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Pharmacology Refresher for Home Health Therapists & Nurses

Session 1: Principles of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice
Recorded

Session 2: Medications Used in the Treatment of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Conditions
Recorded

Session 3: Medications Used in the Treatment of Diabetes
Recorded

Session 4: Medications Used in the Treatment of Pain and Inflammation
Recorded

Evaluation for Full Series

Home health clinicians encounter all types of medications in their patients’ medicine cabinets and it is important that they are well-grounded in pharmacology. This webinar series will cover the key principles of pharmacology and review medications used to treat common diseases and conditions.

Series participants will learn concepts important to the use of medications in patients including common terminology, the effect of comorbid disease or concomitant medications on therapeutic and toxic effects, and special considerations based on a patient’s age and comorbidities. To introduce pharmacy practice, the session will discuss routes of drug administration and general time to onset of effect, advantages, and disadvantages of various drug information sources, and will provide recommendations on medication history taking and medication reconciliation in the patient’s home.

Presenter:

Tayla Rose, PharmD, MEd, RPh, BCACP, CDE, serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences School of Pharmacy at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She practices as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist at Lynn Community Health Center in Lynn, MA. She completed a Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency with a focus in Ambulatory Care at Northeastern University and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)/Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Tayla received her B.S. in Pharmacy Studies and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of Connecticut in 2011 and 2013, respectively.  She completed her Masters in Education at Northeastern University in 2019.

Session I.

Principles of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice

Objectives:

  1. Explain the general characteristics of various categories of medications including prescription, over the counter, herbal/complementary alternative, controlled substances, brand and generic drugs.
  2. Given the route of administration of a drug, predict the time to onset of effect.
  3. Identify factors that may affect a patient’s response to a medication including age, interacting medications / foods or comorbid disease states.
  4. Describe advantages and disadvantages of example drug information resources.
  5. Describe strategies to assess medication history and adherence to a medication regimen.
  6. Conclusion and questions

Session II.

Medications Used in the Treatment of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Conditions

Objectives:

  1. Identify medications that act on the cardiovascular or respiratory systems and classify them by mechanism of action.
  2. Identify basic therapeutic effects and common adverse effects of medications that act on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
  3. Identify therapeutic and toxic effects of medications used for the treatment of cough and cold.
  4. Describe anticholinergic adverse effects.
  5. Conclusion and questions

Session III.

Medications Used in the Treatment of Diabetes

  1. Identify medications used in the treatment of diabetes and classify them by mechanism of action
  2. Identify basic therapeutic effects and common adverse effects of medications used to treat diabetes
  3. Differentiate between injectable medications for diabetes, including: long-acting insulins, rapid-acting insulins, and GLP-1 receptor agonists
  4. Identify which diabetes medications are most likely to cause hypoglycemia and explain why these medications should be used cautiously in elderly patients.
  5. Conclusion and questions

Session IV.

Medications Used in the Treatment of Pain and Inflammation

  1. Explain the general step-wise approach to the treatment of pain.
  2. Given a patient’s medication list, identify which medications are primarily being used to treat pain or inflammation.
  3. Identify basic therapeutic effects and common adverse effects for the medications used to treat pain and inflammation
  4. Explain the rationale for the use of two or more pain medications together in combination.
  5. Conclusion and questions