Topics In Pharmacology Research Articles

Introduction to the Theme "Novel Therapeutics with the Potential to Advance Health Care".

The reviews in Volume 65 of the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology cover a wide variety of topics in pharmacology and toxicology focused upon the pathway from preclinical studies to clinical trials. Many of these reviews discuss the identification and validation of new therapeutic targets and/or novel therapeutic approaches. Examples include reviews that focus on the treatment of obesity, neuropsychiatric disorders, Parkinson's disease, substance use disorders, liver fibrosis, cardiac arrythmias, chronic intestinal inflammation, prostate cancer, immuno-oncology, sickle cell disease, and snakebite envenoming. Other topics include drug discovery of biologics, microphysiological systems, and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids and organ-on-chip technology integrated with artificial intelligence methodologies. Together, these and other reviews give new insights into the assessment of aspects of toxicology and provide readers a glimpse of advances in pharmacology and toxicology that we believe will advance health care and environmental safety.

The clinical pharmacology and therapeutics course for graduating medical students at Dartmouth: Preparation for internship and residency.

This manuscript is a description of the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) course that is required to be taken, and passed, by all medical students at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth during their final year of training, prior to entering their internship/residency. We present a detailed CPT course curriculum, which includes the novel use of simulated expected professional activities (EPAs) and an analysis of the level of confidence the students who took the course had at the beginning and at the end of the course in performing the three simulated EPAs. The course currently consists of 31 h of presentations on what are considered major clinical pharmacology topics and is led by two clinical pharmacologists at Dartmouth (D.W.N. and L.D.L.) supplementedby therapeutic area specialist faculty. In addition, the Dartmouth CPT course incorporates three required simulated entrustable professional activities (EPAs) focused on drug prescribing. These are written exercises, completed outside scheduled class hours, and submitted to and evaluated by the course directors with individual feedback to each medical student. We present preliminary data on the benefits of using these simulated EPAs in undertaking what we consider are three pivotal prescribing skills. The Dartmouth CPT course is unique and is only mirrored by a small number of US medical schools. The students showed a significant improvement in their level of confidence in performing the three simulated EPAs at the end of the course.

A Working Framework to Address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Undergraduate Medical Education.

Health disparities exist among groups that are based on race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and geography. Often, interventions directed at addressing these disparities are episodically incorporated into health professions education as opposed to a more uniform integration throughout a curriculum. Thus, a working framework for integrating and assessing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) specifically into foundational science teaching in health professions' education is needed. Current frameworks are theoretically based and often bereft of practical examples that basic science and clinical educators would find useful in educational settings. Here we analyzed examples in pharmacology, therapeutics, and clinical medicine to create a tool aimed at identifying and remediating biases and disparities across the undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum. We initially focused on pharmacology examples and performed a literature search followed by an in-depth analysis of the literature together with our experiences teaching topics with a DEI component. It became clear that, in addition to pure pharmacology topics, there are many pharmacology- and therapeutics-related topics that also involve race, gender, and sexual orientation. These include clinical guidelines and clinical screening criteria. Further analysis of all of the examples derived from our multi-faceted analysis revealed common themes that we, in turn, compiled into a framework. This framework can be used by foundational science and clinical educators to help both students and faculty understand how to navigate DEI-associated foundational science content.

Deorphanization of G Protein Coupled Receptors: A Historical Perspective.

Counting over 800 members, G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) form the largest family of membrane receptors encoded in the human genome. Since the discovery of G proteins and GPCRs in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a significant portion of the GPCR research has been focused on identifying ligand/receptor pairs in parallel to studies related to their signaling properties. Despite significant advancements, about a fourth of the ∼400 nonodorant GPCRs are still considered orphan because their natural or endogenous ligands have yet to be identified. We should consider that every GPCR was once an orphan and that endogenous ligands have often been associated with biologic effects without a complete understanding of the molecular identity of their target receptors. Within this framework, this review offers a historical perspective on deorphanization processes for representative GPCRs, including the ghrelin receptor, γ aminobutyric acid B receptor, apelin receptor, cannabinoid receptors, and GPR15. It explores three main scenarios encountered in deorphanization efforts and discusses key questions and methodologies employed in elucidating ligand-receptor interactions, providing insights for future research endeavors. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Understanding how scientists have historically approached the issue of GPCR deorphanization and pairing of biologically active ligands with their cognate receptors are relevant topics in pharmacology. In fact, the biology of each GPCR, including its pathophysiological involvement, has often been uncovered only after its deorphanization, illuminating druggable targets for various diseases. Furthermore, uncovered endogenous ligands have therapeutic value as many ligands-or derivates thereof-are developed into drugs.

