The goal of this course is for students to be able to correctly calculate medication amounts needed to ensure that every patient gets the right dose.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:
1. Convert between common and metric measurements.
2. Explain the various ways in which drug amounts are measured.
3. Correctly perform calculations used when compounding medications.
4. Correctly perform calculations used when dosing medications for individual patients.
5. Calculate all needed components for a given patient needing total parenteral nutrition.

This class lays the foundation for the following ability-based outcomes (ABOs):

• ABO PC II C: Formulate and implement the patient care plan in collaboration with patients, their caregivers, and
  other health care professionals.
• ABO PC V C: Appropriately prepare and dispense medical products.

Students are expected to:

• Complete quizzes and submit by the indicated deadline.
• Pass both examinations with a score of 85% or higher.
• Work ahead enough to determine concepts that are not clear, notifying instructor of concepts in advance so that they can be covered in class.
• Attend class if there are calculation methods needing clarification.

O'Sullivan TA. Understanding pharmacy calculations. Washington DC: American Pharmaceutical Association, 2002. ISBN: 1-58212-033-1. Available at the University Book Store and via Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.

Course Schedule

The class will meet on Fridays from 1:30-2:20 in room T-639. Click here to print the schedule.

Quizzes

Description

There will be 4 calculations quizzes given during the course of the quarter. Each quiz will correspond to one of the first four lessons in the textbook (so quiz #1 will be over Lesson 1 material, quiz #2 over Lesson 2 material, etc.) and the questions on the quiz will be very similar to the practice problems at the end of each lesson. Each quiz will have 10 questions. Quizzes will be available online via Catalyst; links to the quizzes are provided below. Class quiz prep sessions will use as "lecture notes" the quiz given the previous year; to use class time effectively, plan to bring your calculator to each class session and to both exams. Note: Lesson #5 does not have a quiz: there is only an exam.

Grading.

For each quiz, the number correctly answered will determine the grade, so that 10 questions answered correctly will yield a grade of 4.0, 9 correct a grade of 3.5, 8 correct a grade of 3.0, etc. In certain circumstances you may be awarded partial credit (e.g., when you are instructed to provide two computational answers to a quiz question and one answer is correct but the other incorrect). There is no minimum grade requirement for quizzes.

Links to online quizzes

Quiz #1. Deadline 10/9/09.

Quiz #2. Deadline 10/16/09.

Quiz #3. Deadline 10/30/09.

Quiz #4. Deadline 11/6/09.

Feedback

The answers to each quiz will be provided to you either via an email or as a link posted on this website. If you keep some kind of record of your answers to the quiz you will be able to determine your grade. Quiz grades will also be posted on Gradebook.

To access Gradebook:

1. From the UW homepage (www.uw.edu), select My UW; alternatively, log onto https://catalysttools.washington.edu/
2. Select Catalyst Web Tools (from the Quick Links box)
3. Log on to Catalyst
4. Click on the "Your Tools" tab
5. If you "star" Gradebook,it will appear in your "starred" tab.
6. Now you should just be able to click on PHARM 587 and view your scores.

Catalyst sent the following access information:

1. Log into https://catalysttools.washington.edu/
2. If you see a "You have # new tools" banner on top, follow steps 3-6. (You can skip to Step 7 otherwise.)
3. Click on the "You have # new tools" text.
4. The New Tools popin will appear. Check all tools you'd like to add.
5. On the dropdown menu, choose either "Add to Your Tools" or "Add to Your Tools (Starred)".
6. The tools should disappear from the popin. Close the popin.
7. You can now locate the course GradeBook on "Your Tools" tab using the filterable table. You can also find the GradeBook on the "Starred" tab, if you starred the tool.

Exams

Description.

There are 2 exams. You will need to pass each exam with a minimum score of 85%. Exam #1 will be given on November 13 and will cover material from the first 4 lessons. Exam #2 will be given on November 20 and will cover material from the fifth lesson.

Exam #1 content. All of the practice question groups in the latter half of the book (alpha through kappa practice question sets) have each been used as exams in the past and so will be excellent preparation for this exam. There will be 10 questions on the exam, pulled randomly from the questions in the latter half of the book. You will have 50 minutes (the class period) to finish the exam. You should plan to bring only a pencil with eraser and a calculator to this exam. It is not an open-book exam.

Exam #2 content. Exam2 covers the TPN material in Lesson 5. Again, you will only need a pencil with eraser and a calculator for this exam. You will have 50 minutes (the class period) to complete this exam. The TPN exam will consist of a patient scenario and a one-page worksheet just like those found in Lesson 5 of the textbook. I will inform you on the patient scenario whether your pharmacy mixes IVs from pre-set volumes or uses a pump. Be aware that if you significantly underdose or overdose one component of the TPN, it will likely result in a grade of no pass and you will need to retake the TPN exam.

Grading

You will need to score 85% or higher on each exam in order to obtain a passing grade. The scores are not averaged (i.e., if you score 100% on one and 60% on another, you still have to retake the exam for which you scored 60%; for this exam you will need to achieve a score of 85% or higher on the retake).

If you score less than 85% on either exam, you will need to come to class on December 4 to retake the exam. The retake will be a different examination from the one where you scored below 85%.

Feedback

Exams will not be returned, but you are welcome to come to the coursemaster's office to view your exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to memorize all of the abbreviations in Lesson 1?

No. The quizzes are open book, so you can look up any abbreviations. The exams will be in-class and closed-book, but you are welcome to ask during the exam about any abbreviations you don't understand. Memorizing the abbreviations isn't the intent of this class, but you need to begin memorizing them for pharmacy practice lab in winter quarter (PHARM 504) and for your introductory practice experience coursework (PHARM 527 and 528).

What time is the deadline time for getting quiz answers in on the day the quiz is due to be submitted?

You will have until midnight to submit your quiz answers.

Is there a minimum passing score on the quizzes?

There is no minimum passing score on the quizzes. There is a minimum passing score for the examinations.

Will we be told ahead of time what method (i.e., preset volume vs. pump) to expect on the TPN exam?

No. You must come prepared for either situation.

What if I don't pass both exams?

This occasionally happens. In such situations, plan to complete one of the exams on the retake date and the other at a time you mutually agree upon with the course instructor.

What if I don't score 85%or better on an examination retake?

These situations are handled on a case-by-case basis with the course instructor.

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Last updated: 29 October 2009