Undergraduate - UnitPAC1322 - Pharmacy, health and society II

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Offered	Sunway Second semester 2012 (Day) Parkville Second semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr David Kong (Parkville); Dr Wong Yoon Sim and Dr David Wu Bin-Chia (Sunway)

Synopsis

This unit aims to provide first year students with the basic foundations required to successfully complete later year units of the Bachelor of Pharmacy course.

The unit aims to:

1. enhance students' knowledge and understanding of a range of topics relevant to the practice of pharmacy (ie. The Health Care System, The Pharmacist and The Patient);
2. develop students' skills in communication and problem solving;
3. develop students' dispensing skills and knowledge;
4. develop students' ability to apply biostatistical and pharmaceutical calculations in the practice of pharmacy and health care;
5. introduce students to research methods used in epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology;.
6. develop students' generic skills in critical thinking, communication, problem-solving and working in teams.
7. provide students with the basic foundations related to health psychology and human behaviour that are crucial for:
1. pharmacist-patient and pharmacist-health professional interaction
2. understanding human behaviours, especially during illness
3. understanding patient adherence to recommended treatment regimens
4. strengthening and maintaining optimal mental health of the individual
5. the pharmacist's role as a member of the healthcare team

Students will undertake self-directed learning, submit assignments, participate in tutorials and practicals, all of which will enhance their learning experience.

Outcomes

At the end of this unit students will be able to:

1. describe the use of some commonly prescribed medicines;
2. retrieve, interpret and communicate (orally or in writing) basic information about medicines or health care issues, and apply it to pharmacy practice;
3. dispense simple dose forms of medicines;
4. perform basic pharmaceutical and biostatistical calculations;
5. describe the research methods used in epidemiology;
6. critically examine the influence of their own experiences, background and culture on their attitudes towards illness and medicine and their ability to learn, and contrast these with the values and beliefs of others in the community;
7. critically examine the influence of patient's experiences, background and culture on their attitude towards medicine and health professionals;
8. develop strategies for maintaining or optimising their own mental health status, and that, of their patients;
9. discuss the different perspectives on health, illness and healthcare practice;
10. describe the impact of cultural diversity on health status and principles of cultural responsiveness;
11. describe the association between health and illness and social influences like age, disability, social position, gender, ethnicity, ecology and access to healthcare;
12. consider appropriate adaptations of healthcare practices to suit cultural and social circumstances;
13. examine the similarities and differences between personal and professional behaviour.

Assessment

Online pharmaceutical calculation test (minimum requirement for this component is 80%); 10%; essay: 15%; open book dispensing examination: 15%; end of semester written exam: 60%.

Chief examiner(s)

Dr David Kong

Contact hours

72 hours of formal study per semester including 36 x 1 hour lectures and six x 2 hour dispensing tutorials.

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/