School of Pharmacy and Applied Science

Student feedback

Subject names link you to the latest student feedback. To view a description of the subject go to the Unit Database and use the subject code to search.

BIO1CO Biology of Cell and Organism - 2009

In this unit we cover biological units from molecules to organisms.  Topics include simple biomolecules, cells and some cellular processes like respiration and photosynthesis, as well as organ systems and how they are organised in plants and animals. Mendelian genetics are also covered and all the material is presented in an evolutionary context.  Practicals introduce skills in laboratory technique and introduce a number of biological disciplines.
In 2009, as in most years, students feel that one the best thing about this unit was the practical component, however, this year students were particularly positive about the diversity presented and the lectures and lecturing staff general as well as having access to all the notes on LMS.
According to students’ responses, this unit can be improved by providing more ongoing feedback throughout the semester for example through practice or test questions after each section and by providing more tutorials. The next time the unit is offered, concept maps will be trialled as a way of giving students an idea how they are travelling throughout the semester and more instructions on biological drawing will be given.  The curriculum reform, which specifies that a reorganised course be run by 2011, will be a major force to introduce further changes in 2010 and 2011.  The changes will largely address assessment and its relation to learning objectives of the unit.

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BIO1OOS, Organs and Organ Systems - 2008

Organs and Organ Systems is an introductory physiology unit focussing on humans, but also referring to animal species. It builds on the syllabus from Biology of Cells and Organisms - to demonstrate how homeostasis is maintained and how environmental stressors such as temperature and atmospheric pressure affect physiology. Students use a variety of learning tools in this unit. There are lectures, tutorials and practical exercises, which are integrated so that students can build on the theory from lectures and explore aspects of physiology in the practical setting. Some practicals involve human observations and experimentation, others use animal experimentation and finally there are some computer simulations for more complex experiments. Students also improve their written communication skills by writing a scientific essay. They find this challenging, but enjoy the opportunity to explore a single topic in some depth. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was that the content was interesting, staff were helpful and the assessments were appropriate. At the request of students time is devoted to essay writing skills, data analysis and data interpretation which they appreciate.

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BIO2IMB Introduction to Microbiology - 2008

Introduction to Microbiology provided a good foundation to understanding the core concepts required for future studies in microbiology and virology. Students once again found this subject challenging, yet rewarding. The high workload issue is to be addressed in 2009 by reducing the number of written assignments in the subject (which are quite time consuming) to be replaced with an in-class skills test.

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BIO2BMO, Biomolecules and BIO2IMM, Intermediary Metabolism - 2008

These units have been offered to Applied Science students in first and second semester. They has been used to introduce students to the various biomolecules and metabolic processes by which cells/organisms extract and utilise energy. These unit were not surveyed in 2008 because of a low enrolment. In 2009, they will merge with BIO2BPC (Biochemistry for Pharmacy) to produce a new unit (Metabolic Biochemistry) and are thus no longer offered to students.

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BIO2BPC, Biochemistry for Pharmacy - 2008

In this unit students study the chemical processes by which cells extract energy from a variety of foodstuffs and utilise this energy in various cellular processes. This is of relevance to pharmacy in that most pharmaceutical agents exert their effect by altering or inhibiting these metabolic processes. According to the student response, the best things about this unit were that sufficient revision was done in the tutorials; that material was presented in a manner, which enabled students to absorb the information presented, and that the practical work was integrated with theoretical material. The student feedback also showed that this unit can be improved by making the subject material more relevant to pharmacy. This unit will be completely revised as part of the restructuring of the Bachelor of Pharmacy course, with a view to incorporating pharmacy-related material and integrating this with other units.

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BIO2CES Excitable Cells and Endocrine Systems - 2007

In this unit students are to challenge their preconceptions about how the brain works and are given the opportunity to develop ideas how cellular signalling ultimately drives the behaviour of the organism. Many students thus found the unit very interesting. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the lecturers, all being committed and inspiring. Students also expressed that this unit can be improved by providing more feedback on their learning, in particular in regards to the practical component The next time the unit is offered, more feedback on the 1st assignment will be provided.

