Transcript title

Pharm for Medical Assistants

Credits

3

Grading mode

Standard letter grades

Total contact hours

30

Lecture hours

30

Prerequisites with concurrency

MA 110.

Course Description

This course introduces medical assistant students to the general principles of pharmacology as required by the standards adopted by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Drugs are discussed in the context of drug classes, mechanics of action, disease types and body systems. The goal is to provide medical assistants with sufficient background information so that they will be able to play a key role avoiding dispensing errors, as well as a basic understanding of pharmacologic categories and factors affecting drug kinetics.

Course learning outcomes

1. Recognize the principles of drug action in the body and individual cells, including body absoprtion distribution, metabolism and elimination.
2. Recognize how to best promote safety and avoid medication errors through drug label and medication order literacy skills.
3. Interpret the possible side effects and related dispensing strategy for each drug class as well as for specific agents.
4. Describe ways various classes of antiinfective drugs work against microorganisms and identify uses of these drugs in eliminating specific microorganisms.
5. Indicate the action of neurotransmitters in the nervous system and relate classes of pharmaceuticals that affect or change neurotransmitter action.
6. Define the principles of how various classes of pharmaceuticals act when utilized in aiding blood filtration, respiratory gas exchanges, circulating blood pressure and cardiac rhythms.