Why I use a dating analogy to teach complex pharmacology

Every educational conference now seems to include discussions about artificial intelligence, immersive technology, adaptive learning platforms or the next technological innovation. And rightly so – these conversations are important. Educators need to understand how technology can enhance learning. Yet one approach I have found effective is surprisingly low tech. I teach pharmacodynamics using a dating analogy.

When teaching prescription education, pharmacodynamics is often perceived as one of the more difficult topics. Terms such as affinity, efficacy, agonism and antagonism are fundamental to understanding how medicines work, yet students frequently describe them as abstract and hard to apply. The pharmacology education literature consistently identifies complexity, volume of content and difficulties applying scientific concepts as common student concerns.

This challenge is particularly evident in postgraduate prescription education, where experienced clinicians may not have studied pharmacology formally for several years. Before I have even started teaching, I often hear some version of the sentence: “I’ll never understand pharmacology.” This has led me to wonder whether the first barrier to learning difficult concepts is not always knowledge itself, but apprehension.

Start with something students already understand

In my dating analogy, “affinity” becomes the initial attraction between two people: eyes locking across a room. “Efficacy” becomes what happens once they sit down together and start a conversation. A “competitive antagonist” becomes a rival suitor competing for attention, while a “non-competitive antagonist” becomes a nightclub bouncer who prevents a new suitor from meeting their date in the first place. “Desensitisation” occurs when the conversation has gone on so long that interest starts to fade. 

The goal is not entertainment for its own sake. The analogy provides a shared language through which students can begin exploring unfamiliar concepts. Research by Stina Eriksson et al into analogy-based teaching suggests that analogies are most effective when they connect unfamiliar concepts to mental models. What strikes me most, however, is not the cognitive benefit but the human one. The room starts to relax. People laugh. Questions increase. Students begin engaging with concepts that previously felt intimidating. Following one recent session, one said: “I left yesterday’s session with a big smile on my face after feeling reassured that things have started coming together.”

For me, that response was just as important as whether students could correctly define affinity or efficacy. Understanding matters, but so does confidence. Students who feel reassured are more likely to engage, ask questions and persist when concepts become difficult.

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Use analogy as a bridge, not a destination

There are limitations to this approach. A receptor is not a person. A drug is not a potential romantic partner. Used poorly, analogies can oversimplify complex ideas or reinforce misconceptions. While they can support conceptual understanding and increase perceived relevance, they must be carefully designed and contextualised. For this reason, analogy should be viewed as a starting rather than an endpoint.

Following the analogy activity, my students complete a terminology-matching exercise before applying these concepts to medicines from their own prescribing practice. Analogy alone does not demonstrate learning. They must still use disciplinary language accurately and apply pharmacodynamics principles to clinical decision-making.

In retrospect, the strength of the approach may lie not in the dating analogy itself but in the sequence that follows it: analogy, terminology, application and reflection. The analogy lowers the barrier. The learning happens afterwards.

Don’t confuse innovation with technology

Contemporary pharmacology education increasingly emphasises active and innovative approaches to support student engagement and conceptual understanding. While new technologies offer exciting opportunities, innovation does not always require artificial intelligence or immersive simulation. Sometimes innovation is simply finding a different way to explain a difficult idea. Humour and memorable stories should not be dismissed. Used thoughtfully, they can create psychological safety, reduce apprehension and encourage engagement with concepts that students might otherwise avoid. 

We should also be careful not to confuse engagement with learning. Without opportunities for retrieval and application, students may remember the analogy while failing to understand the underlying concept. The challenge is therefore to understand how different approaches support learning in different ways.

Don’t forget laughter

Every discipline has concepts that students find difficult, abstract or counterintuitive. In such instances, the instinct is often to provide more definitions, reading material or detailed explanations. Sometimes it is better to start with a different question: What do students already understand that could help them make sense of this new idea?

The answer may not always be a dating analogy. However, creating a bridge between familiar experiences and unfamiliar concepts can help students move more confidently towards deeper understanding.

In a sector understandably excited by artificial intelligence and technological innovation, we should remember that learning remains a profoundly human activity. Before students can engage with difficult concepts, they need confidence to approach them. Sometimes that permission comes from a sophisticated simulation. And sometimes it comes from a room full of healthcare professionals laughing at receptor theory dating analogy.

Louise Grisedale is course director for Independent Prescribing and the MSc Advance Professional Practice and an associate professor in pharmacology in the School of Health Sciences at the University of East Anglia.

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