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BIO2ECO Ecology - 2009

In BIO2ECO, students are exposed to the principles of ecology.  Current ecological research in Australia is incorporated into the lecture and prac material whenever possible.
Students commented that the best thing about this unit was the practical component, but lectures and the material in general were also embraced with enthusiasm by many.  Overall, students did not identify a single aspect that needed improvement, but the next time the unit is offered, they will be encouraged to ask more questions and the link from the theory to the practical will be made more clear.  The curriculum reform may introduce some changes that are necessitated by courses for which this unit is core.  These will be largely concerned with matching assessment with learning objectives.

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BIO2PE, Plant Ecology - 2008

In this unit, students learn how plants work. Many examples are drawn from the Australian flora and some practicals are conducted in the local bushland. Assessment is by means of prac reports, an assignment (which students can chose from a list), and a final exam. According to the survey responses, students were very positive about this unit. Many students felt the prac was the best part of the subject and that the prac was relevant and well integrated with the lecture material (although some students disagreed on this point). Students also said that the material presented was interesting and that the staff was very helpful and enthusiastic. Some students expressed that this unit could be improved by giving more structure to the lectures and making the connection between prac and theory more obvious. A few students also felt that the workload was very high. For next year, the lecture component will be re-vamped. It has been getting a little worn and tired.

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BIO3BMB Brain, Mind and Behaviour - 2007

In this unit students explore various topics in neurophysiology. While based on a foundation in neurophysiology, at least half of the learning is based on critical discussion of articles and critical analysis of practical exercises. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the practical component and the teaching staff's effort and skill to make the topic interesting. According to the student response, this unit can be improved by providing more guidance on what to study (and what not) The next time the unit is offered, a block-mode offering will be organised with more formal time devoted to article discussion and prac analysis.

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BIO3MBT, Molecular Biotechnology - 2008

In this unit students are introduced to the basic mechanisms by which genetic information is transmitted and expressed within organisms. This leads into a survey of the various means by which DNA can be manipulated so as to create recombinant organisms. The second part of the unit is a consideration of how recombinant DNA technology is used in current biomedical practice. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was that material presented was interesting and relevant. Students also said that this unit can be improved by improving the feedback given to students. Given that the Bachelor of Pharmacy program is undergoing significant restructuring, a consequence is that this unit will not exist in its current form in 2009.

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BIO3CHI Clinical Haematology and Immunology - 2007

In this unit students are introduced to the normal physiological processes and the pathology of diseases within the fields of haematology and immunology.  Upon successful completion of the subject, students should be able to interpret abnormal morphology in a blood film, carry out the essential laboratory tests used to diagnose disorders of haemoglobin and of coagulation, perform essential blood banking procedures and analyze: the immune response to infectious agents, immune competency, immunodeficiency, immune hyperactivity, malignancy and histocompatibility.
According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the interesting material and its relevance to a possible career in laboratory medicine.  The use of practicals and case studies to improve problem solving skills was appreciated.
According to the student response, this unit can be improved by making the practical exercises more robust and limiting the amount of material to be learned.  It was suggested that tutorials might be a good idea.
The following changes will be made the next time the unit is offered.  Practical classes will be changed to make them more reliable and discussion of the case studies will be extended to reinforce the lecture content, effectively making them a tutorial as well as a problem solving exercise.

BIO3CHI was not surveyed in 2008 due to an enrolment below 15.  Since then, the unit has been amalgamated with BIO3CBH and is no longer offered.

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BIO3CBH, Clinical Biochemistry and Haematology - 2009

In this unit, students are taught the basics of clinical haematology and clinical biochemistry, the two largest areas of Pathology testing.  They become familiar with the terminology and gain abilities in problem solving with simple clinical case studies.  There is also an emphasis on working as a group and being able to present a case study in a professional manner.  These are all skills they would require as a hospital pharmacist.
According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the availability of lecture materials, the case study approach and the relevance of the information and skills taught to their future profession.
According to the student response, this unit can be improved by encouraging more of their colleagues to attend the oral presentations of their fellows and by ensuring a quicker turnaround on assessments of their presentations.  There was also concern about certain students not pulling their weight in group presentations but sharing in the good marks.
The next time the unit is offered I will endeavour to have the group comment on the relative contributions of each member in the group so that a more fair distribution of marks can be achieved.  Continuing use of LMS for the delivery of marks and assessments should ensure a faster turnaround on marking and other staff members will be asked to contribute to the marking of oral presentations.

