A Problem-Based Learning Course for Pharmacy Students on Alcohol and Psychoactive Substance Abuse Disorders

Although alcohol and psychoactive substance use disorders are major public health problems world-wide, few pharmacy schools include courses in their curriculum aimed to increase the awareness of such problems and the pharmacist’s involvement in their detection and prevention. A problem-based drug abuse and dependence elective course was developed and instituted in the fourth year of a four-year pharmacy program for students at the University of Toronto. The objectives of the course are to teach students their role in the detection and prevention of alcohol and substance abuse and to increase their knowledge with respect to the assessment and treatment of patients with alcohol and drug abuse problems. The structure, content, and novel methods of evaluation developed for the course are described. Student evaluations of the course have been positive and faculty find the student-teacher interaction during class rewarding and challenging. Limitations associated with the course relate to extensive instructor time requirements which are typical of problem-based instructional methods.