BMD 420 PHARMACOLOGY

FALL SEMESTER 2007

Course Objectives: 1) To survey pharmacologic concepts and effects/side effects and uses of some of the major classes of drugs (i.e., those drugs likely to be taken by students and/or their family members). 2) To study the pharmacodynamic principles of drug actions such as the following: receptors, dose-response, biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs and the molecular mechanisms by which those effects are produced. 3) To consider the pharmacokinetic (time-action) properties of drugs, including rates of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.

Instructor: A. M. Guarino, Ph.D., UCOM 6112 (biography: http://www.southalabama.edu/biomedical/Guarino.htm)

USA Office phone: (251) 380-2710; The Carpenter’s House 476-9994

USA Office hours: T, R 10:30 –11.00 am, or by appointment

Email: amguarino@earthlink.net.

Bulletin Board: Check the Pharmacology Class bulletin board in the BMD hallway during the semester for announcements, exam keys, grades, and interesting pharmacology news/ information.

Course Web page: http://www.southalabama.edu/biomedical/BMD420.htm. Follow links for the course syllabus, sample exam questions, etc.

Grades: With permission, grades will be posted by your code (6 numbers only that you select AND REMEMBER) on the department bulletin board.

Lectures: T, R 11:00-12:15, UCOM 6005

Required Text: Pharmacology for Health Professionals, 1st edition, by Sally Roach. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, 2005.

Course Prerequisites: BMD 321, 322 & 335.

Attendance: Is expected for all lectures, consistent with your being an upperclassperson and is required for all exams. Absences from exams will be excused only for emergencies or sickness, and requires notification prior to the exam. A physician’s written excuse is necessary to be excused due to illness. In the case of excused absences, make-up exams will be given after arrangements with the instructor and in no case will it be later than one week after the scheduled exam. Unexcused absences from exams will result in a grade of zero.

Course Organization: Grades will be based on three exams and a final. Exam questions will be based mainly on lecture material and text readings, tables and figures. Exam questions will be multiple choice. Some questions will be based on illustrations/tables from the text and/or lecture material. At the first class each student will borrow a flash drive containing copies of power point slides of the entire course for you to load on to your hard drive and/or to print out. Changes in course organization, exam schedule or policy will be announced in class with at least 24 hours notice.

Neither food nor drinks are allowed in the lecture room. No electronic devices (beepers, cell phones, alarms, etc.) will be permitted to disrupt lectures or to disturb other students. Failure to comply will result in administrative withdrawal from the course. During exams, no baseball caps, beepers or other electronic devices, texts or notes are allowed at your desk.

Additional resources are available to help your studies: Website activities are included at the end of each chapter and greatly add to your understanding of the material.

Course Grades: Grades for the course will be based on performance on exams using the following traditional scale: 90% = A; 80% = B; 70% = C; 60% = D; <59% = F. The final grade will be based on the average of the best 3 of the 4 exams given/taken. The final exam will be comprehensive.

Teaching Philosophy: Each student who earns an A will receive one; grades will not be curved. Pharmacology is not a difficult subject to understand primarily because most of us are interested to learn how drugs work. On the other hand, it is easy to get behind because of the quantity of material presented. Obviously, you are responsible for assigned material in the text and particularly in the lecture notes. The goal of the lectures will be to emphasize and explain the most important concepts, tables and figures in the text; lectures will include additional information not in your text. Study both your text and your lecture notes. One helpful strategy is to read the chapter before the lecture and then make sure that everything in the lecture makes sense. After the lecture, start learning the material and mastering it so that you can answer questions such as those at the end of each chapter. Be sure to study text tables and figures since they will be the basis for some exam questions. Cheating will not be tolerated and will be punished to the fullest extent possible.