KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course, the student should know the general theoretical and practical principles that guide the administration of drugs in patients. He/she must be able to critically understand how to manage nursing assistance in relation to patients’ diet and therapy, particularly in the most frequent acute and/or chronic pathological situations.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course the student must have a good knowledge of drugs currently used in medical practice; in particular, he/she should be aware of drug- related adverse effects and possible drug-drug or drug-food interactions, in order to give the best nursing care.
Student must be able to communicate his/her knowledge clearly. A good communication is an essential skill in healthcare to help patients adherence to therapy.
Student should know the basics of good nursing care surrounding drug administration and the best medication management strategies to improve patient safety and prevent errors in the pharmacotherapy process.


All these skills apply to nursing care guidance for hospitalized patients and for patients at home. The role of nurse is of great importance in outpatient services.


AUTONOMY JUDGMENT
At the end of the course, the student must be aware of critical issues about drugs and drug administration.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The oral exam proves the ability of the student to communicate his/her knowledge effectively, answering fast and logically; moreover, it proves the overall quality of language. A good communication skill improves the patient-nurse relationship.

LEARNING SKILLS
At the end of the course, the student should be able to apply concepts envisaged by the course itself, from both a conceptual and a nursing “know-how” point of view.

Basic knowledge of anatomy, physiology, general pathology, microbiology, hygiene and biochemistry are required. Basics of nursing and nursing processes are also essential prerequisites. It is assumed that students will meet the requirement of this prior knowledge because the topics are covered in the courses of the first year of study.
This course is a prerequisite for the exam “Internship and Cognitive Tutoring Activities 2”

The course aims at providing students with a basic theoretical knowledge of pharmacology and toxicology, for understanding the major drug classes currently used in medical practice. Theoretical notions concern the pharmacokinetic properties of drugs, their with mechanisms of action, their indications and contraindications, their clinical use and their major adverse effects as well as the most important drug interactions with other natural or synthetic substances (teaching activity 712ME-1 – General and clinical pharmacology).
The course aims also at providing students with practical aspects of nursing, regarding the management of medical drugs, the procedures associated with drug preparation and administration and the principles of pharmacology management according to nursing responsibility (teaching activity 712ME -2 Clinical nursing: pharmacological treatments).

The course aims also to provide knowledge on main macro- and micro-nutrients, on the correct eating behavior for health as well as on the changes to be made to the diet in the presence of some widespread pathologies or in case of particular medical-surgical cases, on food poisoning, allergic reactions and possible interactions between foods and drugs. eaching activity 712ME -3 Nutrition and diet therapy).

M.A. Clark e al.: LE BASI DELLA FARMACOLOGIA. Zanichelli Editore Katzung & Trevor’s Pharmacology. Compendium and Multiple-Choice Questions, Piccin Publisher Siani L, Brugnolli A. Trattato di cure infermieristiche. Napoli: Sorbona –Idelson-Gnocchi: 2014 Hinkle JL, Cheever K H. Brunner- Suddarth Infermieristica medico-chirurgica. Milano: CEA: 2017 Ledonne G, Tolomeo S. Calcoli e dosaggi farmacologici. Milano: CEA: 2014

For details, please refer to the syllabus of each teaching activity.
Briefly:
Teaching activity 712ME-1 – General and clinical pharmacology).
Pharmacology: definitions and basic concepts about drugs. Principles of pharmacokinetics (drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination). Principles of pharmacodynamics (drug target and receptors, agonist and antagonist). Principles of pharmacogenetics (examples of clinical application). Principles of toxicology (main drug-related adverse effects). Intra-individual variability in drug response and drug interactions.
Drugs affecting the autonomic nervous system (cholinergic, anticholinergic, adrenergic, antiadrenergic). General information on drugs of the central nervous system (anxiolytic-sedative, generalities on dopaminergic transmission drugs, antiepileptics). Drugs active on the cardiovascular system (antihypertensive drugs, positive inotropics, diuretics, vasodilators and antianginal, antiarrhythmic, antiplatelets, anticoagulants and fibrinolytics). Lipid lowering-drugs. Diabetes Drugs. Pharmacotherapy of Inflammation, fever and Pain. Immunosuppressive and antihistaminergic drugs. Antibiotics and antifungal drugs.
Teaching activity 712ME -2 Clinical nursing: pharmacological treatments.
Nursing roles, management and responsibilities regarding drugs and drug administration. Nursing process in drug therapy. Challenging situations and critical issues related to nursing and therapy.
Teaching activity 712ME -3 Nutrition and diet therapy.
Macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins). Dietary fiber. Micronutrients (vitamins). Macroelements, microelements and trace elements. Water and water balance. Types of food and their nutritional properties. Food pyramid. Specific dietary needs and pathological conditions. Main hospital diets. Food-associated risks (food safety, allergy, food-drug interaction).

Theoretical lectures supported by slide projections concerning the topics included in the study objectives

PowerPoint slides used during the lectures will be provided to students, as supporting teaching materials. Teachers are available for further clarifications and explanations by appointment by previous mail contact. Any changes to what is here described will be communicated on the websites of the Department or of the Degree Programme or will be communicated directly to students during the teaching class.

Learning assessment will take place by performing exams for each individual teaching activity (partial exams) followed by a final session in which the Teachers' Committee verifies the overall results, assigns a final mark and proceeds to its publication on Esse3. The final grade is calculated as an average of the marks obtained in the partial exams weighted on CFUs of each teaching activity. An additional oral examination is planned to raise the final mark by a maximum of 2 points. For the partial exams, please refer to indication of each learning activity. The student must obtain a sufficient mark (≥ 18) in each partial exam and he/she is not allowed to reject the result published in ESSE3. For calculation of the weighted average, honor (“lode”) corresponds to 1 point (i.e., 30 e lode in partial exam corresponds numerically to 31). The mark of a partial exam remains valid until the extraordinary session of the academic year in which the test is taken. The student is allowed to reject the overall final mark proposed by the Teachers' Committee; however, this rejection implies the re-submission (retake) of all the partial exams that contribute to the integrated course. In order to award honors (“lode”) to the overall final mark, weighted average should be >30.5.

This course deals with topics closely linked to one or more objectives of the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development of United Nations