Design and Delivery of Clinical Pharmacokinetics in Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy

Abstract

Objective. To describe how clinical pharmacokinetics is being delivered across curricula in pharmacy programs, including the curricular position of clinical pharmacokinetic topics, topics currently taught, and instructional methods used in delivering the course content. Methods. A survey was distributed to one representative faculty member from each pharmacy college who was most able to answer questions about their institution's delivery of clinical pharmacokinetic material. Results. Responses were collected from 82 out of the 108 pharmacy colleges who participated in the study. Clinical pharmacokinetics was integrated within other courses through the curriculum in 41% of colleges and includes a substantial amount of math-based material. The most common instructional methods were lectures and practice with actual pharmacokinetic cases. The majority of the schools used examinations and quizzes to determine students' grades. Certain drugs remain popular (ie, aminoglycosides, vancomycin, digoxin) while others have fallen out of favor (ie, procainamide, phenytoin, theophylline). Various methods were used to deliver the material and assess student learning. Conclusion. The delivery of clinical pharmacokinetic material has changed in the recent past across pharmacy colleges in the United States. Spreading clinical pharmacokinetics throughout the curriculum while maintaining the math-centric nature of the material has occurred. Clinical pharmacokinetics is a changing field and these results can be used to compare an institution's current content and delivery methods with other institutions. These aggregate results may be useful for schools that are redesigning their curriculum or are considering doing so.

Keywords: clinical pharmacokinetics; course content; curriculum.