Pharmacology at Leeds
BSc in Pharmacology
As one of the areas of study most frequently called upon in clinical care, a basis in pharmacology will prove a valuable resource for your future medical career.
Course Co-ordinator
Dr Dan Donnelly
Biomedical Sciences
Email: D.Donnelly@leeds.ac.uk
Objectives
This course takes intercalating medical students to honours degree level in pharmacology. It will enable students to gain a deeper understanding of pharmacology - possibly the area of study most frequently referred to during clinical practice. Students will also gain insight into the clinical research needed before compounds can be used as therapeutic agents. Specifically, by the end of the course a student should be able to:
- describe the mode of action, adverse effects and therapeutic use of commonly prescribed drugs;
- explain how research techniques can be applied to pharmacology;
- discuss a limited number of pharmacological topics at current research level;
- demonstrate practical skills learnt during individual bench work and have gained further experience in group tasks;
- outline how clinical trials are organised and conducted, and
- demonstrate enhanced problem solving abilities and self-help attitudes to learning.
Content of the course
The course is modular with students taking modules to a total value of 120 credits. In the first semester students are required to take a 20 credit group work practical module where experiments are designed and performed by small groups of students. Emphasis is placed on teamwork within the laboratory, and the results of each teams' studies are presented as an abstract, poster and written report. Students also take the first half of a 20-credit module on medical pharmacology. In semester 1, this module covers drugs used in the treatment of cardiovascular and respiratory disease, inflammation, and drugs that affect endocrine function. In addition, students can select 30 credits from four specialist 10-credit modules. The modules include aspects of ion channels, cell-signalling, cardiovascular pharmacology, pharmacogenomics and a 20 credit cancer biology module.
In the second semester students can choose to take either a literature (20 credits) or a practically based (40 credits) individual project. Students also take a 10-credit module on clinical pharmacology and will complete the 20-credit medical pharmacology module. In second semester this module focuses on the action of drugs on the brain. The clinical pharmacology module involves the design of clinical trials and is taught in conjunction with a local clinical research organisation. Finally, those students taking a 20 credit literature project can choose their remaining 20 credits from 10-credit modules including chemotherapy, drug abuse and addiction, human psychopharmacology of anxiety and depression, and toxicology.
Knowledge
Medical students who have successfully completed at least two years of the medical course will have sufficient background knowledge for intercalation. Student who intercalate in pharmacology will take science modules from level 3 and some from level 2. This will provide the basic pharmacology relevant to a particular organ system as well as specialist research modules. The specialist courses given in the first semester require students to read a number of original research articles and reviews. Teaching is provided in the use of the literature; specifically, how to interpret original papers, computer-assisted literature searching etc.
Skills
During the intercalating year, students will gain several skills that will be of benefit in their future careers. Clearly, knowledge and understanding of pharmacology and therapeutic use of drugs will be deepened, and it should be emphasised that an individual's initiative will be a major determinant of his or her success. Students will also experience the demands of working as part of a team towards a common goal. Scientific writing will also be developed, as students are required to produce several written reports during the year. Basic laboratory techniques and skills in experimental design will also be developed.
Assessment
Semester 1
All modules have some in-course assessment (10-25%), but the majority of the assessment arises from end of semester exams in January.
Semester 2
Assessment from the laboratory-based module is entirely from coursework, which comprises a laboratory report, abstract and poster presentation. The clinical research module is assessed by an in-course open book exam involving analysis of a clinical trial. In the remaining modules, end of semester exams in May/June comprise the majority of assessment.
