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A Pharmacology Teaching Model
Cai-Li Zhang
Dept. of Pharmacology, Tianjin Medical University
Tianjin 300070, People’s Republic of China
Facing the fast development of
science, technology, knowledge and
information, our society needs high level
personnel, who not only have abundant
scientific knowledge, but also various
ability.
Seven-year program students are high
level students in Medical University, how
to improve the seven-year program
teaching, to make the students to be the
reserve force of real scientific and
technological personnel, it is an important
task for the University and faculty
members.
For many years in Tianjin Medical
University we have tried to improve
teaching Pharmacology in the field of
compiling materials, preparing the
lectures, giving the lectures and training
the comprehensive ability of the
students.
1．Compiling teaching materials

Compiling Pharmacology text
book in English
Construction of teaching material
should be at the same time with
reformation of teaching, writing
systemic, scientific, creative and
combing teaching realistic, highquality new teaching materials.
According to teaching content,
consulting newly published English and
Chinese text books and reference books,
we have written New English
Pharmacology text book. The book is
designed to provide a complete, current
and readable Pharmacology book both
for seven-year program and foreign
medical students.
The book was printed in 1997(1st
edition), 1999(2nd edition) and
2002(3rd edition). It is also used by
Medical School, Nankai University
and Henan Medical University. After
using this book for several years, it
shows that is a practical, high quality
basic science teaching material.

Compiling Pharmacology experiment
guideline in English for seven-year
program students
Natural science is based on practice.
The design of experiment depends on
theory. The result of experiment tests
and verifies or denies the theory.
In general, principle of Pharmacology,
Pharmacokinetics is one of the important
theoretical content, in the field of
directing rational use of drug in clinic,
preventing irrational drug use, it has
important
meaning.
Right
now,
Pharmacokinetics is developing broadly
abroad.
Rapidly and accurately determine
patient’s plasma drug concentration is a
basic step for calculating Pharmacokinetic
parameters. The determining “onecompartment, two-compartment model
blood concentration” experiment may help
the students to understand the theoretical
knowledge learned in classroom, and train
their ability of practice.
Most of the students study drugs isolated
and do not understand the use of drug
combination and drug interactions. To
overcome this shortage, we write discussion
materials, such as “the actions of autonomic
nervous system drugs”. Cholinergic drugs,
cholinoceptor-blocking drugs, adrenergic
drugs, and adrenoceptor-blocking drugs are
used in some animal model experiments.
Discuss the effects of these drugs.
Since they have interactions, when
they are used together, it is different
from that when they are used alone.
Through discussion, students understand
the interactions of cholinergic drugs,
cholinoceptor-blocking drugs, adrenergic
drugs and adrenoceptor-blocking drugs
after they are used in combination, then the
students’ comprehensive ability is raised.
We have case discussion class.
Representative cases are selected, let
students to discuss what should be
used and explain the reasons. Let them
to understand how to use drug
rationally, in order to manage drug
interactions and avoid side effects.

Compiling a review test book
2. Characteristics of teaching
For seven-year program medical
students from 1985 some professors
have insisted on giving lectures in
English, other faculty members use
both English and Chinese.
In Pharmacology half of the total
teaching hours is in English. Lecture
notes, outline, blackboard writing,
medical terms, drug names, Powerpoint for all the speakers are in English.
In teaching we insist the following:

Keeping the contents of the teaching
“new, deep and broad”.
We will explain the progress and
trends of Pharmacology and new
theories. To explain the mechanism of
action of drug on molecular level,
receptor and subtypes and ion levels.
We pay attention to the connection
between basic and clinical courses.

Preparing lectures collectively
Every unit one faculty member is in charge
of preparing lectures. He raises the key points,
difficult points. After discussion and
searching materials from literature, we may
understand the teaching material deeply and
manage the key points, difficult points in our
minds. Preparing lectures collectively
especially helps the young assistants and also
the whole faculty members to raise the
academic level in our field.

Using heuristic teaching method
Pay attention to the training of the
students’ intelligence, giving lectures
with heuristic method, emphatically
elucidating
the
drug
actions,
mechanism of action of drugs, side
effects and clinical uses of drugs.
Simply explaining other parts of the
materials, or directing the students to
read by themselves. Introduce the
important, meaningful new scientific
achievement as key point.
For example, in general principles
of Pharmacology, every student should
manage and know how to calculate
transport rate, rate constant, half-life,
apparent volume of distribution,
compartment model, and LD50.
New theories and new progress are
introduced in the following fields of teaching
materials, such as receptor-effector coupling
mechanism, mechanism of benzodiazepines,
dopamine receptor subtypes, opioid receptor
subtypes, mechanism of calcium antagonists,
nitrates, cardiac glycosides and diuretics,
mechanism of glucocorticoids, antithyroid
drugs,
antidiabetic
drugs
and
the
development of b-lactam antibiotics.

