Design and Implementation of an Elective on the Ethnopharmacology of Appalachia for the PharmD Curriculum

Abstract

Objective. To create and implement a class in ethnopharmacology that would educate student pharmacists on folk medicine, including home remedies and native plants that are used as alternative medicinal sources; active components of medicinal plants including toxicity issues and the mechanism of action of beneficial compounds, such as catechins and other flavonoids; and nutraceuticals and poisonous plants. Methods. In this three-credit hour class, herbal remedies are investigated from the standpoints of medical efficacy, potential toxicities and drug interactions with prescribed medications. Class discussions are conducted on the usefulness of remedies, the attitudes of practitioners toward traditional remedy use and the risks of relying on herbal preparations. Each student prepares a 15-minute presentation on a disease state, which covers modern pharmaceuticals and herbal or folk remedy alternatives used in that disease. Special emphasis is given to drug-herb interactions. Results. The class has gained popularity among students and consistently fills within the first hour of computerized registration. Students agree that being educated in the benefits and potential toxicities of herbal products will better prepare them to counsel their patients who use these remedies. The elective has been offered 10 times since 2007. Anecdotal comments from our alumni indicate that they have found the information to be very useful in their practice environments. Conclusion. Providing our students with a greater understanding of herbal remedies is essential to prepare them for practice. By including both the uses and potential toxicities, the student pharmacist is able to counsel her patients from a standpoint of expertise on these self-administered remedies.

An Integrative Review of Approaches Used to Assess Course Interventions

“…Examples of metrics that were used to study the academic performance were average final course scores, 20,[25][26][27] a range of final course scores, 28,29 , average student scores on various course assessments such as examinations, 20-22, 24-26, 30, 31 quizzes, 20,23,32,33 or other assignments. 20,26,27,33,34 In a few cases where the course intervention was limited to a certain part of the course the metric used to assess academic performance was not the entire assessment but the score on a group of questions that were related to the intervention. 19,23,30 Final course letter grades 20,21,25 and the number or percentage of students who passed or failed examinations 21,22,31 were also used as metrics for academic performance.…”

“…The three major approaches in the description of student evaluations were to generally describe the evaluations as a whole or in part; 15,22,24,30,36 to present evaluation scores; and/or to delineate the students' written comments. In the presentation of evaluation scores, various studies provided different metrics, such as one score that averaged all items regarding the instructor 20,21 or the course; 20,26,32 average scores for different items regarding the course 24,28,29,32 or both the course and the instructor; 25,36,49 or average scores for one item regarding the course. 15,30 In the presentation of student comments the main approaches were to provide a summary of the comments, 20-22, 24, 26, 30 excerpts from the comments, 25,26,28,29,44 or both.…”

“…In the presentation of evaluation scores, various studies provided different metrics, such as one score that averaged all items regarding the instructor 20,21 or the course; 20,26,32 average scores for different items regarding the course 24,28,29,32 or both the course and the instructor; 25,36,49 or average scores for one item regarding the course. 15,30 In the presentation of student comments the main approaches were to provide a summary of the comments, 20-22, 24, 26, 30 excerpts from the comments, 25,26,28,29,44 or both. 49 One study, which collected student evaluations from seven years, conducted a qualitative thematic analysis to excerpts from student evaluations 29 as mentioned above for responses to free-text items in surveys.…”

Os efeitos farmacológicos e tóxicos da planta medicinal Euphorbia tirucalli: uma revisão sistemática

“…Cursos e apresentações educativas são essenciais para preparar os alunos para aconselhamento adequado, enfatizando também a sensibilidade cultural dos farmacêuticos. Estes profissionais desempenham um papel essencial na orientação segura do uso de plantas medicinais (Linger, 2017).…”

The Inquiry Ethnobotany Learning Model: An Instructional Design Model to Enhance Student Environmental Literacy

“…Unfortunately, society's recognition of medicinal plants differs from that of the current millennial generation. The results of studies (Harfouche et al, 2021;Linger, 2017;Ojalehto et al, 2017;Templeman et al, 2018) have found that students have been skeptical or doubtful of belief claims related to the utilization of medicinal plants as traditional medicine. Students' skepticism about the benefits of medicinal plants may have been due to the lack of evidential support (Ojalehto et al, 2017), differences with modern medical approaches (Linger, 2017), cultural influences and myths (Templeman et al, 2018), safety and risk (Harfouche et al, 2021), and negative experiences or Abstract.…”