Practical Connections in Pharmacy: Drug Testing

The Practical Connections in Pharmacy activity collection:

Practical Connections activities were designed to present Pharmacy (PharmD) students with topic-driven group-learning opportunities to connect knowledge gained in multiple pharmaceutical sciences and therapeutic courses. This project was envisioned as a remedy for the traditional 'silo-ing' of materials presented in separate courses throughout a curriculum. Participation in these activities is meant to allow students to connect multiple themes, skills, and knowledge learned in a way that allows them to analyze larger topics.

Hair Drug Testing Merlot File Buhler.pdf

Student Characteristics

• Designed for graduate students in a Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) or Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ph.D.) program.
• Students should have the following background: 
  • Physiochemical properties of molecules (Gen. Chemistry or Organic Chemistry)
  • Basics of CYP function and drug metabolism (Biochemistry)
  • A&P of circulatory system (Gen. Biology or Anatomy and Physiology)
  • Basic PK of drug absorption (Organic chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry or Pharmaceutics or Pharmacokinetics)
  • Unit conversion calculations (Gen. Chemistry)
• Students who have not had background in one or more of the above could be coached through with additional explanatory material.
• No prior therapeutics courses are necessary to complete this activity.
• This activity is modifiable to be appropriate for students with different backgrounds.

Student Learning Objectives

Students should: 

1.    Utilize physiochemical information to identify properties of molecules.

3.    Describe distribution of drugs in context of circulatory A&P and first pass metabolism.

4.    Interpret limitations of laboratory analysis results.

5.    Appraise the ethics of drug hair-testing and its use in legal, employment, or sporting decisions.

6.    Interpret data from health-science literature.

7.    Apply calculations skills.

About the Instructor

A. Buhler, Ph.D Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Pacific University Oregon

• I have taught pharmacology for 20 years, specializing in neuropharmacology and psychopharmacology. As an undergraduate at CSUF, I was inspired by my organic chemistry professor Dr. Bobbie Mayer, and my cell biology professor Dr. Fred Schreiber, who gave an impassioned lecture on the social inequities linked to pesticide toxicities in the Central Valley California. I thank them for their inspiration and the ability to continue to share these ideas.
• About me: contact information, publication list, random hobbies
• Dr. Buhler's Pharmacology YouTube Channel

Accessibility, Affordability, and Diversity Considerations

Accessibility

• Practical Connections in Pharmacy activities are designed to be openly accessible. Students can participate in-person, via ZOOM, or via closed-captioned ZOOM for the hearing impaired. Illustrations can be enlarged for those with low vision. The authors are available for questions about the materials. A reference list is included for additional resources.
• The authors encourage instructors to modify these materials based on their curricular needs. Certain questions may require background not yet acquired by students and can be removed or modified. Similarly, new questions may be added to fit individual curricula.

Affordability

• All resources used in this activity are available for free. The authors have provided all necessary reading and classroom materials, along with a link to a You-Tube accessible news video.

Diversity

• The nature of this activity requires integration of multiple concepts. This allows a diverse group of students with different backgrounds to teach each other and share their perceptions of, and experiences with, related issues.

Instructor Reflection

• After this activity students appeared to have more appreciation for how individual disciplines (organic chemistry, A&P, human physiological distribution, and policy ethics) contribute to a broader understanding of the use of common drug-testing procedures.
• Students needed to understand that the purpose of the activity is to learn how a question may need to utilize multiple disciplines together in order to reach a complete understanding of the topic and to practice this type of integrative thinking. It is easy for them to misunderstand and think that the content itself is the goal. When the content does not directly correlate to other topics in a course, this misunderstanding can lead to under-appreciation of the learning outcomes.
• Student groups needed clear instructions at the beginning of the activity on what was expected of them and that group problem-solving was of higher value than getting strictly correct answers.
• The role of the faculty member as a facilitator is important. Facilitators should be sure to prompt student groups with relevant questions when group discussion goes down the wrong path.
• Depending on the course goals students/groups could be graded based on correct answers or for active participation. However, when graded on correct answers students may be less likely to engage in thoughtful discussion of the larger topic.