____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology

2 Lesson Plan
1 Pharmacology
TEACHING FOCUS
Students will have the opportunity to learn about the classification of drugs and the terminology associated
with their derivation, administration, mechanisms of actions on the body, and potential toxicity. Students will
discover professions associated with pharmacology, including medicinal chemistry, molecular
pharmacology, chemotherapy, and toxicology.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Hospital Formulary (Lesson 21.1)

Physicians Desk Reference (PDR)
(Lesson 21.1)

Slips of paper with vocabulary words,

combining forms, and suffixes (Lesson 21.2)

LESSON CHECKLIST

Preparations for this lesson include:

Lecture
Demonstration
Field trip: pharmacy
Student performance evaluation of all entry-level skills required for student comprehension and
application of pharmacology principles, including:
o administering drugs
o applying medical terminology
o combining word elements to form medical words
o knowing the basic structure of medical words and medical abbreviations
o recognizing classes of drugs
o understanding drug names, standards, and references

KEY TERMS

Vocabulary (pp. 890-894)

addiction
additive action
aerosol
anaphylaxis
antagonistic action
antidote
brand name
chemical name
contraindications
controlled substances
dependence
dose
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
generic name
iatrogenic
idiosyncrasy
inhalation
medicinal chemistry
molecular pharmacology
oral administration
parenteral administration
pharmacist
pharmacy

pharmacodynamics
pharmacokinetics
pharmacologist
pharmacology
Physicians Desk Reference (PDR)
receptor
rectal administration
side effect
sublingual administration
synergism
syringe
tolerance
topical application
toxicity
toxicology
transport
United States Pharmacopeia (USP.)
vitamin
ACE inhibitor
amphetamine
analgesic
androgen
anesthetic

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology
angiotensin II receptor blocker
antacid
antiandrogen
antiarrhythmic
antibiotic
anticoagulant
anticonvulsant
antidepressant
antidiabetic
antidiarrheal
antiemetic
antihistamine
antinauseant
antiplatelet
antiulcer
antiviral
aromatase inhibitor
bactericidal
bacteriostatic
beta-blocker
bisphosphonate
Terminology (pp. 894-896)

caffeine
calcium blocker
cardiac glycoside
cardiovascular drug
cathartic
diuretic
emetic
endocrine
estrogen
gastrointestinal drug
glucocorticoid
hypnotic
laxative
narcotic
progestin
purgative
respiratory drug
sedative
stimulant
thyroid hormone
tranquilizer

Legend

CD
Companion CD

iTerms

IRM
Instructors
Resource Manual
available on CD
and Evolve

aer/o
alges/o
bronch/o
chem/o
cras/o
cutane/o
derm/o
erg/o
esthes/o
hist/o
hypn/o
iatr/o
lingu/o
myc/o

REFERENCE LIST
PowerPoint slides (CD, Evolve): 1-25

Evolve
Evolve
Resources

PPT
PowerPoint
Slides

MTO
Medical
Terminology
Online

Class Activities are indicated in bold italic.

narc/o
or/o
pharmac/o
prurit/o
pyret/o
thec/o
tox/o
toxic/o
vas/o
ven/o
vit/o
anaanticontraparsyn-

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology

LESSON 21.1
PRETEST
IRM Exercise Quiz B

BACKGROUND ASSESSMENT
Question: Jon goes to the doctor for an infection. His doctor writes two prescriptions and tells him that he
must take both drugs if he wants to get better and that if he takes only one drug, he might not get better. He
notices that they are both antibiotics and wonders why he must take two instead of one. Is the doctor just
trying to make Jon buy more drugs?
Answer: Jons doctor is operating under the assumption that each antibiotic alone will work less effectively
than the two given together. Sometimes two drugs together produce an effect that is greater than the sum of
the individual drugs or each drug alone. This is called synergism. This is especially true if each drug has a
slightly different mechanism of action. The mechanism of one drug might actually make the mechanism of
the other drug more effective. An example would be one antibiotic that is bacteriostatic and inhibits the
growth of the bacteria and another antibiotic that is bactericidal and actually kills the bacteria.
Question: Maria has a school-age child who has been told that she is hyperkinetic in school and must be
prescribed stimulants. Maria is very confused because she knows that caffeine is a stimulant and she uses it
everyday to be more alert and increase her energy level in the morning. Has her school psychologist made a
mistake?
Answer: Stimulants increase alertness and inhibit hyperactive behavior in some children. High doses can
have the opposite effect. Children with hyperactive disorders often cannot sit still in school and concentrate.
They are prescribed stimulants such as amphetamines or Ritalin.

