT DESCRIPTION:
Total contact hours = 22 lectures (1 hour) + 10 tutorials (each 1.5 hours) = total 37 hours.

Lectures 1-12 cover the area known as general pharmacology and they are followed by a series of 4 tutorials that are distributed over about 4 weeks. For tutorials students will be allocated to one of 6 groups. One of these tutorials (Pharmacokinetics) is taught face to face, while the other 3 are self-directed packages provided via Faculty Intranet or the Web. All tutorials will have an assessment test on the WebCT and these must be completed by the 2nd Friday following the tutorial day. The assessment module on the WebCT will open at mid-night on the day of the tutorial and close at mid-night on the due date.

Lectures 13-22 cover drugs that interact with adrenergic, cholinergic, serotonergic, nitrergic and other receptor systems, and again they are followed by a series of 6 tutorials that are distributed over about 3 weeks. For tutorials students will be allocated to one of 6 groups. One of these tutorials (Autonomic Nervous System) is taught face to face, while the other 3 are self-directed packages provided via the Faculty Intranet or the Web. Four of the tutorials will have an assessment test on the WebCT and these must be completed by the 2nd Friday following the tutorial day. The assessment module on the WebCT will open at mid-night on the day of the tutorial and close at mid-night on the due date.

Unit material
Lecture notes and supporting material will be available on the WebCT site (www.meddent.uwa.edu.au). Lecture handouts will also be available for sale from Mrs Kerry somers Rm G.35 between 8.30am and 12.00pm and 1pm and 4pm. (sold at cost price)

Recommended textbook
Pharmacology (5th ed). Rang, HP, Dale, MM, Ritter, JM and Moore, PK, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 2003.

Recommended reading
The Medical Library has a good collection of pharmacology undergraduate text books under the Dewey address of 610.5

Course goals
At the end of this course the student will be able to describe the general processes of drug administration, disposition and effects in the body. The student will also be able to describe and interpret to others key pharmacological aspects of a range of specific drugs that act through various receptor systems in the body. It is assumed that the basic knowledge gained from this course will give students a foundation for Medical Pharmacology IMED3345 (Systems Pharmacology) and in the longer term contribute to the medical graduate’s ability to understand and interpret the actions and uses of new drug molecules as they are introduced into therapeutics throughout their working life.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
All forms of cheating, plagiarism and copying are condemned by the University as unacceptable behaviour. The Faculty's policy is to ensure that no student profits from such behaviour. Generally a failure will be recorded for the subject in which the cheating has occurred. Serious cases shall be referred to the University's Board of Discipline. All students should note that cases of copying are automatically reported to the Sub-Dean and documentary evidence along with associated correspondence is placed on the student's permanent record.

Assessment
All material presented via lectures, tutorials and additional materials on the WebCt is assessable, both in the form of web-based tutorial reports, continuous MCQ summatives and in the end of semester SAQ written examination. Students are expected to supplement the lecture material by reading the appropriate chapter in the textbook or other specific recommended materials.

(1) number of questions in each exam and time may vary slightly depending on the amount of material presented and timing of the exam.

Dates for formative examinations, continuous summatives and final examinations

Continuous Summative 11th May All material presented up to the end of the
week before the examination.
Final Exam to be announced Material covered : whole IMED3344 course

Board of Examiners Pass/Fail Guidelines for IMED3344
The two pharmacology units, IMED3344 in first semester and IMED3345 in second semester, are treated as a single continuing course by the Board of Examiners. Each contributes 50% of the total mark that is put before the Board after the final second semester examination. The Board’s decisions on pass, fail or supplementary examination are made on that mark, applying the principles that apply generally in the medicine course. If a supplementary examination is granted, it will cover both semesters’ syllabus in a three-hour paper that will be offered in the January examination period.

Tutorial topics
Weeks 12-14
Supervised: Pharmacokinetics (summative examination test on the web – to be completed by mid-night on the 2nd Friday following the date of the Tutorial)
Web- or Faculty Intranet-based SDL: Drug receptors , Drug metabolism , Alternative therapies (summative examination test on the web – to be completed by mid-night on the 2nd Friday following the date of the Tutorial)

Weeks 20-22
Supervised: Autonomic nervous system (summative examination test on the web – to be completed by mid-night 14 days following the date of the Tutorial)
Web- or Faculty intranet-based SDL: Drug development and clinical trials; Haemostasis; Drug dependence (summative examination test on the web – to be completed by mid-night on the 2nd Friday following the date of the Tutorial).