Impact of blunder lecture on deep learning of pharmacology concepts by cognitive conflict strategy: A new standard in teaching

Background: Small group discussion (SGD) is an established teaching-learning tools in medical colleges to impart a better understanding of the topics. Blunder lecture (BL) is an innovative approach to teaching and learning, placing students at the center and encouraging collaborative, peer-assisted learning. Aims and Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess the combined effect of BL and SGDs on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) score in pharmacology by comparing the MCQs score after the traditional SGDs approach and after a combined session of BL and SGDs. Materials and Methods: One hundred and two Phase II MBBS students participated in an educational interventional study in the Department of Pharmacology. Two sessions were conducted: First, SGD only; second, integrated BL and SGD on previously covered pharmacology topics in didactic lectures. Twenty deliberate mistakes (blunders) were incorporated in BL that span the hierarchy of bloom’s taxonomy’s cognitive domain. Theory and MCQs tests were performed after each session to assess the impact on scores. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the means of MCQs test scores of SGD alone and combined SGD + BL session (P < 0.05) after data analysis using a paired t-test. The mean difference of theory test scores of SGD alone and combined SGD + BL session was not statistically significant except cardiovascular system BL session. Conclusion: Combined session of BL and SGD was found to be an effective supplementing method in enhancing MCQs score that can be utilised to support undergraduate students’ learning.

Impact of Virtual Reality on Pharmacology Education: A Pilot Study.

Introduction Virtual reality (VR) is a powerful tool in health professional education. It has been successfully implemented in various domains of education with positive learning outcomes. The three-dimensional (3D) visualization offered by VR can potentially be applied to learn complex pharmacology topics. This study aims to investigate whether VR technology can improve the learning of complex pharmacological concepts. Methods A VR learning module on cardiovascular drugs was developed using Kern's six-step framework. 32 medical students participated in the pilot study. Their pharmacology knowledge was assessed using pre- and post-intervention tests. Additionally, feedback from the participants were collected through a post-intervention survey that assessed learner satisfaction, ease of use, perceived usefulness, quality of visual elements, intention to use, and comfort level during the VR experience. Results Participants scored significantly higher in the post-intervention test than in the pre-intervention test (p <0.05). A majority of the participants (90%) were satisfied with the VR module, finding it easy to use, and time efficient. A minority of participants (15%) preferred a traditional learning format while some participants (20%) experienced discomfort in VR. Conclusion Our findings suggest that VR enhances pharmacology knowledge in medical students and is well-received as an innovative educational tool. By providing immersive 3D visualization of complex drug actions, VR has the potential to transform pharmacology education into an engaging and effective learning experience.

Clinical Pharmacology and Translational Considerations in the Development of CRISPR-Based Therapies.

Genome editing holds the potential for curative treatments of human disease, however clinical realization has proven to be a challenging journey with incremental progress made up until recently. Over the last decade, advances in clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) systems have provided the necessary breakthrough for genome editing in the clinic. The progress of investigational CRISPR therapies from bench to bedside reflects the culmination of multiple advances occurring in parallel, several of which intersect with clinical pharmacology and translation. Directing the CRISPR therapy to the intended site of action has necessitated novel delivery platforms, and this has resulted in special considerations for the complete characterization of distribution, metabolism and excretion, as well as immunogenicity. Once at the site of action, CRISPR therapies aim to make permanent alterations to the genome and achieve therapeutically relevant effects with a single dose. This fundamental aspect of the mechanism of action for CRISPR therapies results in new considerations for clinical translation and dose selection. Early advances in model-informed development of CRISPR therapies have incorporated key facets of the mechanism of action and have captured hallmark features of clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics from Phase 1 investigations. Given the recent emergence of CRISPR therapies in clinical development, the landscape continues to evolve rapidly with ample opportunity for continued innovation. Here we provide a snapshot of selected topics in clinical pharmacology and translation that has supported the advance of systemically administered in vivo and ex vivo CRISPR-based investigational therapies in the clinic. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PROFESSIONALIZATION OF THE TEACHING OF PHARMACOLOGY TO STUDENTS UNDER THE EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM "MEDICINE"

