FLVKB0371 - Social Pharmacy

To give students basic knowledge of social pharmacy generally, and to help them acquire the skills needed to communicate scientific information to their peers by requiring that they prepare a presentation and scientific article.

Course teaching is based on the assumption that students have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in one of the natural sciences, health sciences or technical sciences.

The bearing course element is social pharmacy as a subject. The core teaching method is a reading group concentrating on the book Pharmaceutical Systems – Global Perspectives, plus the presentations of individual students to the reading group.  On this course the term ‘reading group’ includes interactive class lessons in which students are the driving factor in the teaching through their mutual presentations and subsequent discussions. In addition is group preparation of a scientific literature review article. Content focuses on the following topics:

• national drug policies,
• drug R&D, production,
• distribution and use,
• drug marketing,
• control,
• prescribing and information.

An ongoing theme for the entire course will be the users’ perspective on all the topics listed above.

At the end of the course, students are expected to:

• Have acquired knowledge about the topics and issues of social pharmacy
• Have developed reflexive and analytical abilities with regard to social pharmacy issues
• Have grown familiar with social science and humanistic theories related to the drug area
• Have specifically gained insight into the topics mentioned under ’Content’.

The examination is weighted 50/50 with respect to the individual task and group work.

Examination design

Individual assignment: All students individually prepare a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation on a subject that is part of the curriculum and present it as part of the lesson. The subsequent criticism as well as questions and discussion are then incorporated into the PowerPoint presentation. No grade is given for the oral presentation, but only for the final PowerPoint presentation in electronic format, which is turned in at the end of the course so that everyone has the opportunity to incorporate the course content into his or her presentation. This assignment represents 50% of the final grade.

Group assignment:Each group writes a scientific article designed as a review of a specific drug in relation to the topic of patients’ attitudes and actions concerning a specific drug treatment. This assignment represents 50% of the final grade.

Pass criteria
Overall impression forms part of the assessment and may cause the score to be adjusted by one grade up, one grade down or grade unchanged according to the allocation of points. 

The basis for adjusting the overall impression is:

• Responses that demonstrate good pedagogical abilities in connection with the two forms of communication.

It is a further requirement that the student passes both assignments.

Description of grades

Grade 12
The student is able to:

• A: take a critical and analytical view of social pharmacy topics and argue with reference to theories and scientific literature, as well as to communicate these arguments in scientific language
• B: use a theoretical framework of reference as a management tool for the phases of the research process in the article
• C: draw his or her own reflexive conclusions based on the above, thus demonstrating an overview and understanding of internal relations in the social pharmacy topic area.

Grade 10
The student is able to: Fully meet one of the above points A or B and fully meet point C.

Grade 7
The student is able to:

• Fully meet one of the above points A or B
- OR
• Demonstrate a critical, theoretical and reflexive access to the assignment using individual elements of A, B and C, although without the depth and insight needed to fully honour the task.

Grade 4
The student is able to:

• Demonstrate a critical, theoretical and reflexive access to the assignment using individual elements of A, B and C, although without the depth and insight needed to honour the task.

Grade 02
The student is able to:

• Demonstrate a critical or theoretical access to the assignment using individual elements of A and B, although without the depth and insight needed to honour the task.

Grade 00
The student is unable to draw his or her own reflexive conclusions and demonstrates lack of knowledge of the social pharmacy topic area.

Claus Møldrup, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy