Department:    PHARM

 Course #:    131

 Credits:    3

 Variable:     No

 Course Description  

Emphasis on specific medical terminology related to pharmacy. Focuses on how to interpret prescription or medication orders, including how to interpret medical abbreviations and terminology.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: concurrent enrollment in PHARM 130, concurrent enrollment in or completion of AHE 102 and 112 with a minimum C grade or department chair permission.

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 33

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0

Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Vocational Preparatory Required for certificate  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. Correctly identify prefixes, suffixes and root words used in writing prescriptions/medication orders.
2. Describe various dosage forms, routes of administration and abbreviations used to indicate them in prescription/medication orders.
3. Correctly interpret written prescriptions/medication orders.
4. Correctly spell and pronounce names of top 100 Rx drugs.
5. Explain potential sources of error associated with using incorrect, inappropriate or ambiguous abbreviations.
6. Identify potential for error associated with drugs having “sound alike” names, and strategies for avoiding errors involving them.

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

1. Information Literacy

Definition: Recognizing when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
1.5 Effectively integrate and use information ethically and legally to accomplish a specific purpose.

2. Critical Thinking

Definition: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
2.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and facts related to a specific discipline.

8. Mathematical Reasoning

Definition: Understanding and applying concepts of mathematics and logical reasoning in a variety of contexts, both academic and non-academic.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
8.1 Analyze problems to determine what mathematical principles apply.

Course Contents

1. Rules for forming and spelling medical terms.
2. Abbreviations used in writing prescriptions.
3. Abbreviations used in measurement.
4. General medical abbreviations.
5. Abbreviations specific to bodily systems.
6. Trade and Generic names of top 100 drugs.