This article reveals the peculiarities of the profiling of pharmacology teaching for future doctors studying under the educational and professional program «Medicine». Professionalization of teaching involves taking into account educational needs and creating the necessary conditions and knowledge baggage that will be necessary for higher education students when studying specialized subjects and the future practice of a doctor. Profiling for medical students concerns the vast majority of pharmacology topics. During classes, they are explained in more detail the mechanisms of action of drugs and the use of drugs in the treatment of major diseases. For future dentists, attention is focused on the effect of drugs used in dental practice.

Evaluation of a Cardiovascular Therapeutics Case‐Based Learning Activity

Physician Assistant students at the University of Texas Medical Branch often struggle with learning how patient characteristics affect cardiovascular therapeutic treatment choice. We implemented a case‐based learning (CBL) activity in the cardiovascular therapeutics module to address this problem.The pre‐work for the CBL was the module lectures. Students completed an individual pre‐activity quiz then worked in small groups to discuss six cardiovascular cases. Each case included questions related to choosing the most appropriate treatments based on patient characteristics such as age or comorbidities, as well as the pharmacological characteristics of the drugs. Groups recorded their answers in a worksheet that was submitted for grading. The CBL concluded with an individual post‐activity quiz. Optional pre‐ and post‐session surveys evaluated their level of confidence in their knowledge as well as their satisfaction with the CBL.Prior to the CBL, 74% of survey respondents indicated they lacked confidence in their knowledge of cardiovascular therapeutics. Following the activity, only 26% of respondents indicated they still lacked confidence in their knowledge of these topics. Students enjoyed working and discussing in their groups, having realistic complex patient cases, figuring out how patient characteristics alter medication choice, and thought the cases helped guide their studying for the subsequent exam. Ideas for improvement of the CBL included utilizing smaller learning groups, reducing the number of cases, adding additional time to the activity, and adding a large group discussion to review the case answers.Overall, the response to the CBL was largely positive and the feedback will be useful for improving the session when it is next deployed. This type of activity can be used to reinforce material for other pharmacology topics students find difficult.

Curriculum restructuring at Texas Tech Health Science Center Medical School: Evaluation and lessons learned

Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Medical School (TTUHSC, SOM) recently changed from a 2 years pre‐clerkship curriculum to a 1.6 year organ system‐based curriculum. This change was implemented to develop an integrated curriculum specifically comprising of horizontal integration across disciplines. In order to provide students with a “cutting‐edge” curricula, TTUHSC medical educators involved in pre‐clerkship curriculum thoroughly reviewed the “traditional” curriculum content and strategically aligned the content to avoid redundancies and enhance student learning. As a result of the restructuring, a block entitled General Principles was created. This is a foundational block that covers basic principles of biochemistry, cell biology, medical genetics, pharmacology, and microbiology. Historically, pharmacology and medical genetics are two content areas that occurred later in our “traditional” pre‐clerkship curriculum. Previously, principles of pharmacology (pharmacokinetics/dynamics) were introduced in the Infectious Diseases block, prior to lectures over antibiotics, and medical genetics was part of the second year Multi‐System Disorders block. Now, both of these content areas are incorporated into the second unit of the General Principles block and follow biochemistry, cell biology, and cellular transport lectures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of this block, specifically the student performance on pharmacology and medical genetics topics. We hypothesized that incorporating pharmacology and medical genetics in a block that covers basic biochemistry and cell biology will enhance student performance. To achieve this goal and as part of our efforts to ascertain the potential effects of curricular restructuring on topic mastery, we compared the past and present performance of pharmacology (n=11) and medical genetics (n=7) based questions. For questions related to medical genetics, the overall performance was not significantly affected, 88% (“traditional” curriculum) versus 89% (p=0.54). In contrast, overall performance on pharmacology based questions saw a significant drop, 85% former curriculum and 80% new curriculum (p=0.02). Interestingly, performance on questions related to pKa values and drug excretion improved within the new curriculum, a potential benefit to presenting pharmacology topics following basic principles of biochemistry. In conclusion, the student performance on medical genetics questions, topic that was traditionally taught in year 2 of medical school, was not negatively impacted even though this topic is introduced earlier. At the moment, it is unclear if the overall drop in pharmacology performance is due to the content being placed earlier within the pre‐clerkship curriculum or simply content overload. As a new program is implemented, a period of decline in performance often occurs. Thus, we will continue monitoring student performance and lessons learned from this block will help us in making fine adjustments to this newly implemented curriculum.

