COURSE SYLLABUS and ASSIGNMENTS
Summer 2008
Course Prefix/Number: NUR 3145
Course Title: Pharmacology
Section: Online
Credit Hours: 3 semester hours
Instructor Information:
Linda Tibbits RN, MA
Assistant Professor
Office Address: West Florida Hospital – Medical Center Clinic Tower – 11th Floor
Offices ; Pensacola, FL
Office Phone: (850) 494-3806 Fax Number: (850) 494-4483
Office Hours: Posted weekly online
Email: ltibbits@uwf.edu
Nursing Program
Prerequisites or Co-Requisites: Anatomy and Physiology I and II. It is assumed that most students enrolled are
RNs who are pursuing a BSN. It is expected that all students have a solid background in the physical and social
sciences.
Course Description: This course provides basic pharmacokinetics and physiologic information concerning drugs
that are widely used for common disease conditions including actions, side effects and interactions. The principles
of altered pharmacodynamics relative to age and ethnicity will be included. NUR 3145 focuses on the principles
and concepts of pharmacology and related nursing practices.
About this Course: This course is delivered totally online. You must have regular and reliable access to the
internet as well as an UWF student email account. It is expected that you will have basic word processing skills, the
ability to send/receive email with attachments and able to search the internet and upload/download files. You will
also need basic knowledge of PowerPoint.
You will generally set your own schedule as to which days and time of day that you do your work and participate in
class discussions, but please note that there are set due dates for all assignments. So, while you may be able to work
ahead and turn work in early, you cannot wait until the end of the semester and begin turning in all your
assignments! You are responsible for your own learning – be sure to discipline yourself appropriately.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Recall pharmacodynamic principles.
2. Analyze the responsibilities of the nurse when administering drugs.
3. Group drug actions and therapies with disease states
4. Describe the uses, actions, effects and nursing implications of general classifications of drugs and selected
specific drugs.
5. Apply the principles of pharmacology relative to pharmacotherapeutics across age levels including the effect of
race, gender, ethnic group and special populations.
*6. Investigate media resources and information technologies to enhance knowledge base of pharmacology.
*7. Apply pharmacological research to nursing practice.
*These student learning outcomes will be tracked in the capstone pathway
Texts:
Required:
Lehne, R. (2007). Pharmacology for nursing care. (6th ed). St. Louis, MO: Saunders.
ISBN 10-4160-2552-9
Be sure to sign up for the free online Student Resources at
http://evolve.elsevier.com/productPages/s_1416025529.html
Recommended:
You may find it helpful to have access to a current drug handbook as well. If you have another pharmacology text,
you may find that helpful also. There is a student workbook that accompanies the text, but it is not required. If you
are a pre-nursing student, it is possible this would be helpful to you, especially with the practice licensure questions.
If you are already an RN, well, you don’t need to worry about taking the licensure exam – you already have!
Regardless, there will NOT be any assignments made directly from the study guide. The title is the same except that
it starts off as Study Guide for Pharmacology for Nursing Care, 6 th edition, by Richard Lehne.
The ISBN for the workbook is ISBN: 1416030255 if you wish to order it on your own.
Required Materials:
Internet Access (the faster, the better! )
Argus Account
Word Processing program
PowerPoint
NOTE – You should be able to access Microsoft Word and PowerPoint through ARGUS and the eDesktop tab (eD).
eDesktop is a virtual computer lab where you can use UWF software over the Internet. A limited number of
slots are available at any given time
Evaluation/Grading:
Self Profile
Pharm Website evaluation
New Drug Report
Threaded Discussions
Case Studies/Questions
Final Project
Exams
Grading Scale
A
372 – 400
A360-371
B+
348 – 359
B
332 – 347
B320 – 331
C+
308 – 319
C
292 – 307
C280 – 291*
D+
268 - 279 *
D
252 – 267*
F
< 267 points *
* constitutes failure in this course for nursing majors
Topical Outline
1 Introduction
a. Orientation to Pharmacology
b. Application of Pharmacology in Nursing Practice
c. Drug Regulation, Development, Names and Information
2. Basic Principles of Pharmacology
a. Pharmacokinetics
b. Pharmacodynamics
c. Drug Interactions
d. Adverse Drug Reactions and Medication Errors
e. Individual Variation in Drug Responses
3. Drug Therapy Across the Lifespan
a. Drug Therapy During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
b. Drug Therapy in Pediatric Patients
c. Drug Therapy in Geriatric Patients
4. Peripheral Nervous System Drugs
a. Basic Principles of Neuropharmacology
b. Physiology of the Peripheral Nervous System
c. Muscarinic Agonists and Antagonists
d. Cholinesterase Inhibitors
e. Neuromuscular and Ganglionic Blocking Agents
f. Adrenergic Agonists
g. Adrenergic Antagonists
h. Indirect Acting Antiadrenergic Agents
5. Central Nervous System Drugs
a. Introduction
b. Drugs for Parkinson’s Disease
c. Alzheimer’s Disease
d. Drugs for Multiple Sclerosis
e. Drugs for Epilepsy
f. Drugs for Muscle Spasm and Spasticity
g. Local Anesthetics