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BIO3CBC, Clinical Biochemistry - 2008

In this unit students study enzymes and their role as diagnostic reagents in clinical practice. Student feedback indicated that the best thing about this unit was that practical classes were interesting and relevant to material presented in lectures. According to the student response, this unit can be improved by improving turnaround times for returning submitted practical reports. This will be addressed next year.

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CHE1C1A, Chemistry 1A - 2009

Chemistry 1A is a first semester, first year unit designed to give students an introduction to aspects of organic and physical chemistry. Students are taught to identify functional groups and name organic molecules, do calculations in equilibrium, thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. Students generally enjoyed lectures, with many commenting on how they thought the unit was relevant with a good lecturing and learning environment. Students found the unit challenging and the exam difficult. In general, most students did not take advantage of tutorial opportunities because they came unprepared. Students would certainly benefit from completing the problem sets from the text before tutorial classes. More complex problems were presented via LMS. Students who completed all of the LMS problems tended to perform better in the final exam.

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CHE1C1B Chemistry 1B - 2009

I had a high response from students, 72% in total. According to the student response, the best parts of this unit were Case Studies that were conducted in Workshops at the end of each week, thorough lecture notes and clear linked relevance with pharmacy. They were satisfied with a level of support and the quality of the unit. If the unit is to be offered again, I would like to teach it over two semesters. Also I would include tests after each group of drugs thought.

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CHE2ENV Environmental Chemistry - 2007

Environmental Chemistry is a first semester, second year unit designed introduce students to fundamental chemical processes taking place in the environment. This includes aspects of aquatic chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, soil chemistry, chemical toxicology, and environmental monitoring. The responses received from the quality assurance survey for this unit were generally very positive. This is reflected in the high satisfaction scores (mean of 4.0) to the question "Overall I was satisfied with the quality of the unit". Positive student responses were: "Time is taken to demonstrate where different aspects of the course may be applied", "the workload was manageable", "the sort of pracs we did were very good and interesting", "interesting content", "developing team working skills", and "The assignments were interesting". Only 3 responses were received regarding aspects of the unit that needed improvement. These related to "clearer practical manual instructions", doing "more examples of questions" in class, and making lecture material "easier to understand". Appropriate changes are being made to address these concerns. Regarding the last comment made by one student to make lecture material "easier to understand", it should be pointed out that generally students find the level of material in this unit is appropriate. However, some students with a weaker chemistry background have taken this unit and find they have to put in extra time to understand chemistry concepts unfamiliar to them and consequently find it more difficult to cope with.

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CHE2PHC, Pharmaceutical Chemistry - 2008

In this unit the students gain an understanding of spectroscopy (¹H, ¹³CNMR, IR &UV) for structure elucidation of organic molecules and drugs. The chemistry of carbohydrate and heterocyclic compounds is studied, as is the importance of this chemistry to the structure and activity of drug compounds..
According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the practical classes, tutorial which were very useful and kept things on track and the lecturer easy approach and good ability to explain the subject
Students also felt that this unit can be improved by giving more examples during the lecture time. As a result, the unit content will be looked in to, and more examples will provided and discussed during lectures time.

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CHE2MCA Medicinal Chemistry A - 2009

This unit was well received by the students as it is in a revised form which consists of two parts; The first part deals with biological molecules, carbohydrate, lipids and heterocyclics. The second part is about drug development and deals with qualitative and quantitative structure activity relationship and metabolism. The students liked the two short mid semester tests which encouraged them to revise. They found the unit challenging and relevant to their study and were appreciative of the availability and readiness of the lecturer to help them, whether during lecture time or outside lecture time. The students acknowledged that the unit textbook and the online experiment of unknown determination was useful, they liked the problem solving in lectures at the end of each section and they found the semi-notes well organised and useful for learning. Some of the students would have liked more guidance with what to study and what not for the final exam. A range of other improvements was also suggested, which included less material to be contained in the unit, the introduction of tutorials as well as some improvement to the semi-notes. Some students also do not like the two hour lectures, however the two hour lecture period is used to solve the problems in the end of each section therefore this extended time is very useful. The following changes will be made in this unit in the future; Students will be given some indication of what will be included in the final exam and the semi-notes will be improved.

