MedEdPORTAL (Dec 2014)
Teaching First Order Pharmacokinetics with Team-Based Learning
Abstract
Abstract Introduction Prescribing is a complex task; it requires diagnostic skills, knowledge of medicines, communication skills, an understanding of clinical pharmacology, appreciation of risk and uncertainty, and critical judgment. Patients are increasingly vulnerable to medication problems due to advancing age, complicated regimens, and polypharmacy. In response to these concerns about medication management, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) sounded a call for medical schools to devote time to teaching students safe and effective prescribing practices. To address this, we created this team-based-learning (TBL) session on pharmacokinetics. Methods This TBL session provide health profession students with an opportunity to apply foundational pharmacokinetic concepts, encountered through lectures and assigned reading, in a clinically relevant context (i.e., calculate dosages and dosing intervals, and predict how these parameters change based upon altered renal clearance). Results Overall, 149 first-year medical students have participated in the TBL session. As expected, mean scores for the individual readiness assessment were lower (66.85%) than the mean group scores (95%). Of the 135 students that completed an evaluation of the TBL session, 95 students (70%) felt the application questions were at the “right” level. Thirty-two (23%) felt the application questions were “too easy,” one individual felt they were “too hard,” and seven students (5%) admitted that they “couldn't answer the question because they had not adequately prepared in advance” for the session. Discussion While largely effective, even the less effective aspects of the TBL, such as the fact that several students had difficulty seeing the facilitator explanations on the easel/drawing pad, have been remedied (i.e., projecting PowerPoint slides during the facilitator explanations) in this version of the resource.
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