Medical Office Pharmacology: Review For Medical Assistant Students and Professionals
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Typical Training Curriculum
For medical assistants who need to brush up on certain areas in pharmacology as it applies to a medical office.
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Typical Training Curriculum

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medication dosage calculations
 Typical Training Curriculum...
The need for trained medical assistants remains at an all-time high! At any given moment thousands of job offers for medical assistants and other healthcare professionals open and close! Most require knowledge of certain medical office procedures and basic principles of pharmacology.



Typical Training Curriculum
Within a typical pharmacology course for the medical assistant the student will acquire an understanding of basic pharmacology. Instruction will include the uses, sources, forms, and delivery routes of drugs. Knowledge will be gained in the area of drug classifications and actions, along with the legal implementation regarding controlled substances and other medications.

Current technology will be utilized to master course standards and classes are taught either in a typical classroom, the clinical lab, or the computer lab. Students are expected to be active and attentive participants in the classroom and demonstrate team membership skills, such as cooperation and leadership in all areas of their education.

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The main differences between Roman and Arabic numerals are that Roman numerals lack a symbol for zero, and that numeral placement within a number can sometimes indicate subtraction rather than addition.


Below is an example of a typical course and course goals!

Introduction Objectives
Students will:
Define drugs and discuss their origin and use
Compare the three types of drug names
List four sources of drugs and give examples
List the forms in which drugs are prepared, give examples and discuss the route of administration of each
Drug References
Students will understand the history and source of drugs
Students will use the PDR and other reference sources

Drug References Objectives
Students will:
Discuss the types of drug reference books.
Examine and discuss the sections in a PDR
Describe the format of the PDR's product information section
Demonstrate the procedure for using a PDR
Agencies and Safety Guidelines
Students will identify the legal and ethical implication of medication administration

Agencies and Safety Guidelines Objectives
Students will:
Discuss the role of the FDA
Describe the drug approval process
Explain the “New Drug” list
Discuss the function of the Drug Enforcement Administration
Discuss the purpose of the Controlled Substance Act
Define controlled substance, list the five categories, and give examples of each
Summarize the proper method for storing and dispensing a controlled substance
Discuss the documentation associated with controlled substances
Examine the legal considerations associated with controlled substances and prescription pads
Identify the professions that can legally prescribe medication
Medication Orders and Prescriptions
Students will interpret and document medication orders, including the parts of a prescription

Medication Orders and Prescriptions
Students will:
Define pharmacology terminology
Identify the information found on a prescription form
Define prescription abbreviation terms
Correctly interpret medication orders
Demonstrate the proper technique to document verbal medication orders
Demonstrate the proper procedure for phoning in prescription orders.
Drug Classification and Actions
Students will identify classification of drugs, factors that affect drug action and the undesirable actions of given drugs

Drug Classification and Actions Objectives
Students will:
Summarize how drugs are classified
Determine the classification of specific drugs using reference books
Explain the therapeutic action of specific classifications of drugs
Compare the therapeutic action and side effects of specific drugs
Identify common contraindications
Discuss precautions and adverse reaction of specific drugs
Identify the classification, action, and side effects of OTC drugs
Discuss alternative medication and their action
Describe drug interactions and their consequences
Pharmacology Measurement
Students will understand both the apothecary and metric systems of measurement by the calculation of drug doses requiring the use of decimals, fractions, ratios and proportions

Pharmacology Measurement Objectives
Students will:
Compare the two systems of measure commonly used in pharmacology
Identify metric units of measure
Correctly read and write metric abbreviations
Identify apothecary units of measure
Correctly read and write apothecary abbreviations
Convert quantities between the systems of measure
Discuss standardized units of measure and give examples of when these are used
Demonstrate the ability to use decimals, fractions, ratios and proportions.
Demonstrate the ability to solve for x
Dosage Calculations
Students will calculate drug dosages for both adults and children

Dosage Calculations Objectives
Students will:
List the steps to follow when calculating drug doses
Correctly read and interpret medication labels
Compare medication label information to medication order
Correctly convert to the same units of measure
State the proportion method and the formula method for calculating drug doses
Correctly calculate drug doses using the proportion method and the formula method
Discuss the methods for calculating pediatric drug doses
Technology
Students will apply knowledge of computers and their use within the health care system

Technology Objectives
Students will:
Integrate the use of software, hardware, and the Internet to practice and master standards identified in the course
Utilize the Internet as a resource/research tool

Student Organizations Objectives
Students will be encouraged to:
Join career and technical student organizations
Take part in local, state, and national health care and education projects

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           


To report illegal prescription drug sales and/or rogue pharmacies operating on the Internet call the anonymous Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse Hotline: 1-877-RxAbuse (1-877-792-2873).
More info at: DEA Website
CONSUMER ALERT:
Buying drugs online may be illegal!
Federal law prohibits buying controlled substances such as narcotic pain relievers (e.g., OxyContin®, Vicodin ®), sedatives (e.g., Valium®, Xanax®, Ambien®), stimulants (e.g., phentermine, phendimetrazine, Adderall®, Ritalin®) and anabolic steroids (e.g., Winstrol®, Equipoise®) without a valid prescription from a doctor. This means there must be a bonafide doctor-patient relationship, which by most state laws requires a physical examination to receive a prescription. Prescriptions written by "cyber doctors" relying on online questionnaires are not legitimate under the law.

Buying controlled substances online without a valid prescription may be punishable by imprisonment under Federal law and it is a felony to import drugs into the United States and ship to a non-DEA registrant.


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