h. General Anesthetics
i. Opioid Agonist and Antagonists and Nonopioid Centrally Acting Analgesics
j. Pain Management in Patient’s with Cancer
k. Drugs for Headache
l Antipsychotic Agents
m. Antidepressants
n. Drugs for Bipolar Disorder
o. Sedative-Hypnotic Drugs
p. Management of Anxiety Disorders
q. Central Nervous System Stimulants and ADHD
r. Drug Abuse – optional topic – may be selected for PowerPoint Project
6. Drugs That Affect Fluid and Electrolyte Balance
a. Diuretics
b. Agents Affecting the Volume and Ion Content of Body Fluids
7. Drugs that Affect the Heart, Blood Vessels and Blood
a. Review of Hemodynamics
b. Drugs Acting on the Renin-Angiotensin System
c. Calcium Channel Blockers
d. Vasodilators
e. Drugs for Hypertension
f. Drugs for Heart Failure
h. Antidysrhythmic Drugs
i. Drugs that Lower LDL Cholesterol Levels
j. Drugs for Angina Pectoris
k. Anticoagulant, Antiplatelet and Thrombolytic Drugs
l. Management of Myocardial Infarction
m. Drugs for Hemophilia
n. Drugs for Deficiency Anemias
o. Hematopoietic Growth Factors
8. Drugs for Endocrine Disorders
a. Drugs for Diabetes Mellitus
b. Drugs for Thyroid Disorders
c. Drugs Related to Hypothalamic and Pituitary Function
d. Drugs for Disorders of the Adrenal Cortex
e. Androgens
9. Women’s Health (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final Presentation)
10. Men’s Health (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final Presentation)
11. Anti-Inflammatory, Antiallergic and Immunologic Drugs
a. Review of the Immune System
b. Childhood Immunization
c. Immunosuppressants
d. Antihistamines
e. Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors: Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and Acetaminophen
f. Glucocorticoids in Nonendocrine Diseases
12. Drugs for Bone and Joint Disorders (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final
Presentation)
13. Respiratory Tract Drugs
a. Drugs for Asthma
b. Drugs for Allergic Rhinitis, Cough and Colds
14. Gastrointestinal Drugs
a. Drugs for Peptic Ulcer Disease
15. Nutrition
a. Drugs for Obesity
16. Chemotherapy of Infectious Diseases
a. Basic Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy
b. Drugs that Weaken the Bacterial Cell Wall I: Penicillins
c. Drugs that Weaken the Bacterial Cell Wall II: Cephalosporins, Vancomycin and others
d. Bacteriostatic Inhibitors of Protein Syntheses
e. Aminoglycosides
f. Sulfonamides and Trimethoprim
g. Drug Therapy of UTIs
h. Antimycobacterial Agents
i. Miscellaneous Antibacterial Drugs
j. Antifungal Agents
k. Antiviral Agents I
l. Antiviral Agents II: Drugs for HIV Infection
m. Drug Therapy for Sexually Transmitted Diseases
n. Antiseptics and Disinfectants
17. Chemotherapy of Parasitic Diseases (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final
Presentation)
18. Anticancer Drugs (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final Presentation)
19. Additional Important Drugs (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final Presentation)
20. Alternative Therapy – Herbal Supplements (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final
Presentation)
21. Toxicology (Optional Topic – may be selected for Final Presentation)
Special Technology Used by Students
You will need to use PowerPoint in order to be able to create the final project. It is available on the computers at
UWF and through eDesktop.
If you need additional software (such as Adobe Acrobat, Flash Player, etc) to view all the
components of the course, go to the UWF eLearning home page
https://elearning.uwf.edu/secure/index.cfm
and click on the link for Software Viewers and Converters, where you can download them at
no cost.
Expectations for Academic Conduct/Plagiarism Policy:
As members of the University of West Florida, we commit ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in
performance, integrity – personal and institutional – is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is
vital, and we will not knowingly act in ways which erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to
tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community resources in ways that are
responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness. Cooperation and competition are means to high
achievement and are encouraged. Indeed, cooperation is expected unless our directive is to individual performance.
We will compete constructively and professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance standards.
Finally, we accept adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a condition of membership in the
UWF academic community.
The Student Code of Conduct sets forth the rules, regulations and expected behavior of students enrolled at the
University of West Florida. Violations of any rules, regulations, or behavioral expectations may result in a charge of
violating the Student Code of Conduct. It is the student’s responsibility to read the Student Code of Conduct and
conduct themselves accordingly. You may access the current Student Code of Conduct at
http://www.uwf.edu/judicialaffairs.
Assistance
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other course-related accommodations
should contact The Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) sdrc@uwf.edu or (850) 474-2387. The webpage
may be viewed at http://uwf.edu/sdrc/
SDRC will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.
This would need to be submitted within the first 2 weeks of the semester.