CHE2MCA Medicinal Chemistry A - 2007

In this unit the students are introduce to the concepts of drug hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, drugs acid base characters, drug development by design, SARS, QSARS, and drugs metabolism, classical analytical methods; titrations calibration methods, instrumental techniques, electronic spectroscopy UV-visible, atomic absorption and emission methods as well as separation methods like HPLC and GC techniques. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the practical sections, interesting lecture notes were well organised as a book and very helpful. Lecturers are really easy to listen to and make their work interesting and helpful and having a mid semester test motivated them to study . Students also felt that this unit could be improved by a good text book. The prescribed books Patrick G. An introduction to medicinal chemistry, 3rd Ed. 2004 and Thomas G. An introduction to medicinal chemistry 2001 are the best books available and the lectures are based on these two books in addition to W. O. Foye's etal Principles of medicinal chemistry, 5th ed. 2002. as recommended one. However high number of student did not purchase the prescribed books. The solution is to encourage the students to buy the prescribed books. The next time the unit is offered students will be encouraged to buy the prescribed books and the pre lab talk will be extended to give more detailed information about the experiment for that period.

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CHE3CP Colloids and Polymers - 2007

This unit investigates the world of macro molecules, plastics and colloids and their use in the modern world. The subject is split into two distinct sections—one pertains to the chemistry of polymers, the other colloids. The physical chemistry of these systems is discussed in detail, along with applications in the industrial setting, with particular attention on use in the pharmaceutical industry. Most students found the material presented to be useful and interesting. Some students complained that parts of the unit were difficult to follow, or that the theory was too 'abstract'. In 2008, a workshop class will replace a lecture so that applications and problems can be more fully discussed and explored.

CHE3CP was not offered in 2008.

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CHE3MCB, Medicinal Chemistry B - 2009

I had a high response from students, 72% in total. According to the student response, the best parts of this unit were Case Studies that were conducted in Workshops at the end of each week, thorough lecture notes and clear linked relevance with pharmacy. They were satisfied with a level of support and the quality of the unit. If the unit is to be offered again, I would like to teach it over two semesters. Also I would include tests after each group of drugs taught.

CHE3MCB, Medicinal Chemistry B - 2008

This unit introduces the molecular modelling techniques, computer-aided drug design and common molecular modelling terminology. Students are introduced to the concept of a pharmacophore, and how this concept can be used as a tool in drug development, as well as in the analyses of drug-receptor interactions. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the lecturers' willingness to help and guide the studies and make the information available. Other feedback indicates that this unit can be improved if the modelling computer program is improved and some feedback about the marking of the modelling prac would be given Next time the unit is offered, changes to the delivery mode and the concentration on the therapeutic application of the drugs will hopefully remove students' concerns.

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PHA1IPP Introduction to Pharmacy Practice - 2009

In this unit students learn about different areas of pharmacy and information technology.  The students found that the pharmacy practice workshops and guest lecturers together with the IT tutorials contributed to their learning.  They thought the unit could be improved by changing the IT component and having clearer objectives.  The following changes will be made for 2010 in that the objectives will be more clearly related to the content and the IT component will explicitly show how it relates to the pharmacy profession.

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PHA1PPA, Pharmacy Practice A - 2008

In this unit students are taught pharmaceutics (the science of turning a drug into a medicine), extemporaneous dispensing and communication skills. Students expressed that the best things about this unit were the practical sessions and pharmaceutics lectures. According to the student response, this unit could be improved by changing the communication section and reducing the amount of assessment in the last few weeks of semester. The next time the unit is offered, communications will not be included and the calculation assessment will be before the semester break.

