Teaching pharmacokinetics using a student-centered, modified mastery-based approach

Evidence from clinical clerkships and pharmacy practice suggests that pharmacy students have great difficulty learning to apply pharmacokinetic principles to patient care. It is hypothesized that the problem is one of contextual transfer of learning. An undergraduate pharmacokinetics course was redesigned to teach the process of contextual transfer using active learning strategies. A modified mastery grading system was adopted to encourage consistent, long-term learning. Five years of course assessment data indicate that the instructional and assessment methods result in an enhanced process for learning application of pharmacokinetics. Evidence from student assessments and from the practice environment suggests that students who complete our course do begin to overcome the barriers of contextual transfer. Descriptions of specific instructional strategies and supporting data are presented.