As a specialised subject area, pharmacology deals with the actions or effects of drugs on the body. It has been described as the backbone of pharmacy in view of the more emergent role the profession of pharmacy now plays in the clinical care of patients and which requires deep knowledge in clinical pharmacology. It is equally an important subject of study in many other health disciplines such as medicine, nursing and radiography. Indeed the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics also teaches nursing and medical students as well as the pharmacy students at the University of Namibia.
The teaching of the subject at the UNAM School of Pharmacy focuses very much on making students understand in details the mechanisms of drug actions and the clinical use of drugs. By this means it is believed that learners will become empowered adequately at the end of a course programme in Pharmacology and Therapeutics to make informed decisions in rational drug use as will be required of them in future as Pharmacists competent enough to play their roles as advisors of both patients and other members of the healthcare team on the appropriate use of medications.