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PHA2PGA Pharmacology A - 2009

In this unit students are to challenge their preconceptions about how the brain works and are given the opportunity to develop ideas how cellular signalling ultimately drives the behaviour of the organism. Many students thus found the unit very interesting. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the lecturers, all being committed and inspiring. There were no clear major improvements noted by students, but it was suggested to make audiotapes of lectures available. Next year, we aim to put audio-recordings of lectures and the computer simulation on LMS.

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PHA2PGB Pharmacology B - 2007

In this unit students explore the effects of drugs acting on the immune, renal, cardiovascular and respiratory systems; and drug effects on atherosclerosis, lipoprotein metabolism, haemostasis, thrombosis and haemopoiesis. Within these topics students are introduced to the role of peripheral mediators; the concepts of toxicology; adverse effects and reactions to medications; contraindications and incompatibilities. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the lectures. Students commented that all lecturers were well prepared, enthusiastic and very helpful. In general students enjoyed lecture content and understood its relevance to pharmacy practice. According to the student response, this unit can be improved by better streamlining of assessment tasks, particularly regarding timely feedback. In 2008, this unit will be integrating the case histories into the workshops more formally so that students get feedback each week, which should address this problem. Overall students enjoy this unit even though it has a demanding workload because they can see its relevance to their future role as pharmacists.

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PHA2PPB, Pharmacy Practice B - 2008

According to the students’ responses, the best thing about this unit was the lecturer and workshops. Improvements in the notes provided and the fact there is so much to learn in so little a time were comments that will be taken on board. This unit will not run next year but parts of it will be subsumed into the new integrated unit “Practice and Therapeutics”

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PHA2PTA, Pharmaceutics A - 2008

In this unit students learn about and prepare two phase products such as suspensions and creams. According to the student response, the best things about this unit were the prac tutorials and prac sessions. Students also felt this unit can be improved by improving the organisation of the prac interviews, by making lectures more interactive and providing online lecture notes prior to lectures. The following changes will be made the next time the unit is offered: prac interviews will be scheduled over two days not one, lectures will include more interactive activities and lecture notes will be placed on the LMS prior to lectures whenever possible.

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PHA3PTB, Pharmaceutics B - 2008

In this unit students learn about solid dosage forms, complex pharmacokinetics and are required to show competency in extemporaneous dispensing and pharmaceutical calculations. - According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was online calculation quizzes, label assessments and pharmaceutics lectures. Feedback also indicated that this unit can be improved by providing more structure to the tutorials and more explanation of what is required in prac classes. Next time the unit is offered the structure of the tutorials will focus more on prac and prac assessments, the calc test will be earlier in semester to reduce the workload toward the end of semester and documentation for one product made in each practical session will be placed on the LMS.

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PHA3PGC, Pharmacology C - 2009

This unit is being restructured in 2010 and will no longer exist in its current format.  It is hoped however that the best elements are retained in the new unit.  These include the lecturing format, plenty of tutorials, and some reworking of the clinical case history/workshop exercises.  All were valued by students and staff to varying degrees.

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PHA3PGD, Pharmacology D - 2008

In this unit students explored the cellular and molecular processes within the brain, and how subtle changes in the brain-physiology will result in spectacular and often debilitating behavioural pathologies. While this provides some framework for rationale psychopharmacology, it doesn't give us the level of understanding as compared to other areas in pharmacology. Students find this fascinating, yet challenging. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the topic and the efforts and enthusiasm of the teaching staff. Other feedback indicates that this unit can be improved by providing more guidance and feedback with the assessment task. The next time the unit is offered, we aim to provide more ongoing feedback on the assessment tasks.

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PHA3PPL Clinical Pharmacy, Legislation and Practice - 2009

Students seemed to enjoy a unit that concentrated on the teaching of the three major areas of liver disease, asthma and diabetes. According to the student response, the best thing about this unit was the relevance of the material and the hands on approach to the teaching of diabetes. From student responses it was seen that this unit can be improved by the better organisation of the material and less postponement of lectures, plus modification of the notes provided. Next year this unit will be split in two and a more integrated approach to the teaching of pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and pharmacy practice/therapeutics will be made. This new unit will also have new objectives and assessment procedures.