Mnemonics Improve Pharmacy Students' Knowledge Retention, Clinical Application, and Exam Performance in a PharmD Pharmacology Course

BackgroundStudents in healthcare professions taking pharmacology courses often feel challenged with learning and remembering crucial facts about medications, i.e., knowledge acquisition and retention. In addition, applying pharmacological knowledge into clinical settings consumes significant amounts of the student’s working memory (i.e., cognitive load). Mnemonics (memory aids) are used to reduce cognitive load and facilitate learning and knowledge retention among students. Our study assessed the impact of the mnemonics' use in a Pharmacology course offered to second‐year pharmacy students on students' perceptions of knowledge acquisition, retention, and clinical application in correlation to their exam performance.MethodsEighteen mnemonics were developed and used in a course covering endocrine and autonomic pharmacology topics. Students' perceptions of the impact of mnemonics' use on their knowledge acquisition, retention, clinical application, critical thinking, and confidence while answering questions on exams were collected using an anonymous survey in the fall semester of 2020. Further, students' perceptions were matched to their exam performance.ResultsSurvey responses from 56 students (85% response rate) indicated that 80.4% agreed that mnemonics' use facilitated knowledge acquisition by reducing anxiety while learning, and 98.2% of students indicated that the use of mnemonics improved knowledge retention and application. Mnemonics' use was also reported to improve critical thinking while answering exam questions (89.3% agreed) and increased confidence during test‐taking (96.4% agreed). Interestingly, 64.7% of students using mnemonics answered the associated exam questions correctly compared to 35.3% of students (p&lt;0.05) who did not use the mnemonic aids.ConclusionsOur study suggests that mnemonics' use in pharmacology courses not only improved students' perception of knowledge acquisition, retention, application, and critical thinking but also improved their exam performance on specific questions that tested concepts taught with mnemonics. Future studies will assess students' knowledge retention and perceptions of mnemonics' use with exam performance in subsequent pharmacotherapy and pharmacy skills courses.

A mixed-methods needs assessment to identify pharmacology education objectives for emergency medicine residents.

ObjectivesMedication errors represent a significant threat to patient safety. Pharmacotherapy is one of the 23 Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education milestones for emergency medicine, yet there is minimal understanding of what content should be prioritized during training. The study aim was to develop objectives for a patient‐safety focused pharmacology curriculum for emergency medicine residents.MethodsWe incorporated data from a de‐identified safety event database and survey responses of 30 faculty and clinical pharmacists at a single‐site suburban university hospital with 24‐hour emergency medicine pharmacists and an annual volume of approximately 70,000. We reviewed the database to quantify types and severity of medication errors over a 5‐year period for a total of 370 errors. Anonymous surveys included categorical items that we analyzed with descriptive statistics and short answer questions that underwent thematic analysis by 2 coders. We summarized all data sources to identify curriculum gaps.ResultsCommon medication errors reported in our database were wrong dose (43%) and computer order entry errors (14%). Knowledge gaps were medication cost (63%), pregnancy risk information (60%), antibiotic stewardship (53%), interactions (47%), and side effects (47%). Qualitative analysis revealed the need to optimize computer order entry, understand the scope of critical medications, use references, and consult pharmacists. Integration of data suggested specific medications should be covered in curricular efforts, including antibiotics, analgesics, sedatives, and insulin.ConclusionWe developed objectives of pharmacology topics to prioritize during emergency medicine training to enhance prescribing safety. This study is limited due to its small sample and single institution source of data. Future studies should investigate the impact of pharmacology curriculum on minimizing clinical errors.

