Clinical Pharmacology (MED 5710)
MS-4

4 weeks

Course Director
Stevan P. Tofovic, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
tofovic@dom.pitt.edu

 

Course Description

This integrated course program consists of five overlapping components: General Clinical Pharmacology, Rational Drug Prescribing, Evidence-Based Pharmacotherapy, Disease-Specific Clinical Topics, and Workshops for Special Attention Topics.

General Clinical Pharmacology emphasizes the principles of individualization of drug therapy and covers the following relevant topics: pharmacogenetics, drug use in liver and renal disease, drugs in special populations (the neonate and infant, the pregnant and elderly), drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, and therapeutic drug monitoring.

The Rational Drug Prescribing component prepares students to develop a personal formulary through a series of lectures and workshops. This component consists of lectures under the theme "How to Prepare You Own Personal Formulary." In addition, during the workshop on practical aspects of prescribing, the legal and practical aspects of prescribing and the factors that may affect rational prescribing are discussed.

The Evidence-Based Pharmacotherapy component consists of a lecture on critical appraisal of literature in pharmacotherapy, a working lunch workshop on drug promotion, and a workshop on medical controversies. The Disease-Specific Clinical Topics component addresses the clinical pharmacology of common disorders. Selected topics reflect medical considerations and situations seen most commonly in routine medical practice (the rational pharmacotherapy of hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, asthma, epilepsy, renal disorders, psychiatric disorders, peptic ulcer disease and infectious diseases).

Workshops for the Special-Attention Topics component consist of lectures in the morning and 2-hour case discussion sessions in the afternoon. Special attention topics include pharmcokinetics, toxicology, and pain treatment.

This course satisfies the Integrated Life Science course requirement.

The goals of the course are for students to:

1. learn to apply the principles of clinical pharmacology and rational pharmacotherapy in clinical practice.
2. develop skills and attitudes needed to recognize and avoid irrational prescribing.

Additional goals are for students to develop:

1. an understanding of the principles of individualization of drug therapy.
2. a knowledge of the rational pharmacotherapy of diseases and medical conditions most commonly seen in routine medical practice.
3. the skills and attitudes needed to evaluate drug therapy regimens and to participate in therapy decision-making.

Educational Methods

	Small group sessions		Discussions of cases and current articles		Problem-based learning		Computer- assisted learning
	Lectures		Quizzes		Workshops

There is no patient contact or on-call responsibility. The course schedule typically includes 4 classroom days each week with time allocated for self-directed learning. Weekly quizzes provide students with an opportunity to assess their learning throughout the course.

Evaluation

Evaluation for this course is based on four weekly quizzes and a final multiple-choice examination. Students who receive satisfactory grades on the quizzes will not have to take the final examination.

Grading is satisfactory / unsatisfactory.

Faculty Note

Dr. Tofovic is a recipient of the Kenneth E. Schuit Award. Franklyn Cladis, MD, and Joe Suyama, MD, are recipients of the Clinical Preceptor of the Year Award. James Johnston, MD, is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Kenneth E. Schuit Award, multiple Excellence in Education and Pre-clinical Golden Apple awards, and the Sheldon Adler Award for Innovation in Medical Education. Peter Veldekamp, MD, is a recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. In addition, Dr. Tofovic and Dr. Johnston are members of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Academy of Master Educators.