New to teaching pharmacology

I'm glad you mentioned this. I see nursing students doing clinicals in my hospital and I am very surprise at the levels pharmacology is taught in school. I agree that most are below average in terms of pharmacokinetics. I have listened to some of the lectures and noticed that it is mostly "basic" and dosages and generic names etc. Would it be great if one talks about cellular effects, mechanism on how Digixon cause its positive inotropic effects not " oh dont give it if heart rate is 60 ". I think students will be able to think critically if pharm is taught in that level.
I asked an RN last night on why we use Cytotec and the answer was 'we want to induce labor'... well yeah but why, how? Anyway just venting....

Marachne, I love the exercise you described! I, too, struggle to make Pharmacology interesting. One strategy: each class, I have students complete an exercise in application. For example, in one exercise, students had to read a case scenario, select the appropriate set of standing orders for heparin based upon the presenting problem, and complete a set of titration calculations based upon serial aPTT values. In another, they had to fill out a crossword puzzle, etc. etc.

I can relate to the lack of pharm knowledge among nurses: I have never had a stand-alone Pharmacology course! My basic prep was an AD nursing program; I think this is why. My (bachelor's program) students are getting 2 quarters of Pharm and 2 of Patho; WAY more than I ever had.

"I have listened to some of the lectures and noticed that it is mostly "basic" and dosages and generic names etc. Would it be great if one talks about cellular effects, mechanism on how Digixon cause its positive inotropic effects not " oh dont give it if heart rate is 60 ". I think students will be able to think critically if pharm is taught in that level."

I have also taught Pharm- didactic and in lab. After giving a guest lecture at a university in another state, I can well understand why students are not being taught pharm in the method that you, and I, as advanced degreed practitioners, would like it to be taught in. After giving my lecture, appropriate for BSN students, a PhD faculty member who happened to be listening to my presentation stated on the evaluation form, that I provided, that BSN students are NOT ALLOWED to diagnose and so I should not be asking them for information in which they would be presumed to be diagnosing! Unfortunately, she left before I was finished. (THough she did not put her name on the evaluation, I was able to compare her signature and other info on the sign in sheet with her handwritting on the eval. so knew who it was. ) Anyway, this is the mentality of some of the faculty members that are out there.

I say, if a nurse notices something about her patient, does that mean she should not tell the doc about it as he is the one who should be diagnosing/noticing what is going on with the patient? What about the new baby docs who have to be "helped" by experienced nurses? After all, nurses spend more time with their patient and need to know what is going on with them- not just "the basics". Anyway, just my two cents worth.

"My (bachelor's program) students are getting 2 quarters of Pharm and 2 of Patho; WAY more than I ever had."
I taught pharm in a BSN program and they only got 8 weeks- not nearly long enough! I hear now that it has been lengthened to 16 weeks.

I have an extensive background in pharmacokinetics and am now a nurse. Here is my take. Nurses learn rote memorization. Very few understand basic pharmacology and I have not met any personally that understand basic pharmacokinetics, including faculty. A basic understanding of pharmacokinetics could be extremely beneficial to all nurses including nurses working on the floor. I have yet to meet a nurse that even understands basic principles of drug distribution. Most nurses seem to think that all is known about each and every drug and in fact the opposite it true. Most I have met also seem to believe if its natural then its safe, totally untrue. I have heard nurses telling patients and others all kinds of things when they have no idea what they are talking about. I did not expect this level of ignorance of this topic when I came into this field, especially from people with advanced degrees. This is such and important topic, especially for advanced practitioners, really something needs to be done about it.