Essential Pharmacology (9002.2)

Required texts

Required text:

Birkett DJ (2010) Pharmacokinetics Made Easy, 2^nd edition. Australia: McGraw-Hill.
UC Library call number: RM301.5.B57 2002

Strongly recommended texts:

Brunton LL and Hilal-Dandan R (2014) Goodman & Gilman Manual of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2^nd edition. McGraw-Hill Medical, New York. 
UC Library call number: RM121.G66 2014 

or

Brunton LL, Chabner BA and Knollmann BC (current edition) Goodman & Gilman's the pharmacological basis of therapeutics. McGraw-Hill Medical, New York.  
Available online via the University of Canberra library within AccessPharmacy.

Recommended texts:

Pharmacology

Golan DE, Tashjian AH, Armstrong EJ, Armstrong AW (2016). Principles of Pharmacology; the pathophysiologic basis of drug therapy. 4th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
UC Library call number: RM301.P65 2017   Includes a free online resource at thepoint.lww.com

A number of resources are available online via the University of Canberra library within AccessPharmacy including e-text books in the areas of:

Pharmacokinetics, Pathophysiology, Biochemistry

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Any assessment item submitted WITHOUT the specified information on the first page will be returned to the student and not marked until this requirement is met.  Late penalties will be applied (see below).

• Mark adjustment: 10% of the maximum mark available for the assessment task will be deducted for each day late up to 3 days. For example an essay awarded 60% (60/100) submitted 2 days late will receive a mark adjustment of 10% per day, therefore, the adjusted maximum mark for that item will be 40% (40/100).
• Similarly, if weighting is used then a piece of work worth 50% of the unit which received 30/50 would be reduced by 5 marks per day (i.e. 10% of 50) and would therefore receive a maximum adjusted mark of 20/50 if late by two days.
• Submissions received more than 3 days after the prescribed date and time will not be accepted for marking, a mark of zero (0) will be awarded for the item.
• For the purposes of these penalties, all days of the week count, including weekends and public holidays, even when the University may be closed.
• The minimum possible mark for late submission is zero.
• For clarification, one (1) minute past the specified due date and time is considered a late submission.

It is students' responsibility to be familiar with the electronic submission process (e.g., the use of CANVAS and Turnitin). Students are reminded to ensure they plan well enabling adequate time to submit assessments prior to the deadline, in order to avoid a mark adjustment.

Extensions to assignments, placements, deferred intra-semester tests and examinations 

Students are only permitted one extension per assignment and one deferral per intra-semester test/examination/placement (on the grounds of illness or other special circumstances as per UC Assessment Procedures). Students are NOT PERMITTED to defer an already deferred intra-semester test, exam or placement. A request for extensions / deferral must be on the Assessment Extension form with relevant documentation and must be lodged with the Unit Convener as soon as possible and no later than 3 business days from the due date. Students should note that deferral of exams held in the Final Assessment Period (which are centrally timetabled) follow a different process and are assessed by the examinations office.

Students must make themselves available for deferred assessments and placements which will be scheduled by the unit convener as per UC Assessment Procedures. For placements, please refer to the unit's Canvas site for further details and requirements. Any student unable to undertake the deferred intra-semester test, exam, assignment or placement will receive a mark of zero or fail grade for that assessment task.

Special assessment requirements

Special assessment requirements:

You are required to pass the following pieces of assessment (AND attain a mark of 50% overall) to pass this Unit.

• Pharmacokinetics Test
• Final Exam

Students who obtain an aggregate mark greater than 50.0% for the unit but failed either the pharmacokinetics test or final exam must complete an additional piece of assessment in order to pass this unit. The content of the additional assessment will be comparable to the failed assessment. The additional assessment will be held in the deferred final examination period (for students completing their final exam in week 14-15) and students should expect to have their grade withheld (WH) until the additional assessment has been completed and afinal grade is approved by assessment board. If the student passes the additional assessment, their mark on the nominated assessment item will be upgraded to 50%.

Should you fail to pass these nominated assessment items then you will fail the Unit.

Additional Academic Integrity Information

Contract cheating (academic outsourcing / ghost-writing) is a form of academic misconduct in which students submit written or creative work which has been drafted or produced by someone else and claim authorship for it.  It includes (but is not limited to) using a third party, offering their services for commercial or other benefits, to complete (either partially or fully) an assignment or other assessment items on behalf of the student.  

You are at risk of contract cheating if you ask someone to:

• complete an assignment for you

• substantially edit your assignment

• do your university work for you, with or without compensation

• check test or quiz answers

• sit a test or quiz for you

• provide someone with your UC login details

You may also be at risk of contract cheating if you provide information to people or organisations outside UC, such as:

• assignment questions and briefs

• lecture notes

• marking rubrics and marking guides

Students should note that sharing their assignments (current or previously submitted assignments) may result in referral to the Associate Dean of Education for investigation.

UC considers contract cheating serious misconduct which may attract suspension or exclusion from the university.  Furthermore, we, as your education provider, have mandatory reporting responsibilities under National Law.  We are required to notify the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) if we believe that a registered health practitioner (including those with student registration) has behaved in a way that constitutes notifiable conduct including signature departure from accepted professional standards.  Contract cheating may also result in UC submitting a mandatory notification to AHPRA.

You can learn more about contract cheating in the Academic Integrity Module - which is a compulsory module that provides information about a range of issues including plagiarism and contract cheating.  UC provides a range of services to support student learning - further information regarding Study Skills, Studiosity and Medical & Counselling services are available in your unit's Canvas site.

