title: Pharmacology and Therapeutics Education in the European Union Needs Harmonization and Modernization: A Cross-sectional Survey Among 185 Medical Schools in 27 Countries.
abstract: Effective teaching in pharmacology and clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) is necessary to make medical students competent prescribers. However, the current structure, delivery, and assessment of CPT education in the European Union (EU) is unknown. We sent an online questionnaire to teachers with overall responsibility for CPT education in EU medical schools. Questions focused on undergraduate teaching and assessment of CPT, and students' preparedness for prescribing. In all, 185 medical schools (64%) from 27 EU countries responded. Traditional learning methods were mainly used. The majority of respondents did not provide students with the opportunity to practice real-life prescribing and believed that their students were not well prepared for prescribing. There is a marked difference in the quality and quantity of CPT education within and between EU countries, suggesting that there is considerable scope for improvement. A collaborative approach should be adopted to harmonize and modernize the undergraduate CPT education across the EU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Research and Expertise Center in Pharmacotherapy Education (RECIPE), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Brinkman
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Research and Expertise Center in Pharmacotherapy Education (RECIPE), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tichelaar
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Unit, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okorie
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Unit, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bissell
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Christiaens
authors.affiliation: Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Likic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mačìulaitis
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Algesiology, Gr. T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania.
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Tamba
authors.affiliation: Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Research and Expertise Center in Pharmacotherapy Education (RECIPE), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Richir
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Research and Expertise Center in Pharmacotherapy Education (RECIPE), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van Agtmael
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D005062:European Union; D006801:Humans; D010601:Pharmacology, Clinical / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D013337:Students, Medical