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  • Drugs in the Human Body
MICROCREDENTIAL

Drugs in the Human Body

Enrol now

In this microcredential we expand on dose-response relationships and the actions of drugs at receptor sites to look at the effects of various drugs and toxins on the human body. You’ll learn about the factors that contribute to adverse drug reactions, effects of drugs in different people, and the interactions that occur between different types of drugs when they are taken together.

About this microcredential

Pharmacology is a biomedical discipline that is concerned with the study of the effects of drugs on living systems. This microcredential builds on the introductory principles presented in Principles of Drug Actions, and takes a broader look at how drugs, alcohol and toxins affect the human body.

In this microcredential you will learn about the broader aspects of individual responses to drugs and other substances. You'll examine the interaction between drugs, receptors, and ion channels as determinants of drug action in the peripheral and central nervous systems, and look at the factors that drive individual responses to drugs, including the effects of drugs in pregnancy. You’ll also learn more about the pharmacological effects of other substances, including alcohol and various venoms and toxins.

The accompanying microcredentials to this course are Principles of Drug Actions and Mechanism of Drugs in Treatment.

Key benefits of this microcredential

This microcredential is equipped to provide participants with fundamental knowledge in pharmacology. The study of pharmacology is part of all nursing, medical, and pharmacy degrees, as well as many science degrees. 

This microcredential aligns with the 2 credit point undergraduate subject, Drugs in the Human Body (91183). Where this subject is a prerequisite for entry to the Master of Science (C04241) or Graduate Certificate in Science (C11216), successful completion of this microcredential may meet that requirement.

Who should do this microcredential?

This microcredential is suitable for anyone who is interested in understanding how drugs work, or anyone who needs to have pharmacology as a requisite for postgraduate study (for example a postgraduate pharmacy degree).

IMPORTANT INFO FOR NEW OR CURRENT UTS STUDENTS - If you have a UTS student email address, or have received a UTS offer, please book this course by logging into UTS Open with your UTS student email address.

Price

Full price: $900.00 (GST free)*

*Price subject to change. Please check price at time of purchase. 

Enrolment conditions

  • Course purchase is subject to UTS Open Terms and Conditions. 

COVID-19 response 

  • UTS complies with latest Government health advice. Delivery of all courses complies with the UTS response to COVID-19.

Additional course information

Course outline

Module 1 - Drug responses

Learning objectives:

  • Adverse drug reactions
  • Individual variation to drugs
  • Drug interactions.

Module 2 - Drugs in pregnancy

By the end of this module you will be able to:

  • Understand and be able to illustrate (using examples), how maternal drug use may affect foetal growth and development
  • Understand the use of alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy.

Module 3 - Alcohol metabolism

Learning objectives:

  • Detail the acute and chronic effects of alcohol on the central nervous system, liver and other systems
  • Outline the biochemical pathways by which alcohol is metabolised in the body
  • Explain the pharmacokinetics of alcohol, including why alcohol has a constant rate of metabolism per hour
  • Describe the aetiological factors in alcohol dependence
  • Outline the emergency management, long-term management and prevention of alcohol intoxication, dependence and alcohol-related pathology.

Module 4 - Autonomic pharmacology

By the end of this module you will be expected to:

  • Detail differences between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system
  • Describe autonomic control of the eyes
  • Detail cholinergic and noradrenergic pharmacology (neurotransmitter synthesis, release, uptake, metabolism, receptors)
  • Describe the concept of autonomic (resting) tone.

Module 5 - Venoms & toxins

Learning objectives:

  • Differentiate between poisonous vs. venomous animals
  • Differentiate between venoms, poisons and toxins
  • Describe processes by which animals envenomate prey
  • Discuss the different roles of venoms and toxins
  • List the venomous snake families - particularly those found in Australia
  • Describe the extent of the snakebite problem in Australia vs. the world
  • Describe the physiological processes which occur after snake envenomation
  • Identify the appropriate first aid and treatment strategies following snake envenomation
  • Describe the method of production and effectiveness of snake antivenom
  • Identify the most common Australian arthropod bites/stings
  • Outline mechanisms for allergic reactions to hymenopteran venoms
  • Describe the mechanism of action of selected toxins from Australian arachnids and marine animals
  • Correlate symptoms of envenomation with mechanism of action of arthropod and marine animal toxins
  • Identify the appropriate first aid and treatment strategies following
  • Australian arthropod and marine animal envenomation
  • Identify uses of toxins as potential biopesticides and therapeutics.

Course delivery

Over the duration of the course, topics covered will include individual variations to drugs, adverse drug reactions, drugs in pregnancy, alcohol metabolism, autonomic pharmacology, and venoms & toxins. During the course, there will be opportunities to assess your understanding of the topic and discuss responses through the use of monitored discussion boards and a Zoom tutorial session. Resources and activities are to be accessed via the Canvas learning management system (access will be provided).

In the ‘Venoms and toxins’ Zoom tutorial, you will work in groups to solve a case study involving an envenomation. Using information about the patient’s history and a description of their symptoms, you will identify the venomous animal responsible for the attack, determine the best laboratory test for diagnosis, and decide on the best treatment option. You will be required to present your findings and reasoning to the class in a 2-3 minute presentation. At the conclusion of the tutorial, each participant is expected to sit the post-tutorial quiz via Canvas, where you will be given a number of questions based on the case studies and lecture material. The quiz will run for 15 minutes, with timing starting upon opening the quiz. You have one (1) opportunity to sit this quiz, which will be worth 30% of your final mark.

Participants will be provided with real data from a cholinesterase practical experiment which will provide the foundation for a scaffolded cholinesterase report based on set questions. The report is to be submitted via Canvas. It will be worth 30% of your final mark.

Content will further be assessed through an end of session quiz that will be delivered on Canvas. All topics delivered on Canvas and during the Zoom tutorial are assessable in this quiz. It will be worth 40% of your final mark.

Supplementary assessment items and examinations for this course are not available.

It is recommended that any questions regarding the above are posted to the monitored message board prior to emailing the course coordinator.

Course learning objectives

On successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Implement the principles of pharmacokinetics in describing drug uptake, transport, metabolism and excretion from the human body
  • Elucidate drug activity through interactions with target molecules including receptors, transporters and enzymes
  • Explain the principles governing individual variation to drugs and drug interactions
  • Appraise the concept of toxicity to venoms and toxins
  • Rationalise key pharmacological concepts to use of drugs in pregnancy, the treatment of acute poisoning and the acute and chronic effects of alcohol
  • Analyse data generated from enzyme-inhibitor kinetic experiments and explain the principles of substrate specificity and the structure activity relationships.

Assessment

There are three assessment tasks for this course:

  • Task 1 - Post-venoms & toxins tutorial quiz (weighting: 30%)
  • Task 2 - Scaffolded cholinesterase report (weighting: 30%)
  • Task 3 - End-of-session quiz (weighting: 40%)

In order to pass the course, participants are required to complete all assessment tasks and achieve an overall mark of 50% or above.

Requirements

Mandatory

  • To complete this online course, you will need a personal computer with adequate internet access and sufficient software and bandwidth to support web conferencing. You will also require an operating system with a web browser compatible with Canvas.

Desired

  • A background in science is recommended for participants in this course.
  • Any pharmacology textbook would aid participants in their studies.
$900.00

START DATE

Unscheduled

MODE

Online

DURATION

5 wks

COMMITMENT

Avg 10 hrs/wk

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