Pharmacology Course Redesign Using High-Impact Practices

Although pharmacology serves as a foundation for health care professions, a gap exists between education and the clinical application. Experiential learning has demonstrated benefit when integrated into pharmacology courses; however, professors struggle with the challenge of incorporating active learning modalities into traditional lecture courses.

Active learning and high-impact educational practices, based on cognitive theory, were incorporated into a pharmacology course sequence. After course completion and entry into the clinical setting, qualitative data were collected from students and clinical preceptors.

Students and clinical preceptors reported an improvement in students' ability to recall and apply concepts clinically. Students identified the creation of cognitive aids as the most advantageous measure.

Integrating active learning and high-impact educational practices into pharmacology courses could potentially aid in the ability to recall and apply concepts clinically, reduce medication errors and expenditures, and increase student confidence when entering clinical education. [.