Infection and Tropical Medicine, Royal Hallamshire Hospital-Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK.
BMJ Open. 2013 Jun 20;3(6):e002744. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002744.
To determine if individual undergraduate schools of medicine in the UK and the Republic of Ireland provide any teaching to medical students about biological weapons, bioterrorism, chemical weapons and weaponised radiation, if they perceive them to be relevant issues and if they figure them in their future plans.
A cross-sectional study utilising an internet-based questionnaire sent to key figures responsible for leading on the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical teaching at all schools of medicine in the UK and Ireland.
All identified undergraduate schools of medicine in the UK and Ireland between August 2012 and December 2012.
Numerical data and free text feedback about relevant aspects of undergraduate teaching.
Of the 38 medical schools approached, 34 (28 in UK, 6 in Ireland) completed the questionnaire (89.47%). 4 (all in UK) chose not to complete it. 6/34 (17.65%) included some specific teaching on biological weapons and bioterrorism. 7/34 (20.59%) had staff with bioterrorism expertise (mainly in microbiological and syndromic aspects). 4/34 (11.76%) had plans to introduce some specific teaching on bioterrorism. Free text responses revealed that some felt that because key bodies (eg, UK's General Medical Council) did not request teaching on bioterrorism, then it should not be included, while others regarded this field of study as a postgraduate subject and not appropriate for undergraduates, or argued that the curriculum was too congested already. 4/34 (11.76%) included some specific teaching on chemical weapons, and 3/34 (8.82%) on weaponised radiation.
This study provides evidence that at the present time there is little teaching at the undergraduate level in the UK and Ireland on the subjects of biological weapons and bioterrorism, chemical weapons and weaponised radiation and signals that this situation is unlikely to change unless there were to be high-level policy guidance.
确定英国和爱尔兰共和国的各本科医学院是否向医学生教授有关生物武器、生物恐怖主义、化学武器和放射性武器的内容，以及他们是否认为这些内容是相关问题，并将其纳入未来的教学计划。
这是一项利用互联网问卷调查的横断面研究，调查对象为英国和爱尔兰所有医学院负责本科医学教学规划和实施的关键人物。
2012 年 8 月至 12 月期间，英国和爱尔兰所有已确定的本科医学院。
关于本科教学相关方面的数字数据和自由文本反馈。
在接受调查的 38 所医学院中，有 34 所（英国 28 所，爱尔兰 6 所）完成了问卷调查（89.47%）。4 所（均在英国）选择不完成问卷。6/34（17.65%）的学校包含了一些关于生物武器和生物恐怖主义的具体教学内容。7/34（20.59%）的学校有生物恐怖主义方面的专家（主要在微生物学和综合征方面）。4/34（11.76%）的学校计划引入一些关于生物恐怖主义的具体教学内容。自由文本回复显示，一些人认为由于关键机构（如英国的总医学理事会）没有要求教授生物恐怖主义内容，那么就不应该教授该内容；而另一些人则认为这一研究领域是研究生的课题，不适合本科生学习，或者认为课程已经过于拥挤。34 所学校中有 4 所（11.76%）包含了一些关于化学武器的具体教学内容，3 所（8.82%）包含了一些关于放射性武器的具体教学内容。
本研究表明，目前在英国和爱尔兰的本科阶段，很少有关于生物武器和生物恐怖主义、化学武器和放射性武器的教学内容，除非有高层政策指导，否则这种情况不太可能改变。
