A pilot programme to teach pharmacology using the international nonproprietary names in a pharmacy school in Spain

Introduction: In pharmacology lectures, one of the major challenges faced by students is how students can remember an increasing list of a large number of drug names. Although university teachers use the international non-proprietary names (INNs) of drugs in their teaching practice, this is not enough to help students be competent in this area. 

Programme description: The School of Health Sciences Blanquerna, University Ramon Llull, was invited to join the World Health Organization (WHO) School of INN (SoINN) project as an expert consultant to represent the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Academic Institutional Membership (AIM). A pilot programme in utilising the INN in the pharmacology lecture in an undergraduate pharmacy programme was conducted. 

Evaluation: To assess how the students perceived this new topic, a short survey was conducted at the end of the term. Of the 32 students, 50% of them completed the survey. Most of them provided high value on the use of stems in their learning. Future plan: The current course was extended to other degrees of the pharmacy programme.