Undergraduate - UnitPAC4472 - Integrated therapeutics: Psychiatry

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Offered	Sunway Second semester 2013 (Day) Parkville Second semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Dan Malone (Parkville); Dr Sabrina Anne Jacob (Sunway)

Synopsis

This unit provides the basic knowledge required for the management of patients with a range of common mental health disorders. The chemistry, pharmacology and clinical aspects of medications associated with each area are presented in detail in an integrated fashion.

Drug therapy principles for particular conditions and patient groups will be emphasised enabling students to acquire the skills necessary to provide clinical pharmacy services within these areas.

In particular, this unit will teach the chemistry, pharmacology and clinical applications of drugs used to treat mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, dementia/delirium, insomnia, schizophrenia and child and adolescent mental health disorders.

Students will perform a number of tasks which will foster the development of critical thinking and oral and written communication skills.

Outcomes

The anatomy and terminology of the central nervous system.
The pathophysiology of a range of common psychiatric disorders.
The chemistry of medications used in the management of psychiatric disorders.
The concepts of structure activity relationship for the drugs used in the management of psychiatric disorders.
The pharmacology of the drugs used in the management of psychiatric disorders.
The chemistry and pharmacology of drugs of abuse.
The signs and symptoms, emphasising cardinal symptoms, of common psychiatric disorders.
Diagnosing and differentiating psychiatric disorders.
Management of psychiatric disorders including drug and non-drug therapies.
Current best practice for the medical management of these conditions with emphasis on the role of the pharmacist.
Individual differences which may occur in these disorders and how they can be managed.