St. Petersburg College Approved Course Outline

St. Petersburg College Approved Course Outline

HSC 1149C

General Pharmacology for Health Professionals

Instructor: Sue Shuman, RN, MS, MSN
Office Phone: 727-725-6040 Pager: 727-402-5104
Office Hours: Online
Office Email: Please use ANGEL for all email correspondence.

Course Description:

Prerequisites: Either BSC 1083 or (BSC 2085/2085L and BSC 2086/2086L) or program director approval. Pre- or corequisite for Health Information Management, and Medical Coder students: CGS 1070. This course will provide the student with general pharmacology concepts and principles in the management of client care. The knowledge and skills required for safe, effective administration of therapeutic drugs and indications and contraindications associated with drug therapy are an integral part of this course. 32 contact hours. 1 credit

Major Learning Outcomes:

1. The student will exhibit knowledge of basic principles of pharmacology.
2. The student will apply knowledge of the general characteristics exhibited by drugs within each of the classifications.
3. The student will apply basic computational skills effectively and accurately to determine the desired dosages of specific pharmaceutical agents.
4. The student will demonstrate adherence to ethical and legal standards of health care professionals in relation to drug therapies.

Course Objectives Stated in Performance Terms:

1. The student will exhibit knowledge of the basic principles of pharmacology by:
2. describing drug nomenclature: chemical, generic, and trade names.
3. describing drug classification:
4. approval
5. regulation (role of FDA)
6. chemical group
7. mechanism/site of action
8. primary effect
9. discussing pharmacokinetics as it relates to:
10. routes of administration:
11. systemic:
12. oral
13. rectal
14. tube/catheter
15. inhalation
16. parenteral:
17. intravenous
18. intra-arterial
19. intrathecal
20. absorption
21. distribution
22. storage
23. elimination
24. metabolism
25. excretion
26. renal functional impairment
27. variability in drug response, i.e. age, weight, diet
28. discussing pharmacodynamics as it relates to:
29. indications, actions, and effects
30. dosage and dose response
31. interactions
32. discussing the various origins and forms of drugs.
33. The student will apply knowledge of the general characteristics exhibited by drugs within each of the classifications by:
34. describing general pharmacokinetics of drugs by classification.
35. describing the pharmacologic effects of drug classification prototype on target organs and/or tissues.
36. identifying clinical indications, dosage range, and route of administration of drug classification prototype.
37. describing side effects, potential adverse reactions, and contraindications of drugs and appropriate actions to resolve these complications.
38. The student will apply basic computational skills effectively and accurately to determine the desired dosages of specific pharmaceutical agents by:
39. describing and discussing the apothecary, household and metric system and converting between and within the systems.
40. calculating fractional drug dosages.
41. calculating doses for adult and pediatric patients.
42. The student will demonstrate adherence to ethical and legal standards of health care professionals in relation to drug therapies by:
43. displaying behaviors in keeping with accepted professional and ethical standards.
44. discussing the concepts of professional negligence and its application to the administration of pharmaceutical agents.
45. explaining the legal and ethical implication of substance abuse by health care providers.
46. discussing professional liability concerning drug administration.

Textbook:

Student Resources Folder:

Under the "Lessons" tab in the "Student Resources" folder, you will find a folder titled "SPC Web Resources." Please click on this folder the first week of class and ensure you navigate through the associated links. Within this folder you will find important information regarding withdraw, drop, and add dates on the Academic Calendar. You also have access to the ANGEL Help Desk and can "check your system" to ensure your computer meets all the requirements to participate in this course. Other links are embedded to provide you access to the SPC Health Education Center website as well asthe instructor course page.

Course Assignments:

If assignments are not received by the due date, the student will receive a zero (0) for that assignment. Each week startsSunday morning and ends at 11:45 PM the following Sunday. This is over 7 days per "week" but I advise you not to wait until the end of the week. Some assignments may have earlier deadlines. The last week of the course may have an early deadline. You are responsible for knowing deadlines as they are posted in the "Weekly Assignment Snapshot."

Quizzes and Test Instructions:

All quizzes and tests will only be available on specific dates and will be timed. See the "Weekly Assignment Snapshot" or couse announcements and emails.Make arrangements to take the quizzes and tests at the available times as there will not be any "make-up" days. See the Weekly Assignment Snapshot for these dates and times.There is a test on the last week, but it is not cumulative.There are 10 questions on quizzes and you will be given 25 minutes to complete each quiz. Tests have 50 multiple choice questions and you will be given two hours and thirty minutes to complete each test.

Methods of Evaluation:

Grading will be based on a620 point system. Points will be earned in these categories:

Grading Scale:

HIM Departmental Policies

Attendance Policy:

The student is required to complete all assignments and postings as outlined in the course syllabi and weekly assignment pages. The Discussion Forum will be used to determine student attendance. If a student plans on missing an assignment or is unexpectedly absent, he/she must communicate with their instructor as soon as possible. Students who do not post in the first and second week of the class will be dropped from the course by the college for non-participation. In addition, two consecutive weeks of non-participation in the Discussion Forum after the first and second week may result in being dropped from the course.

