Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to identify a pathology and the pharmacological agents used to treat it. This paper will assess your ability to interpret and examine scientific information (GEC 6) and critically analyze (GEC 3) content throughout this course as well as through additional research on the topic. This paper will assess the following course outcomes:
Establish mechanisms of action, pharmacological indications, side effects, adverse reactions, contraindications, and therapeutic considerations for each major pharmacological class prototype. (Bloom’s III; GEC 3, 4, 6)
Differentiate between normal body functioning and underlying pathophysiology for the diseases for which pharmacological interventions are indicated. (Bloom’s IV; GEC 3,5)
Assignment Overview: Your paper should include the underlined items in blue as section headings.
1. Title page:
This is a separate page by itself, with the following information centered in the middle of the page: course title, paper title, student’s name, instructor’s name, and date.
2. Introduction and background:
Start the paper on a new page.
Write a paragraph briefly introducing the drug you have been assigned. Describe its main indications, that is the disease/disorder that the drug treats.
Keep in mind that there could be many indications – diseases/disorders – that your specific drug can be used to treat, so choose just one – the most common one, or the one we are focusing on in class – and briefly mention how your drug is used in its treatment.
3. The body of the paper should include the following 3 sections that are underlined, focusing on all aspects of the drug:
This paper should focus on the drug and not the disease/disorder.
Causes and various types of the chosen indication (disease/disorder): You will pick one indication for your assigned drug to focus on in this section. You will briefly tell the reader about the different types of the disease/disorder, as well as the primary causes of this disease.
Treatment recommendations: In this section, you are going to present the common treatment options often given to combat the disease/disorder that you have chosen. This should include:
Non-pharmacological treatments, if any
Brief therapeutic information about different drugs, other than the one that has been assigned to you
Pharmacological aspects of the recommended treatment: In this section, with a focus now on the drug assigned to you, provide a detailed explanation of the following key information in a systematic manner. Be sure to explain any relevant scientific rationale and therapeutic considerations/patient teaching that logically ties into each of the following sub-sections. Do not simply create lists.
Pharmacological class and indication
Pharmacodynamics and mechanism of action
Pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion)
Side effects and adverse effects (Do not simply create lists.)
Contraindications (Do not simply create lists.)
4. Conclusion:
Summarize your findings. All good research papers should include a conclusion where you wrap up and summarize all of the important points made in your paper.
5. References:
As with the Title page, this should be a separate page by itself.
All references should be included in correct and complete APA format.
All references must be cited appropriately in the paper using APA-style in-text citations.
More than 5 current and authoritative sources, of which at least 3 are peer-reviewed journal articles or scholarly books.
