Transversality of mathematical modelling techniques in Pharmacy by means of a spreadsheet

Abstract

The implementation of the EHEA in Pharmacy studies will lead to foster student self-learning. This way the student abilities to apply knowledge, learned in some subjects, to search knowledge in any other will be tested. Among such applicative knowledge, we can consider the mathematical modelling techniques, included in the field of Mathematics. This article draws attention to the usefulness of popular spreadsheets for Pharmacy students interested in the application of mathematical modelling techniques. Roughly speaking, a pharmacy student will probably have to perform mathematical calculations and experimental data visualizations, especially in the practice syllabus of some of his subjects. The use of software is important in this respect, not only in the learning step of the mathematical concepts in the corresponding math subject, but also in its application to other Pharmacy subjects. What application software can be chosen for the students? Although there are many candidates, a spreadsheet offers some capabilities that make it ideal for a Pharmacy student: short learning time, wide availability on different computer platforms and flexibility to carry out a variety of computational tasks. Finally, we present a Web page which provides self-learning material to Pharmacy students for harnessing the potential offered by the spreadsheets Excel (Microsoft Office) and Calc (OpenOffice.org) in the study of their subjects in Pharmacy.