Unit Outline

In Clinical Pharmacokinetics 4, you will deepen your understanding of how pharmacokinetic principles are applied in clinical practice, building on the foundations laid in previous units. This unit will focus on the mechanisms of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME), with particular emphasis on how these processes vary between individuals due to factors such as genetics, age, disease states, and drug interactions. You will explore these sources of interpatient variability through clinically oriented problems and case studies, reinforcing your ability to apply this knowledge in real-world scenarios. Therapeutic drug monitoring will be a key focus, enabling you to actively contribute to improved drug use and patient outcomes. By the end of this unit, you will be equipped to apply pharmacokinetic principles to optimise pharmacotherapy across diverse patient populations.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Optimise medication use by using pharmacokinetic principles.
2	Perform advanced pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic calculations used in pharmacy and clinical practice.
3	Deliver pharmacokinetic-related health and medicines advice and/or education to diverse audiences.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CSA306 and CSA357 and CSA321

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Based on student feedback, several alterations have been made to CSA414. First, in-class tests have been removed and remaining assessments re-weighted. Second, the video portfolio requirements have been reduced from three to two videos. Third, the final examination will be held within the study period and its duration reduced to one hour.

As always, the teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2025, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s Unit Survey following your completion of the unit.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Portfolio	Week 5	30 %	LO1, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Mid-Health Study Period Written test	Week 8	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Final Case-based Written Test	Week 12	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Portfolio

Task Description:

You will be required to build an individual portfolio of short videos that demonstrates the communication of pharmacokinetic principles to a variety of audiences utilising audiovisual media.

Task Length:

Variable

Due Date:

Week 5

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Communicate pharmacokinetic principles with depth, clarity and language tailored to the target audience and media type.	LO3
2	Analyse clinical problems or improve medication use by applying pharmacokinetic principles.	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Mid-Health Study Period Written test

Task Description:

You will undertake a case-based written mid-study period test, which will include multi-choice questions and short-answer questions.

Task Length:

45 minutes + 5 minutes reading time

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse clinical problems and improve medication use by applying pharmacokinetic principles.	LO1
2	Perform pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic calculations used in pharmacy and clinical practice.	LO2
3	Communicate pharmacokinetic principles to a range of audiences.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Final Case-based Written Test

Task Description:

You will undertake a case-based written test, which will include multi-choice questions and short-answer questions.

Task Length:

60 minutes + 10 minutes reading time

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Deconstruct clinical problems and improve medication use by applying pharmacokinetic principles.	LO1
2	Perform advanced pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic calculations used in pharmacy and clinical practice	LO2
3	Communicate pharmacokinetic principles with depth, clarity and language tailored to the target audience.	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes and achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

No required reading materials.