Connecting general principles with
practice
All the drugs have close relation
with diseases. Using heuristic teaching
method we introduce clinical cases to
the students. Let them think, analyze
and discuss how to use the drugs to
treat the diseases. Train the students’
differentiating and analyzing ability
and improve their studying method.

Paying attention to transverse
connection of different topics
Raising questions, discussion, review and
quiz are used to review the knowledge. For
example,
chlorpromazine,
aspirin
and
glucocorticoids can lower the body
temperature, but the mechanisms of action are
different. One question belongs to these
chapters. The students compose the similarity
and differences of these drugs. Thus, the
analytical ability of the students is raised.

Examinations and experiment reports
written in English
Small quiz, mid term exam, final
exam are all in English, and the
students are asked to answer the
questions in English. At the same time,
they have to write experiment reports
in English.

Writing abstracts and reviews
To improve the students’ medical English level, faculty
members direct students to write abstracts and reviews.

Totally raising students’ quality,
analytical ability and knowledge level
According to the analysis of the exam
records of 14 sessions, for seven-year
program students we have used English
text book, English teaching material and
given lectures in English, the result is well.
Students’ English level, writing ability is
raised. Most of them can communicate
with people, answer the questions, writing
experiment reports, abstracts and reviews
in English.
3. Inviting foreign professors to give
lectures
To elevate the teaching level of faculty
members, four American professors have
been invited to give lectures to students. We
also invited foreign professors and scientists
to give seminars. By means of this kind of
activities, faculty members and students may
understand the development and new trends
of Pharmacology.
4. Continuously elevating experiment
course level
Pharmacology experiment course has
important link with Pharmacology teaching.
It may not only consolidate and elevate the
theory, but also training the student
independent working ability. In the
experiment course we use closed TV, head
projector, slide projector, recorders video
tapes, power point, including all these
electrochemical teaching measures, which
are also used in classroom.
It is easy for students to understand
the abstract conceptions, to get direct
understanding.
5.Training young faculty members
The key point of elevating student quality is
to elevate the quality of young faculty
members. Facing the problem of continuous
renewal of the knowledge, increasing teaching
materials, comparatively shortening the
teaching hours, how to elevate teaching quality,
it raises a higher demand for faculty members.
a. Establishing young assistant
training system
Every new assistant is directed by
an associate professor or professor,
who helps him to perform teaching
task independently as soon as possible.
For lecturers and associate professors
all have special training plans.
b. Trial lecturing
Before giving the lectures to the sevenyear program students, young faculty
members and assistants must give the
lecture in English on a trail basis. By the
aid of preparing the lectures collectively,
we will point out the main point, difficult
points and points for attention.
Give them suggestion for their English
outline, blackboard handwriting, explanation
of main points, difficult points, pronunciation
of medical terms and express of words.
Encourage young assistants and faculty
members to give lectures in English. Now, we
have several young faculty members and
assistants who may give the lectures in
English. They are strong reserve force in
teaching Pharmacology in English.
c. Offering medical English course for
young faculty members
Training young assistants, graduate
students and young faculty members in
order to improve their English in the field
of Pharmacology, we use English textbook
as teaching materials. We have one and half
teaching hours once a week to elevate their
listening, reading, writing, and spoken
English level.
This course improves their teaching ability in
English. In our department we have had this
course for more than 20 years. For several
years we have invited foreigners once a week
to teach young assistants and graduate
students oral English. They have more chance
to practice their listening comprehension and
to improve their spoken English.
d. Encourage young faculty members to
communicate in English
Direct young faculty members and
graduate students to speak English; write
English reports, and present scientific paper
in English. Before faculty members attending
National or International meetings, they will
present their papers in English first in our
department.
We will give them suggestions including
how to present a paper, how to show the
outline, even correcting their pronunciation,
how to divide the time for different
contents, such as the topic, method, results
and conclusion.
Encourage faculty members to participate
competition of scientific paper presentation in
English both in our university and National
Pharmacology Meetings. At the same time
encourage them to participate competition in
giving lectures in English in our university.
e. Training research ability
Encourage young faculty members to
develop research work, so as to promote
teaching. They got grants: two items from
National Natural Science Foundation
(Young Science Foundation);one National
Education Committee sponsored key
faculty member project;
One Tianjin Municipal Science Committee
21st century Young Science Foundation; two
Tianjin Municipal Natural Science Foundation
sponsored key project and many items from
Tianjin Medical University Youth Foundation.
f. Training creativity of young faculty
members
In the teaching young faculty members
actively use their mind, improve their teaching
method and establish new experiments. They
participate in writing monograph, teaching
materials, handout and they publish teaching
papers. These achievements are their
continuous progress, specific expression of
purchasing creative spirit.