MBChB401 Clinical Pharmacology

Year 4 Clinical Pharmacology

Clinical Pharmacology Timetable and Lecture Resources

Please be sure to read the Asynchronous Learning Section (see below).

Introduction to Year 4 Clinical Pharmacology

Welcome to the Clinical Pharmacology module of the MBChB 401 course.

This module will build on your existing anatomy, physiology, genetics, and biochemistry knowledge. This module is designed to teach you the principles of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics that will underlie other aspects of your medical education and future medical practice.  Where we can, we will use specific clinical examples and patient scenarios to help you understand these basic principles. You should expect your learning from this module to integrate with your learning from other modules.

Module Overview

The clinical pharmacology module is taught by a series of lectures and tutorials.

The lectures provide a structured introduction to the principles of clinical pharmacology and application to therapeutics.

The tutorials encourage students to reflect on the module content and apply principles of dose individualization.

The Clinical Pharmacology module consists of lectures and asynchronous learning activities. In view of possible last minute change of venues and times, please refer to the MBChB Portal (http://medprog.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/timetable/) for the latest timetable information.

Lectures will be given in lecture theatre 505-011 unless you are informed otherwise.

The notes and lecture slides provided cover key areas of interest as your lecturers see them, and guide you about the scope of what we expect you to learn. However, this is a university-level course, therefore, for some topics you will need to do your own reading outside of lectures and module notes. If unsure about anything please don’t hesitate to ask your lecturers for help.

If you are given reading material before any session or in the module online resources, you are expected to have read and considered this prior to attending.

Medicines You Should Know About

Practicing doctors may prescribe from a large list of medicines in New Zealand. Typically, every doctor will be familiar with several hundred medicines. Clinicians at FMHS have compiled a list of medicines that they think all medical students should be aware of. A shorter list has been identified that should be familiar to year 6 medical students who may be asked to initiate a prescription. These lists are accessible on the MBChB Clinical Scenarios Medicines website.

The CP module will introduce you to medicines from these lists. As you continue in your medical training you will learn about a wider range of medicines.  You are expected to be familiar with the mechanism of action, primary indications and major adverse effects of all medicines that are referred to in the CP module.  This information will not necessarily be discussed by your teachers or appear in the course materials. You should learn to use online resources about medicines  to complement and integrate the materials used in the CP module (see MBChB Clinical Scenarios Medicines website for further links).

Clinical Pharmacology Asynchronous Learning

Please read the following instructions about the National Prescribing Service modules. You are expected to use these modules to help improve your prescribing knowledge and skills. There are recommended modules for both Year 4 and Year 5 students. Year 4 students should focus on the recommended modules for Year 4 but may wish to look at the Year 5 modules.

Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand Core Competencies