PharmaNUS pharmacology learning webapp

PharMan: Drug-Name Hangman Game

PharMan is a hangman word game that helps medical and health professionals and students actively recall and learn to spell international nonproprietary names of commonly prescribed drugs.

Launch PharMan View all PharmaNUS webapps

Educational Purpose

PharMan turns drug-name spelling into an active-recall challenge. It is useful for learners who need repeated, low-pressure exposure to medicine names and drug-topic vocabulary.

The app is part of the PharmaNUS collection of free pharmacology learning webapps, which are developed and updated in response to learner feedback for students and medical and health professions learners.

What Learners Practise

  • International nonproprietary medicine-name spelling
  • Drug-name recognition and recall
  • Attention to look-alike and sound-alike medicine names
  • Vocabulary fluency for pharmacology learning

How To Play

  1. Start a new PharMan round.
  2. Guess letters to reveal the hidden medicine name.
  3. Use the revealed pattern to infer the full drug name.
  4. Review the answer and any supporting prompt after the round.
  5. Replay with new drug names to strengthen spelling and recognition.

Use In Teaching

PharMan can be used as a short independent practice activity, a warm-up before class, a revision task after teaching, or a prompt for small-group discussion. It works best when paired with debriefing, explanation, and connection back to core pharmacology concepts.

Educational Use Only

This webapp is intended for pharmacology learning and teaching. It is not medical advice, prescribing guidance, or a substitute for professional clinical judgement.