Case Study: Medication Mechanisms
Attribution
Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
NMC Proficiency: Platform 4 (Providing and evaluating care) - "Pharmacology"
Last Updated: December 2025
The Challenge
Pharmacodynamics (what the drug does to the body) is often dense and dry.
The Prompt (For Students)
Copy and paste this into Gemini 3 / GPT-5:
"I am struggling to understand how Beta Blockers (e.g., Bisoprolol) reduce blood pressure.
- The Analogy: Explain it using the analogy of a 'Key' (Adrenaline) and a 'Lock' (Beta Receptor) on a door (The Heart).
- The Visual: Describe an image I could generate with DALL-E that represents this 'blocked lock' mechanism.
- The Side Effect: Explain why this mechanism causes cold hands/feet."
Why this works
It forces the student to engage with the mechanism (locks and keys) rather than just memorizing the list of side effects.