The effect of online quizzes in improving physical therapy students’ exam scores in a pharmacology course

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the performance of physical therapy students in the pharmacology course by using pre-and post-lecture online quizzes. Methods: A total of 119 graduate students from the physical therapy program in their second year participated in this study. Pre- and post-lecture online quizzes, created using Google forms, were delivered before and after each lecture, respectively. Each online quiz consisted of ten multiple-choice questions about the three different pharmacology topics covered in the classroom from midterm to final exam. Results: The average score of the post-lecture quiz was improved significantly compared with the pre-lecture quiz in all three pharmacology units: CNS (4.51/10 vs. 8.18/10) Endocrine (5.67/10 vs. 8.84/10), and Chemotherapeutics (3.27/10 vs. 6.77/100), p < 0.0001. By using the total percent of pre-and post-lecture quizzes, the results remained significantly higher in the post-lecture quiz (44.97% vs. 80.00%) (p < 0.0001). However, by comparing the effect of online quizzes on students’ performance between the midterm and the final exam, our data revealed that students’ grades on the final exam were insignificantly higher compared with midterm grades (85.37% vs. 86.58%, P-value <0.51). An experimental group that took the online quizzes had insignificantly higher grades on the final exam compared with the final exam scores of the control group that did not take the quizzes (86.58% vs. 84.21%, p-value 0.39). Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated significant improvement in students’ performance in their online post-lecture quizzes compared to their pre-lecture quizzes, but that improvement did not reflect significantly on their final exam grades.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension: An overview.

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Drag‐a‐Drug: an interactive learning aid to complement pharmacology mnemonics

Mnemonics is an established method to help learners consolidate the retention of new information by memory. The use of mnemonics has demonstrated effectiveness in students across different disciplines and levels. An indigenous mnemonics system, pharmABCology, was created and introduced to medical, pharmacy and biomedical sciences students at the university several years ago. While learning outputs of students are enhanced, this mnemonics system takes a rather passive approach of delivering the contents. Thus, a drag-&-drop learning aid, Drag-a-Drug, was developed to incorporate elements of active learning in pharmacology knowledge retention. This learning aid is intended for use after a lecture on a particular topic. The user would first take a part in a short exercise in that s/he is asked to drag & drop items containing drug names to match with corresponding description of the drugs. The layout is presented in a way that also previews the mnemonics that follows after completion of the drag-&-drop exercise. The intended purpose is for the user to first be able to recognise the drug names, mechanisms of actions, and subsequently remember the drug names with the help of mnemonics. This learning aid was offered to two cohorts of Pharmacy students in years 2019 & 2020 as a non-mandatory supplement to the accompanying lecture on anti-dyslipidaemic drugs. Usage data, including number of correct vs. incorrect attempts in the drag-&-drop exercise and view rates of the mnemonics, were recorded on a learning management system (Blackboard®). User feedback was also obtained from 15 students who opted to fill in an optional questionnaire. On a 5-point Likert scale, 13 out of 15 respondents “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that the drag-&-drop exercise helped them in reviewing basic information about anti-dyslipidaemic drugs. For the mnemonics, 12 out of 15 respondents “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that memorisation of drug names was facilitated. The overall positive user experience with the Drag-a-Drug learning aid may support its broader coverage and use in other pharmacology topics.

