PHYSICIAN
ASSISTANT
PROGRAM

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY II
Introduction

This course is the second in a sequence of three courses designed to provide a solid foundation in pharmacokinetics and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for diseases covered in the Clinical Medicine sequence. This course combines the disciplines of traditional pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and clinical pharmacotherapeutics with a practical approach. The student will learn major drug categories, specific agents within those categories, and appropriate usage and dosing. 

The rationale behind the course structure is to present traditional pharmacology—mechanism of action, structural considerations, common and rare side effects, and drug interactions—as a foundation to the principles of clinical pharmacotherapy—rational drug selection and treatment based on disease state and patient demographics. Pharmacokinetics—absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination—pharmacodynamics, and an introduction to pharmacogenetics will also be discussed.