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PHA4BT Biotechnology - 2009

This unit introduces students to the principles and techniques of molecular biology and how they may be applied to modern clinical and pharmacy practice. It was well received by students, who indicated that the content was pharmacy-related, and that it was presented in a clear and well organised manner. Some students suggested that the topics for the debates should be more closely related to pharmacy and that the assessment protocols should be revised. These debates were seen as a suitable form of assessment, and will be modified in light of student comments for 2010.

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PHA4CM Complementary Medicines - 2009

In this unit, students are introduced to a range of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs). Guest lecturers that are experienced in different aspects of complementary and alternative therapies teach into this unit and through this, along with self directed learning to research the area, students are encouraged to draw their own conclusions as the safety and appropriate uses of CAMs. According to the student response the best thing about this unit was the interaction with the guest lecturers. The student response also indicates that, this unit can be improved by having less assessment at the end of the semester. The following changes will be made the next time the unit is offered: guest speakers in a wider variety of therapies to run interactive workshops with assessments interspersed throughout the semester.

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PHA4PCA Pharmaceutical Care Quality Use of Medicines A - 2009

This unit underwent significant changes in the objectives (particularly the introduction of high level objectives), planning and execution compared to last year. Overall, despite initial concern by the students the oral assessments have seemingly achieved their objectives of assessing students' confidence and knowledge and the overall results of the unit were much better than hitherto. It is recognised that the administration of the program could have been improved and this will be a feature of our planning for subsequent years. On the whole the unit now seems to be a contemporary and modern way of not only teaching but also assessing fourth year students' knowledge and confidence and, as such, it should fit them well for future professional practice.

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PHA4PM Pharmaceutical Microbiology - 2009

In this unit, students enjoyed the fact that much of the material had specific clinical application. According to the student response, this unit can be improved by incorporating some more detailed laboratory practicals. The following changes will be made the next time the unit is offered: improvements to the practicals, detailed exam revision questions to allow for optimal exam preparation.

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PHA4PP, Pharmacy Project - 2008

In this unit, students choose a research project from a list provided, and work in groups of up to (in 2008) five students for the semester, under the guidance of a supervisor. Students are assessed by oral presentations and a written report, as well as their participation in the group work. According to the survey responses, some students highly appreciated the help provided by their supervisor, being able to work in a group and the fact that there is no exam in the unit. On the other hand, some students clearly felt insufficiently supported by their supervisor and disliked their project and felt that this unit was altogether a waste of time According to the response of some students, this unit can be improved by providing more continuous feedback from their supervisor through the semester's work and during the report writing stage as well as providing more interesting projects. The time allocated to each group by their supervisors varies, depending on student need and other commitments of the staff member concerned. Such difference between project topics and supervisor time commitment are difficult to regulate, however it is most important that groups are launched successfully by providing extra support at the start of semester. However, it is equally importantly that students are made aware, that this unit provides an opportunity for independent learning and problem solving activities and, although it has many challenging aspects, these are part of real life. The next time the unit is offered, it thus needs be more clearly spelled out that this unit is vehicle for transition into the workforce. In 2009, science students will also join the unit and this may change the overall feel of the unit as well. Spot checks will be introduced to gauge student perception throughout the semester in order to tackle problems sooner.

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PHA4PPM, Pharmacy Practice and Management - 2008

This unit is designed to prepare students for the legal and management aspects of professional practice. According to the student responses the knowledge imparted to them was very beneficial. Concerns were expressed about the availability of references in the Library and this will be addressed in 2009.

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SCI3PRJ Project - 2007

In this unit, students work on answering a research question, with the guidance of an academic supervisor.  Students will get a taste of the highs and (occasional) lows of scientific research and are expected to develop independent work habits and problem solving skills,
According to the student response, the best thing about this unit were the skills they acquired and the support given by their supervisor.  On the other hand, some students were unsure about the aims of their project and found the workload unmanageable.
There were very few suggestions as to how this unit may be improved, but the time students are expected to work must be made clear for staff and students alike, at the beginning of each semester.  Overall this unit received a very positive response.  Most students in this cohort have enjoyed the 'taste of research' and have gone on to apply for Honours.

SCI3PRJ was not surveyed in 2008, due to enrolment of less than 15 students.  However, the sentiment that students expressed informally mirrored that from 2007.

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