How Simulated Oral Medications Enhance Pharmacology Training

Pharmacology is the area of medical training that concerns the relationship between medicinal drugs and the human body. Medical students studying pharmacology will learn about the natural and synthetic chemical agents used to create oral medications and how the human body reacts to these agents after consumption. 

Virtually every field of medicine administers pharmaceutical drugs of some kind to patients. Oral medications, alongside other essential nursing supplies, are the most common for relieving a patient’s pain, discomfort, and other symptoms related to their health condition. Medical students specializing in pharmacology will be expected to understand the various oral medications and their impact on the patients who consume them.

Medical schools use simulated oral medications to teach pharmacology to students because they are merely placebos with no real medicine in them. Only the labeling and packaging of the oral medications look real, but the medication itself is not real. That way, medical students will not risk harming patients when learning which medications to give to them in clinical settings. 

Below are the top five ways that students understand and become more proficient in pharmacology by training with simulated oral medications.   

1) Familiarize Students with the Labeling and Packaging

The greatest benefit of simulated oral medications is how much the labeling and packaging look real. To the untrained eye, a person would never know that these oral medications are only simulations and not real. Everything from the medication box to its container looks as if it came from a real pharmacy. It is the perfect way to familiarize your pharmacology students with the oral medications they will use in a real clinical setting someday. 

The labeling and packaging will display specific information about the oral medications, such as the name of the drug, the dosage amount, consumption instructions, safety warnings, and other critical information. Students are encouraged to read all the literature on the labeling and packaging to educate themselves thoroughly. 

2) Practice Administering Medication to Simulated Patients

Part of a student’s pharmacology training is selecting the correct oral medication to treat a patient’s symptoms or health condition. Students must learn the risks involved and ensure they don’t choose the wrong medication for a patient. That is why students must consult their patients to learn about their allergies and sensitivities to certain drugs and ingredients. 

Of course, there is no risk to the patient in this simulated setting. Not only are there harmless simulated medications used, but there are also simulated patients too. The simulated patients are well-trained human patients who possess the necessary clinical skills to know how to realistically react to doctors and the oral medications given to them. 

For example, if a student gave a simulated patient the wrong oral medication after learning about their medical issues, the simulated patient would react the way a real patient would in this situation. It allows the student to see the ramifications of their mistakes first hand so they know what to do and not do next time around. 

3) Reduces Pharmacology Errors

The whole purpose of using simulated medications in pharmacology training is to teach students to reduce errors and mistakes. Students can afford to make mistakes with simulated medications because they are merely placebos with no real-world effect on patients. However, the idea is for students to learn from those mistakes so that they don’t make them again. 

Educators should supply various types of simulated medications to students to train them to handle different healthcare emergencies and requests. Pharmacology students often make administration mistakes throughout the first year of their training. Then, by the second and third years, they become better and make fewer mistakes until they don’t make mistakes ever again. 

4) Develop Communication and Interaction Skills 

Pharmacology training is not all about reading labels and administering oral medications. Another major element of the training is to teach students how to communicate and interact with patients who may need oral medications. The simulated patients will engage with the students and ask them realistic questions about the medications available. 

The job of the students is to answer patients’ questions and provide them with information and knowledge about the available oral medications to treat their symptoms and health conditions. Remember that students are acting like the doctors in this scenario, so they need to show the patients that they know what they’re talking about. 

By the time students get to this level in their pharmacology training, they should already know about the various chemical agents in oral medications and what they do to a patient. So, the students must convey this knowledge to the simulated patients to show them that they understand these medications and what they do. 

5) Find Alternative Medications

There is usually more than one type of oral medication that can treat a patient’s health problems. If a simulated patient expresses no improvement after receiving the simulated medication, it will teach the students to find alternative oral medications that may be more effective for the patient. 

Anyone who has ever taken oral medication has probably had a similar experience, where one type of oral medication was better at treating their health condition than another. As pharmacology students develop their knowledge and experience in administering various types of medications, they will know which alternative medications to recommend to patients when other medications are not working for them. 

Get Simulated Medications for Your School’s Pharmacology Training Course

Pristine Medical is a trusted supplier of simulated medications and medical products for medical schools and training facilities. You can get the simulated oral medications you need to train your students in the field of pharmacology successfully. Simulated medications are more effective pharmacology training tools than other simulation methodologies like manikins or virtual reality. 

Once you obtain your supply of simulated oral medications, the next step is to arrange for simulated patients to help train your students. Combining simulated oral medications and patients in a training session will ensure your students receive a top-notch