The First Dive into the Ocean of Non-Face-to-Face Learning

Introduction Students’ self-learning time that takes place outside of the classroom is an unmeasured learning time. In medical education, students’ learning in the presence and the absence of a teacher are ‘Face-to-Face’ (F2F) and ‘Non-Face-to-Face’ (NF2F) learning, respectively. Traditionally, the content of a topic delivered by a teacher in a one-hour lecture is recognized as F2F learning time. However, its mirror NF2F learning time that is students’ self-learning remains unknown. The objective of this study was to reckon the NF2F learning time for pharmacology topics taught by F2F one-hour lecture method. Methods In a cross-over study, following convenience sampling, two cohorts of undergraduate medical students (N=200) were randomly divided into two equal subgroups; group I and group II. For data purposes, novice and expert faculty categorized based on their teaching experience taught two pharmacology topics (Aminoglycosides drugs and Estrogen drugs) by lecture method. Respondents gave their perceived NF2F (self-learning) time on a Five-point Likert scale. The association of teaching experience and NF2F learning time of students was observed by applying the chi-square test. Results For contents delivered in a one-hour lecture, the NF2F learning time by most students was ≥ 3 hours. There was a significant statistical association between students NF2F learning time and teachers’ experience for ‘Aminoglycosides drugs’ [X2, 95% CI: 4.985, 2.062 (1.087, 3.193), p 0.026]. It was noted that the NF2F learning time had no association with gender (P&gt; 0.05). Conclusion Mostly, the required NF2F learning time is more than double the time of F2F time. The implication of this study suggests that the estimation of students’ NF2F learning time may likely be estimated for other topics of pharmacology in a controlled manner.

Minocycline in Treating Glioblastoma Multiforme: Far beyond a Conventional Antibiotic.

One of the most lethal forms of CNS pathologies is glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) that represents high invasiveness, uncontrolled proliferation, and angiogenic features. Its invasiveness is responsible for the high recurrence even after maximal surgical interventions. Minocycline is a semisynthetic analog of tetracyclines with potential anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects, distinct from its antimicrobial activity. In this review, we highlight the importance and the cytotoxic mechanisms of minocycline on GBM pathophysiology. Considering the role of certain enzymes in autophagy, apoptosis, tumor cell invasion, and metastatic ability, the possible use of tetracyclines for cancer therapy should be investigated, especially GBM. The present study is, therefore, going to cover the main topics in minocycline pharmacology to date, encouraging its consideration as a new treatment approach for cancer and GBM.

Student Performance on Pharmacology Topics After Integrating Pre‐recorded Video Lectures as an Additional Resource

During the 2018–2019 academic year, OMS‐II students at Rocky Vista University were introduced to pre‐recorded video lectures (PRVL) as a modality of learning and preparing for pharmacology clinical integration sessions. Traditionally, our university uses designated student assignments (DSA), traditional lectures, and clinical integration sessions (CIS) as methods of delivering pharmacology material. The purpose of adding PRVL was to introduce or “prime” students for future lectures and clinical integration sessions. In contrast to a flipped classroom, the PRVL simply highlight important concepts for lecture or introduce difficult subjects. They are meant to augment the other learning modalities, not to replace traditional lecture, which is typically seen in a true flipped classroom. We focused our research on assessing the efficacy of PRVL as measured by performance on exam questions. We hypothesized that access to PRVL would improve performance on pharmacology topics compared to previous classes at Rocky Vista University who did not have this additional resource. To determine whether students utilized the pre‐recorded video lectures, we administered a survey to all OMS II students, focusing on identifying which resources students used most often to learn pharmacology. Survey responses and student performance data were linked using participant numbers that were deidentified. Out of 271 total students, 97 students (a 35.8% response rate) responded to this voluntary survey. We found that 85% of survey respondents utilized the pre‐recorded video lectures &gt;60% of the time. Comparing student performance on 30 pharmacology test items that assessed topics presented in PRVL, students who reported using PRVL &lt;60% of the time scored slightly higher than students who used PRVL the majority of the time. In addition, 97% of students found PRVL to be a useful resource, but when asked whether it was the most useful resource of all modalities available, it was the least favored by students with only 8.2% of respondents preferring PRVL. These results are limited by small sample size, particularly in the group of students who used PRVL &lt; 60% of the time (N=14). We hope to expand these findings by comparing cumulative performance on pharmacology test items before and after PRVL implementation.

