Development and implementation of an integrated cardiovascular module in aPharmD curriculum

The development and implementation of an integrated cardiovascular module o ccurred over a four-year period. The cardiovascular module integrated the f ollowing subject areas: pathophysiology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacokinetics, therapeutics and pharmacy practice. In order to accompli sh this integration, a total of twelve faculty representing several major s ubject areas participated in the design and implementation of the module. T he present manuscript discusses the developmental phases, implementation, a nd preliminary assessment of the course. Throughout the module, the coordin ator met weekly with a focus group consisting of five randomly selected stu dents. Immediately following the focus group meeting, the faculty involved in the course met to discuss case-reports, exam-writing assignments, and th e results of the focus group discussion. At the completion of the module, t raditional course evaluations as well as nominal group evaluations were use d to evaluate the course. The comparison of the two different forms of cour se evaluations suggests that the nominal group method provides similar feed back in a more efficient manner. finally, problems identified during the mo dule are discussed as well as strategies that were utilized to rectify the problems. This cardiovascular module shows that cross discipline teaching c an indeed work as long as faculty are willing to work together in a team fa shion with each other and the students.