Pharmacy students are expected to complete the AIM Quiz annually. No submitted assessment pieces will be marked in this unit until the 2024 Quiz has been completed (proof of successful AIM completion should be uploaded to the Canvas dropbox by 1155pm on Friday 9th August).

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

This Unit contains participatory elements which are vital to the Australian Pharmacy Council professional learning outcomes for this Unit. Except in the case of extenuating circumstances, 100% participation is required in all placements, externships, tutorials, practicals, seminars, workshops and presentations. It is expected that students unable to fulfil these participation requirements will inform the Unit Convener as soon as practical, by telephone or email. If attendance requirements cannot be regularly satisfied (e.g. timetable clash) it may be recommended that you schedule this unit for a future semester. Absence from external placement activities must also be reported to the relevant clinical placement coordinator and preceptor. Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in failure of the associated assessment piece. Consideration will be given for illness; however, evidence such as a medical certificate will be required.

Students undertaking this unit will also certify that they have completed the Safety Declaration Form for Practical Class Work. If students are unsure or not completed this declaration they should contact the unit convenor.

Required IT skills

Students should be conversant with searching for and accessing information via electronic means; the use of UCLearn; and word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software.  

Using generative AI

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT can aid but should not replace independent thinking. If using genAI tools for the major project (topic development, book chapter, multimedia presentation), acknowledge their use in or provide an appropriate citation. Acknowledgement is not required for low-level tasks such as improving spelling, grammar, and quality of written expression.

You are responsible for content you submit. Be aware of limitations of genAI tools such as inaccuracies, biases, and incomplete content. GenAI tools work best for topics you already understand, with carefully crafted prompting based on peer-reviewed research. Refine prompts for better results and fact-check generated content. Despite the risks, genAI tools can aid brainstorming, concept explanation, synthesis of ideas, and improve the readability and quality of written expression. For further information please refer to UC library genAI guide (https://canberra.libguides.com/genai) and the Academic Integrity Module.

In-unit costs

The following costs are expected for this unit:

• Self-printing of electronically provided material.
• Purchase of laboratory coat, safety glasses and calculator.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Privacy and Confidentiality

As part of its partnership arrangements with Health Agencies, the Faculty of Health at the University of Canberra is aware of the issue of confidentiality of information gained from clinical placements and externships. Students are expected to analyse their experiences from these as part of their academic study. In order to support learning while protecting confidentiality of information, the following guidelines have been developed:

1. Pseudonyms should be used for the names of patients and organisations in all academic work.
2. Identifying information, including demographic information, should be modified in academic work, using terminology such as ‘similar to'.
3. Students should mark all academic work with sensitive information as ‘in-confidence' in the footer.
4. Students should develop ‘composite' patients/clients based upon their experiences with several patients or clients in one clinical experience if possible. Students should note that this is a ‘composite' and not intended to identify a single person.
5. Students should use the password-protect function on their word processing programs to further guard sensitive information.
6. Students should avoid naming other students in academic work, such as reflective pieces or portfolios.
7. Students should attend workshops for health science students on how to change information about patients in line with these recommendations.

For further information students may visit http://www.privacy.gov.au/act/#health

Pharmacy Style Guide for report formatting

Unless otherwise approved or instructed (in writing), all written assessment pieces (formative and summative) must conform to the following requirements:

• Headings in bold, maximum font size 16 pt.
• Font size: 11 pt – Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri.
• Margins no less than 1.5cm on all sides.
• Page number at bottom right hand corner of footer.
• Student identification number (number only) at top right hand corner of header.
• References given in NLM/Vancouver style (chronological numeric) ONLY. Information on this referencing styles can be found on the library website at https://canberra.libguides.com/c.php?g=599301&p=4149536
• Privacy statements if required.
• Cover sheet on first page with student ID number, assessment name and word count (if applicable).
• Any word limits specified in assignments (in this Unit Outline or in task descriptions on UCLearn) will INCLUDE all tables, figures and appendices, but EXCLUDE references (unless otherwise stated).
• Submissions which exceed the specified word (or page) length will be truncated at the word (or page) limit and only assessed to this point.

Mandatory Notifications to the Pharmacy Board of Australia

Pursuant to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009, pharmacy practitioners (registered pharmacists) and education providers have an obligation to report ‘notifiable conduct', to the Pharmacy Board of Australia in order to prevent the public being placed at risk of harm. 

Education providers are also required, under s.143 of the National Law, to make mandatory notifications in relation to students, if the provider reasonably believes:

a) a student enrolled with the provider has an impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking clinical training, may place the public at substantial risk of harm; or

b) a student for whom the provider has arranged clinical training has an impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking the clinical training, may place the public at substantial risk of harm.

Practitioners are required to make a mandatory notification in relation to a student if the practitioner reasonably believes that a student has an impairment that, in the course of the student undertaking clinical training, may place the public at substantial risk of harm.

All concerns raised within the Discipline of Pharmacy or by clinical preceptors will be reviewed by the Head of Discipline and the Course Convener before any reporting action is taken.

These professional obligations are taken seriously by staff and the University.  Students should be aware of their obligations under student registration. 

For further information, please refer to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency Pharmacy Guidelines for Mandatory Notifications available at: www.pharmacyboard.gov.au/documents/default.aspx?record=WD10%2f1977&dbid=AP&chksum=llu12FMZ9KEGyf2k%2fTUccQ%3d%3d

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