Welcome to Foundational Concepts in Pharmacology!

Over the upcoming weeks, we will release lesson installments of Foundational Concepts in Pharmacology. This course features topics integral to studying pharmacology in a clinically-relevant context. The course is taught by Kate McDonnell-Dowling, PhD and James P. Rathmell, MD. Key concepts are explained in brief Concept Video segments, and assessments allow you to test your knowledge of the content and learn alongside your peers. This course also features clinical linkages where you will learn how the key concepts relate to pharmacology. In addition, you will have the opportunity to discuss pharmacology with Harvard Medical School students if you utilize the course Ask a Question Forum!

All lessons release at 9:00 AM US Eastern time. The course lessons will be released in sequence, according to the following schedule:

• September 5, 2023 - Overview of Pharmacology
• September 5, 2023 - Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• September 12, 2023 - Pharmacokinetics - Part 1
• September 19, 2023 - Pharmacokinetics - Part 2
• September 26, 2023 - Targets for Drug Action
• October 3, 2023 - Pharmacodynamics
• October 10, 2023 - Drug Toxicity
• October 17, 2023 - Drug Discovery, Design, and Development
• November 7, 2023 - Wrap-Up and Practice Final is Released
• November 15, 2023 - Final Exam is Released
• November 17, 2023 - Course ends

After the course ends on November 17, 2023 at 9:00 AM US Eastern time, course material, including the final exam, will no longer be accessible and no exceptions can be given, so please plan accordingly.

The Course page can be found at the top left of the main navigation menu. Familiarize yourself with it— this page is where all learning materials live, and where you will spend most of your time in the course. When you get there, dive into the first lesson to get started!

You can check the Progress page, which is also found on the main navigation menu, to track the assessment questions you complete throughout the course. Questions within the lessons are marked as “Quiz” on the Progress page; these Quiz questions are worth 75% of your score. The optional Pre-Course Quiz, the optional Final Exam Practice Quiz, the Simulated Timed Exam, and the questions in the "How to Take This Course" lesson do not count towards your score. There is a single final exam at the end of the course that is worth 25% of your score. You can earn a Certificate of Achievement for performance in the course, or if you do not get a certificate of achievement, you can earn a Certificate of Completion. The criteria for each are explained below.

To help track your progress within the course, you will see Completion Indicators in the course outline and on each unit page that note the completion of each lesson. These checkmarks will appear when you complete all of the content in a lesson. If a lesson you have reviewed is not showing as complete, revisit the page to ensure you have completed all of the course material, including watching all videos from beginning to end without fast-forwarding or skipping. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of each page. If you experience technical issues with the completion indicators, first try the troubleshooting tips in the HELP tab. If issues persist, submit a problem report immediately.

A Certificate of Achievement indicates that you have finished the course with a strong understanding of the content. To qualify for a Certificate of Achievement, you must have a score of at least 80% overall, and at least 65% on the final.

Students who do not qualify for a Certificate of Achievement may still earn a Certificate of Completion. A Certificate of Completion indicates that you worked through all of the material in the course. To qualify for a Certificate of Completion, you must have watched all videos, completed all assessments, taken the final exam, and worked through all other course materials (with the exception of the Background Builders, which are optional materials).

If you qualify for both a Certificate of Achievement and a Certificate of Completion, you will only receive the Certificate of Achievement.

Certificates will be sent to you by email up to 60 days after the course is complete.

Please note that the deadline to drop this course and request a refund is Monday. September 11 at 12:00 noon US Eastern time. If you are taking this course through a program offered by your employer or school, please reach out to your program manager before the deadline to discuss dropping the course. Otherwise, please reach out to us at onlinelearning@hms.harvard.edu if you need to drop the course and request a refund. After this deadline has passed, we will be unable to process refund requests.

Assessments in HMX courses are designed to be rigorous and test what you have learned. Self assessment questions throughout this course help you check your understanding; these questions generally allow two attempts to answer.

Additionally, a final exam will be released toward the end of the course period. You may take the final at any point between its release and the end of the course, but you must take it in one sitting. This exam can only be taken once, and each question on the exam allows for one attempt only. The final exam is timed; once you start the exam, you will have 90 minutes to complete it. During the final exam period, your Progress page will be hidden. After the final exam period has ended, your Progress page with final grades will become available.

Students are expected to complete all academic work, including any assessments within the course, only on their own. Engaging in any activity that would dishonestly improve your results, or improve or hurt the results of others could result in academic penalties. Additionally, the exams, quizzes or questions provided within this course are for your individual use only. Copying, capturing, transmitting or providing all or any part of the exams, quizzes or questions to any other person is strictly prohibited.

If you need to request accommodations on any assessments, contact us at onlinelearning@hms.harvard.edu as soon as possible.

The assessment questions in this course are designed to help you learn, so you will have more than one attempt on many quiz questions in the course; the maximum number of attempts is specified with each question. In the final exam, you can only attempt each question once. Further attempts or re-scoring of assessment questions is not possible.

This course was produced and completed in 2018. Course materials, including text, assessment, graphics, and videos, are subject to revision at any time.