Pharmacotherapy (3 cr)

Evaluation scale

0-5

Objective

Purpose of the course
After completing this course, you will know the basics of safe pharmacotherapy and digital solutions in the implementation of pharmacotherapy.

Competences of the course
Clinical competence
Evidence-based action and decision-making competence
Guidance and interaction skills

Competence goal of the course
You know how to accurately determine the doses of safe medical treatment.
You understand the basics of safe pharmacotherapy
You will familiarize yourself with evidence-based information in the planning, implementation and evaluation of medical treatment
You recognize your own responsibility in guiding pharmacotherapy and supporting self-care

Content

Central legislation, guidance and supervision of medication in Finland
Basic concepts of pharmacotherapy
Forms and routes of administration of medication
Phases of the drug in the body
Implementation of safe medication including digital solutions
Monitoring of medication
Use of medication databases
Quantities, prefixes, units, and conversions used in medication
Logical and mathematical determination of doses
Dosage of liquid and solid medication

Materials

Peate, I., & Hill, B. (2021). Fundamentals of pharmacology for nursing and healthcare students. Wiley-Blackwell.
Willihnganz, M. J., Gurewitz, S. L., & Clayton, B. D. (2022). Basic pharmacology for nurses (Edition 19.). Elsevier. Lapham, R. (2021).

Drug Calculation books::
Lapham, R. (2021). Drug calculations for nurses: A step-by-step approach. Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Martyn, J., Gatford, J. D., Carey, M. C., & Phillips, N. M. (2023). Gatford and Phillips' drug calculations (Tenth edition.). Elsevier.

Drug Calculation other useful Material:
https://testandcalc.com/quiz/index.asp
https://nurseslabs.com/drug-dosage-calculations-practice-quiz/
https://www.how2become.com/nursing-drug-dosage-calculation-online-test/

Mobile phone applications:
You can install several free applications on your mobile from the Play Store. E.g. Drug Calculations for Nurses, Drug Dosage Calculator, Medical calculators, etc.
AI apss e.g. chatgpt, copilot, gemini

Teaching methods

Contact teaching
Independent virtual learning
There can be contact lessons, online learning and webinar lectures in this course (only for students who haven't arrived in Finland)

Exam schedules

There is an exam about pharmacotherapy theory and drug calculations. The date and format of the exam will be told/agreed in the beginning of the Course. You have three exam attempts.

Student workload

Basics of Pharmacotherapy 27h:
- contact teaching and examination 14h
- independent learning 13h

Drug Calculations 27 h
- contact teaching + Exam 7 h
- independent learning 20 h

Drug Calculations 27 h (during Medical Nursing course)

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Sufficient 1
You know the basics of the regulations governing medical treatment. You know the importance of a patient's safe drug treatment as part of the patient's overall treatment. You understand the nurse's responsibility in medical treatment. You must know the basics of the steps of the medical treatment process. You know the basics of different forms of medicine and ways of administering medicine. You know reliable drug treatment databases. You know the basics about the stages of medicinal substances in the body. You calculate medical bills flawlessly. You recognize your own responsibility in guiding medical treatment and supporting self-care

Satisfactory 2
You know the basics of the regulations governing medical treatment. You know the importance of a patient's safe drug treatment as part of the patient's overall treatment. You understand the nurse's responsibility in medical treatment. You satisfactorily know the basics of the steps of the medical treatment process. You know the basics of different forms of medicine and ways of administering medicine. You know reliable drug treatment databases. You know the basics about the stages of medicinal substances in the body. You calculate medical bills flawlessly. You recognize your own responsibility in guiding medical treatment and supporting self-care

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good 3
You know the basics of the regulations governing medical treatment. You understand the importance of the patient's safe drug treatment as part of the patient's overall treatment. You know how to act responsibly in the patient's medical treatment. You know the basics of the stages of the drug treatment process. You know the different forms of medicine and how to administer them. You know how to search and use information from reliable drug treatment databases. You know the basics of the stages of medicinal substances in the body. You know the serious consequences of drug treatment and you react to them as the situation requires. You can justify your actions in the different stages of the medical treatment process. You calculate medical bills flawlessly. You recognize your own responsibility in guiding drug therapy and supporting self-care

Commendable 4
You know the regulations governing medical treatment. You understand the importance of the patient's safe drug treatment as part of the patient's overall treatment. You know how to act responsibly in the patient's medical treatment. You know the different stages of the drug treatment process. You know the different forms of medicine and how to administer them. You can search versatile information from reliable drug treatment databases. You know the basics of the phases of medicinal substances in the body. You know the serious consequences of drug treatment and you react to them as the situation requires. You can justify your actions in the different stages of the medical treatment process. You calculate medical bills flawlessly. You recognize your own responsibility in guiding drug treatment and supporting self-care

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

You know the regulations governing medical treatment. You understand the importance of the patient's safe drug treatment as part of the patient's overall treatment. You know how to act responsibly in the patient's medical treatment. You apply your skills in different stages of the medical treatment process. You know the different forms of medicine and how to administer them. You know the serious consequences of drug treatment and you react to them as the situation requires. You know how to search for, use and apply information from reliable medical treatment databases. You justify your actions in the different stages of the drug treatment process. You calculate medical bills flawlessly. You know how to act responsibly in guiding medication and supporting self-care.

Further information

The teacher of this course provides additional information about the course.
Pharmacotherapy theory 0-5
Drug Calculations grade is Pass/Fail. The Drug Calculations Exam must be calculated correctly, and the way of thinking must be written down clearly.