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION

Tina is caring for an infant who is running a very high fever and vomiting whenever Tina tries to feed
him some water to keep him hydrated. If she continues to give him water to try to lower his body
temperature and increase hydration and, as a result, he vomits more fluid than he is drinking, then he
will only get more dehydrated, and his body temperature will rise. What do you think Tina should do
to reduce the childs fever, make him more comfortable, and enhance his ability to drink liquids?
Guidelines: Since drinking water is causing the child to vomit, it is likely that the oral route of
administration for antifever medications will only make matters worse. The child will probably vomit the
medication. Therefore the physician may direct Tina to purchase acetaminophen (Tylenol) as a suppository
and tell the medical assistant to instruct Tina how to administer the Tylenol via the rectal route. When his
fever comes down, the child will likely be less nauseated and able to tolerate liquids. Tina can then try
forcing fluids to rehydrate him.

OBJECTIVES
Learn the
various
subspecialty
areas of
pharmacology.

CONTENT

Introduction (p. 876)

Drug names, standards, and
references (p. 877)

Names (p. 877)

Standards (p. 877)

References (p. 877)

TEACHING RESOURCES
PPT 1-7
MTO Module 21, Section I, Lessons 1-2
Figure 21-1 Subspecialty areas of
pharmacology (p. 876)
Exercises A, B (p. 900)
Divide the class into four
groups. Each group represents a particular
class of drug. Pick one drug from that class
Class Activity

and look it up in three different references.

Then describe how those references provide
different types of information. What are their
respective strengths/weaknesses for providing
information?
Using the Internet, find a Web
site that lists the 100 most commonly
prescribed drugs. Calculate the percentages
Class Activity

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology

OBJECTIVES

CONTENT

TEACHING RESOURCES
of the various categories listed. Which ones
are most frequently prescribed?

Identify the
various routes
of drug
administration.

Administration of drugs (p. 878)

Drug actions and Interactions
(p. 880)
Drug toxicity (p. 880)

PPT 8-12
MTO Module 21, Section I, Lessons 3-4
Table 21-1 Examples of vehicles for drug
administration (p. 879)
Figure 21-2 Drug administration (p. 879)
Exercises C-F (pp. 901-902)
Have a pharmaceutical
company representative give a talk to the
class about the types of professionals that
exist at the company and what sort of training
is required for pharmaceutical jobs.
Class Activity

Ask students to spell, analyze,

define, and underline the accented syllable
in the terms for the various routes of
administration.
Class Activity

In groups, have students create

brochures for a drug company explaining all
the different routes of drug administration.
Students should explain when each route is
used, how the drug is administered, and what
types of drugs each route requires. Have
groups present their brochures to the class.
Class Activity

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology
21.1 Homework/Assignments:

21.1 Teachers Notes:

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology

LESSON 21.2
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION
Theo is in a car accident and is taken to the emergency room (ER). He tells the ER doctor that he has
coronary heart disease and is taking medications to control his condition. The ER doctor notices that
Theo has a large contusion on his leg and is bleeding profusely from his right arm. What does the
doctor have to consider now that he has a better understanding of Theos medical history?
Guidelines: Theo is likely taking medications that are anticoagulants. People with coronary heart disease
often take warfarin (Coumadin) or are advised to take a daily aspirin to prevent the formation of clots or to
break up clots in blood vessels. Aspirin is a natural antiplatelet drug. The ER doctor has to be concerned that
these drugs will diminish Theos ability to form a clot, so his bleeding from the accident might be difficult to
control.

OBJECTIVES
Differentiate
among the
various classes
of drugs and
learn their
actions and side
effects.

