Incorporation of Internet Databases into Pharmacotherapy Coursework

The Internet is an international computer network that allows communication among institutions and individuals. The World-Wide Web (WWW) is the name of the system developed to facilitate the exploration and retrieval of information on the Internet. The availability of the WWW to access the Internet appears to be a major advance in communication and information technology. The purpose of this project was to assess and enhance student ability to access appropriate pharmacotherapy data using the Internet and to evaluate selected Internet sites as resources for our Pharmacotherapy of Neoplastic Diseases course. Students were assigned activities that required the use of Internet databases. The project evaluation administered at the conclusion of the course asked students to characterize their prior experience with the Internet and to respond to evaluative statements about the Internet assignments. These responses revealed that the class had very limited exposure to Internet sites dealing with biomedical sciences prior to this class. In addition, students consistently rated Internet assignments as positive learning experiences. Continued incorporation of Internet assignments into the curriculum of this course is planned.