Drop/Add and Withdraw Dates:

Please refer to the Academic Calendarregarding drop/add and withdraw dates. It is the student's responsibility to be familiar with all applicable dates.

Academic Dishonesty:

All academic work submitted to satisfy course requirements is expected to be the student's OWN work. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please remember that plagiarism is not restricted to copying someone else's work, but also includes paraphrasing another's work without proper attribution. This includes "cutting and pasting" from Internet sources or reusing papers from a previous class for a new submission. Academic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, using unauthorized materials without permission to do so to complete quizzes and exams, collaborating with another student during an exam, or submitting assigned material that has been completed by someone other than the enrolled student. Academic dishonesty may result in a grade of zero, failing the course, dismissal from the program and/or expulsion from St. Petersburg College.

All academic work submitted to satisfy course assignments and requirements is expected to be the result of each student's own thought, research, and self-expression. A student will have committed plagiarism if someone else's work is reproduced and or copied without acknowledging its source. A grade of zero (0) will be assigned to any assignment, paper, report, or project for violations of SPC's academic honesty policy. Penalties may include dismissal from your academic program and expulsion from St. Petersburg College.

It is your responsibility to be familiar with the policies, rules, and the consequences of violations. Read about the policy at:

Cheating, plagiarism, bribery, misrepresentation, conspiracy and fabrication are defined in Rule 6Hx23-4.461 Student Affairs: Academic Honesty Guidelines, Classroom Behavior.

Late Assignments Policy:

• Please consult the instructor regarding the procedure for any late assignments specific to this course.
• Assignments (i.e., papers and projects) will be accepted for up to one week following the posted due date. Any assignment submitted more than one week beyond the due date will result in a zero for that assignment. It is your responsibility to notify your instructor that you have submitted a late assignment via email through the course - do not assume that the instructor will know that you have made a submission past the due date.
• A late assignment will be worth 80% of its graded value if it is submitted within 24 hours of the posted due date (grade achieved, minus 20%). A late assignment will be worth 50% of its graded value if it is submitted within the one week of the posted due date. Assignments submitted after one week will receive a grade of zero. Some HIM courses (8 week mod-mester, 12 weekexpress, or10 week summer courses) do not necessarily follow the SPC Academic Calendar; ensure that you are aware of all due dates for assignments in your course. Please refer to Weekly Assignment Snapshot for due dates.
• Quizzes may not be made up, except under documented extenuating circumstances.
• Discussion postings made after the deadline for any module will not receive any credit and cannot be made up. Since the new module is now open, there will be no one to read or respond to late postings for the previous module.
• All final papers/assignments are due by the posted date set forth by the instructor and will not be accepted after that date.

Procedure for Challenging a Grade:

Once a student receives notification of a grade on an assignment, quiz, or test, he/she will have a maximum of one week (seven calendar days) to question or challenge the grade/outcome. After that one week period, the grade assigned will stand and no further challenge will be considered by the instructor.

When questioning or challenging a grade/answer on an assignment, quiz, or test, the student will have ONE opportunity to provide reasons and rationale for his/her view about why the grade/answer is incorrect or should be changed. This information should be emailed directly to the instructor within the seven day time frame for consideration. The instructor will research the matter further and inform the student of the decision and impact, if any, to the student's score/grade. Once the instructor's final decision has been communicated, the matter is then closed and further student challenge to that specific issue/item will not be entertained unless the instructor deems that it is appropriate to do so.

The only exception to this policy is in the case of formal student grievances and academic appeals. Procedures for this type of action are documented in the college catalog or applicable student handbook.

Reporting Problems/Concerns Related to this Course:

Students must FIRST attempt to resolve issues and concerns with the instructor and or HIM Program Director prior to proceeding to report a matter to administration. To report a problem or concern dealing with this course, students should follow the official chain of command:

1. Discuss course-related issues directly with the instructor.
2. If the matter cannot be resolved at the instructor level, contact the HIM Program Director.
3. If the student wishes to challenge the decision of the Program Director, he/she would then contact the Associate Provost of the Health Education Center by calling (727) 341-3665.

Incompletes:

An Incomplete ("I") may be extended to a student who for valid reason is unable to complete the course, provided that he/she is in good standing in the course and has completed at least 80% of the coursework. The student must sign a form acknowledging the work to be completed and the date by which the work must be completed. If the work is not completed by that date, the "I" will convert to an "F".

SPC Policies and Resources

Important College Policy:

The Syllabus Addendum must be read every semester; you are responsible for its content.

Important Dates:

See Academic Calendar