Using a “favorite figure” to help students learn challenging pharmacology topics

ObjectiveIn the last two decades medical and pharmacy schools have shifted away from traditional, teacher‐centered curricula using didactic lectures as primary teaching modalities. New curricula offer a variety of teaching modalities including more active learning opportunities, small group teaching and self‐directed learning.Integrating pharmacology instruction into curricula with more active learning opportunities and self‐directed learning can be challenging. Pharmacology is both, a basic science and a clinical science and students are sometimes uncertain what exact drug information (individual compounds versus drug classes) to learn.To help students learn pharmacology in a more self‐directed environment, laminated flashcards containing the most important information about drug classes and individual compounds used to treat a specific disease state were developed. Each card contains also a “favorite figure” in which the mechanism of action of all different drug classes for a specific disease state are shown. This provides a more easily memorized framework that allows students to fit each detailed puzzle piece into a bigger concept.MethodsTen Drug Cards were developed to date and include following drug classes: Antiarrhythmics, Diabetes medications, Antiplatelet and Anticoagulants, Asthma medications, Analgesics, Immunosuppressants, Diuretics, Dyslipidemia Drugs, Drugs used for several Cardiovascular Diseases and Drugs targeting the Autonomic Nervous System. Second Year Pharmacy Students (n=64) of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego were provided with these cards. Students were surveyed whether the Drug Cards helped them learn Pharmacology. Students were also questioned how they used the card to learn Pharmacology.ResultsThe survey response rate was 89% (n=57). Ninety‐one percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the cards helped them learn pharmacology. Students commented that they used the card as a “great review tool” and a “quick reference guide”. They valued the card as “being handy”, and a “great study aid on the go”. Students also noted that the card helped them to decide what drug information is most essential.ConclusionProviding the students with a framework to study challenging pharmacology topics might help students to grasp the material without loosing the forest for the leaves.Antiarrhythmics Drug Card Front PageFigure 1Antiarrhythmics Drug Card Back PageFigure 2

Flipping the Class Promotes Second Medical Student Pharmacology Learning in an Integrated Curriculum

BackgroundReforms in medical and healthcare education have dictated that faculty use more active learning and flipped classroom pedagogies to enhance critical thinking and student‐centered learning of the preclinical foundational sciences. During this transition from didactic approaches, students and faculty have expressed concerns about efficacy and ideal implementation processes for active learning of complex subjects like pharmacology. Indeed, some literature supports that flipped techniques can be highly effective for learning, but some institutions have reported that flipped processes are poorly perceived by healthcare students, with pitfalls contributing to “flopping” of the experience that include design flaws, inappropriate learner preparation, excessive learner workload demands, and poor learner engagement. At the UCF College of Medicine, flipped classrooms are used to teach a proportion of pharmacology topics.PurposeThe goal of this poster is to describe successful implementation processes for pharmacology flipped classrooms as well as to share preliminary evidence of effective learning outcomes and positive student perceptions of the educational value.MethodsTo determine learning, performance was compared, retrospectively, on similar or identical pharmacology formative questions on topics taught by didactic or narrated PowerPoint (DNPP) in a previous year vs flipped classroom (FC). Student perceptions of effectiveness of teaching methods were compared from prior course evaluations using either DNPP or FC methods.ResultsA small increase in performance was detected for FC, but was not significant (Student’s t‐test, p=0.54) when comparing scores (reported as mean ± SD) for items taught by DNPP (84.6±11) vs FC (86.6±7.7). The most common pharmacology FC methods employed team‐based audience response sessions or case‐based learning. Greater than 90% of students agreed teaching methods were effective for both the DNPP and the FC sessions. A small minority made negative comments about flipped classes in anonymous course evaluations, but these were contradicted by other positive comments asking for more of these active learning sessions.ConclusionsThese findings support that the flipped class method can be implemented in a manner conducive to effective pharmacology learning. While individual opinions varied, the majority of students were receptive to flipped classes and most who participated in sessions appeared engaged and prepared. The results support that the flipped method was effective but don’t demonstrate that the flipped classrooms were superior to didactic or narrated power points for short‐term pharmacology learning as measured by weekly formative quizzes. While other studies have shown active learning methods are associated with better retention and problem‐solving skills, this preliminary analysis didn’t explore long‐term learning or transfer of critical thinking skills so no conclusions can be made about these important benefits without additional study.Support or Funding InformationUnfunded retrospective analysis of performance data