CONTENT

Classes of drugs (p. 881)

Analgesics (p. 881)

Anesthetics (p. 882)

Antibiotics and antivirals

(p. 882)
Anticoagulants and antiplatelet
drugs (p. 883)

Anticonvulsants (p. 884)

Antidepressants (p. 884)

Antidiabetics (p. 884)

Antihistamines (p. 884)

Antiosteoporosis drugs (p. 885)

Cardiovascular drugs (p. 885)

Endocrine drugs (p. 886)

Gastrointestinal drugs (p.887)

Respiratory drugs (p. 888)

Sedatives-hypnotics (p. 889)

Stimulants (p. 890)

Tranquilizers (p. 890)

TEACHING RESOURCES
PPT 13-19
MTO, Module 21, Section II, Lessons 1-4
Table 21-2 Analgesics and anesthetics (p. 881)
Table 21-3 Antibiotics and antivirals (p. 882)
Table 21-4 Anticoagulants, anticonvulsants,
antidepressants, and antidiabetics (p. 883)
Table 21-5 Antihistamines and antiosteoporosis
(p. 885)
Table 21-6 Cardiovascular drugs (p. 886)
Table 21-7 Endocrine drugs (p. 887)
Table 21-8 Gastrointestinal drugs (p. 888)
Table 21-9 Respiratory drugs (p. 889)
Table 21-10 Sedatives/hypnotics, stimulants,
tranquilizers (p. 889)
Table 21-11 Vitamins (p. 895)
Exercises G-L (pp. 902-904)
Make a chart like the one in
Table 21-6. Divide the class into four groups.
Each group takes a category from the chart
and reports on the detailed mechanisms of
action of that class of drugs. Each group
gives the brand name and generic name of
examples of that class of cardiovascular drug
and explains whether the drug follows all the
Class Activity

principles of the category in which it was

included. Discuss whether the drug treats
symptoms or the cause of cardiovascular
disease.
Differentiate among classes of
drugs that require a prescription and those
that do not. Use the PDR to determine
availability.
Class Activity

Use the FDA Web site

for approved, tentatively approved,
Class Activity

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology

OBJECTIVES

CONTENT

TEACHING RESOURCES
over-the-counter and discontinued drugs.
Divide the class into four groups and have
each group report on a drug in each of those
four categories. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/
scripts/cder/drugsatfda/
Have each student find two
articles from newspapers or magazines about
drug-related issues. Have them bring them
to class and exchange articles between
students. Then have each student underline
drug-related terms in each article. Have each
student exchange articles again and have
them define underlined terms.
Class Activity

Define medical
terms using
combining
forms, prefixes,
and suffixes that
relate to
pharmacology.

Apply your new

knowledge to
understanding
medical terms in
their proper
contexts, such
as medical
reports and
records.

Terminology (p. 894)

PPT 18-19

Abbreviations (p. 896)

Exercise K (p. 903)

Exercise M (p. 905)
Have students practice spelling,
analyzing, defining and underlining the
accented syllable in the terms in the
combining form terminology list.
Class Activity

Practical applications (p. 897)

MTO Module 21, Section IV

Exercise N (p. 905)
Write vocabulary words,
combining forms, and prefixes on small slips
of paper and place them in a hat. Go around
the room and have students draw a slip of
paper and define the term (or use it to create
a term) and create a context for the term by
using it in a sentence or scenario. Continue
until all terms have been defined.
Class Activity

Using Exercise N, have the

students take turns reading the sentences.
Have the remainder of the class spell,
analyze, define, and underline the accented
syllable in the terms that are used.
Class Activity

Performance
Evaluation

ESLR Student Quiz Chapter 21

MTO Module 21 Sections I-II quizzes
MTO Module 21 Exam
iTerms Chapter 21

____________________________________________________________Chapter 21 Pharmacology
21.2 Homework/Assignments:

How are prescription drugs regulated? Have students determine and report on the various government
agencies that regulate the production, distribution, and prescription of drugs. What sort of statistical and
epidemiological information can be obtained from these agencies? Give examples of agencies that are found
on the Internet as well as in library-bound resources.
Assign the class a field trip to a local pharmacy as a homework assignment. Ask each student to write
down all the categories of pharmaceuticals that are available over the counter.
21.2 Teachers Notes: