Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
Department of Integrated Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2021 May;9(3):e00762. doi: 10.1002/prp2.762.
Expectations for physicians are rapidly changing, as is the environment in which they will practice. In response, preclerkship medical education curricula are adapting to meet these demands, often by reducing the time for foundational sciences. This descriptive study compares preclerkship pharmacology education curricular practices from seven allopathic medical schools across the United States. We compare factors and practices that affect how pharmacology is integrated into the undergraduate medical education curriculum, including teaching techniques, resources, time allocated to pharmacology teaching, and assessment strategies. We use data from seven medical schools in the United States, along with results from a literature survey, to inform the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches and to raise important questions that can guide future research regarding integration of foundational sciences in medical school and health professions' curricula. In this comparative study, we found that there is significant heterogeneity in the number of hours dedicated to pharmacology in the preclerkship curriculum, whereas there was concordance in the use of active learning pedagogies for content delivery. Applying the ICAP (Interactive, Constructive, Active, Passive) Framework for cognitive engagement, our data showed that pharmacology was presented using more highly engaging pedagogies during sessions that are integrated with other foundational sciences. These findings can serve as a model that can be applied beyond pharmacology to other foundational sciences such as genetics, pathology, microbiology, biochemistry, etc.
对医生的期望正在迅速改变，他们所处的执业环境也是如此。为了应对这一需求，预科医学教育课程正在进行调整，通常是减少基础科学的学习时间。本描述性研究比较了美国七所医学预科药理学教育课程的实践情况。我们比较了影响药理学如何融入本科医学教育课程的因素和实践，包括教学技术、资源、药理学教学分配的时间以及评估策略。我们使用来自美国七所医学院的数据以及文献调查的结果，了解各种方法的优缺点，并提出一些重要问题，这些问题可以为未来医学预科和健康专业课程中基础科学的整合研究提供指导。在这项比较研究中，我们发现预科课程中药理学的教学时间存在显著的异质性，而在内容传递方面使用主动学习教学法方面则具有一致性。应用认知参与的 ICAP（互动式、建设性、主动式、被动式）框架，我们的数据表明，在与其他基础科学整合的课程中，药理学的教学采用了更具吸引力的教学方法。这些发现可以作为一种模式，不仅适用于药理学，还可以应用于其他基础科学，如遗传学、病理学、微生物学、生物化学等。
