Fundamentals of Pharmacology, 9th edition

For undergraduate and postgraduate students in the health science disciplines

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It is designed to establish a foundational knowledge of pharmacology - the study of drug and medication actions and interactions. Students of other health disciplines whose roles involve pharmacological therapy (such as pharmacy, podiatry, optometry, paramedic and physiotherapy), as well as those studying basic science, should find much of the material relevant to their studies. Qualified health professionals may also find this textbook useful as a part of their continuing professional education and postgraduate studies.

Philosophically, our goal is to empower health professionals through an understanding of the fundamental scientific principles of pharmacology that inform clinical practice. To promote understanding, we believe that the effects of medicines on physiological and pathophysiological processes have to be clearly explained. We have included a small amount of chemistry and biochemistry where appropriate to facilitate this understanding. With a greater appreciation of the action of medicines and their target tissues, the reader should be able to deduce what therapeutic and adverse effects to expect, as well as the precautions and contraindications to consider. We have sought to balance the pharmacology content with considerations associated with clinical practice in the most readable way.

Where possible, we have tended to describe the important characteristics of medicine groupings rather than focus on individual agents. We have used prototypes and common generics as examples. The rationale for this approach is that new medicines are regularly entering the market while older agents are removed. The average practitioner cannot possibly keep up with all these changes. However, if a student knows which grouping a new agent belongs to, the principal characteristics of the medicine can be easily deduced.

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Key features

• Concept maps - Shows the links between the pharmacology and pathophysiology of common conditions
• Specific icons - Visual ways to identify whether medicines are available in Australia and/or New Zealand
• Clinical management boxes - Highlights clinical applications of theory and uses the clinical decision-making framework in a step-by-step process for care of the person
• Case studies - Gives students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios in a low-stakes environment, thereby developing important critical thinking and analysis skills.
• Review questions - Consolidation of student's learning

New to this edition

• Framework change: Focuses on a body systems approach - A systems approach in nursing is one that organises health assessment around different body systems, such as cardiac, respiratory, neurological, gastrointestinal, urinary, and musculoskeletal systems. Moving to a systems-based approach will help students navigate the content easier and find what they need more quickly.
• New section - Inflammation, immunity and cancer - Content and flow fit better within this new section allowing for a better learning experience for the learner.
• Streamlining of content topics and chapters - As this product is designed to establish foundational knowledge of pharmacology, this edition has focused on streamlining the content to core needs. As such, there has been integration of some topics into current chapters and removal of content some instances.
  • Removed
    • The roles and responsibilities of health professionals in medicine adherence, education and advocacy, will be removed as this is usually covered in other nursing titles
    • Management of common adverse drug reactions, as this was causing confusion for students
    • Drug development and evaluation, as the focus is on drug safety.
    • Drug abuse in sport - not core content for target audience
  • Integrated
  • An introduction to chemical mediators
  • Histamine and antihistamine (taken in within the 'inflammatory' part of the text)
  • Prostaglandins and serotonin
  • Nitric oxide and the endothelins (taken in within another part of the text)