Identifying the core concepts of pharmacology education: A global initiative

White, Paul; Guilding, Clare; Angelo, Thomas A.; Kelly, John; Gorman, Laurel; Tucker, Steve; Fun, Ashleigh; Han, Jae; Chen, Guanliang; Samak, Yassmin; Babey, Anna Marie; Caetano, Fabiana A.; Sarangi, Sasmit; Koenig, Jennifer C.; Hao, Haiping; Goldfarb, Joseph; Karpa, Kelly Dowhower; Vieira, Luciene Bruno; Restini, Carolina Baraldi Araújo; Cunningham, Margaret; Aronsson, Patrik; Kelly-Laubscher, Roisin; Hernandez, Mark; Rangachari, P. K.; Mifsud, Janet; Mraiche, Fatima; Sabra, Ramzi; Piñeros, Octavio; Zhen, Xuechu; Kwanashie, Helen; Exintaris, Betty; Karunaratne, Nilushi; Ishii, Kuniaki; Liu, Yannee

doi:10.1111/bph.16000

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…In the first stage of the process in 2022, ‘ agonists and antagonists ’ were identified as a core concept of pharmacology (White et al, 2023). However, at the Prato meeting, it was decided to separate agonists and antagonists for ease of definition.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the first stage of this international project (White et al, 2023), the IUPHAR‐Ed Core Concepts of Pharmacology expert group identified 25 core concepts of pharmacology that higher education students studying foundational courses in pharmacology should know, understand and be able to apply after graduation. This paper describes the next stages of the project.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our previous study (White et al, 2023) identified 25 core concepts of pharmacology, namely, those that all students who have completed a module or course should understand and be able to apply. In this study, an expert group was established to develop definitions and identify sub‐concepts for each of the core concepts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the first day of the workshop, sub‐group facilitators presented the definitions of each concept and, following discussion and debate, participants voted either to accept or reject each definition via the anonymous audience response system Poll Everywhere. A predefined threshold was set at 80% agreement for any concept definition to be accepted (Santiago et al, 2021; White et al, 2023). Participants were asked to provide feedback on definitions with which they did not agree via a shared Google document.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where. A predefined threshold was set at 80% agreement for any concept definition to be accepted (Santiago et al, 2021;White et al, 2023). Participants were asked to provide feedback on definitions with which they did not agree via a shared Google document.…”

Section: Identification Of Sub-concepts For Each Core Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Defining and unpacking the core concepts of pharmacology: A global initiative

Guilding,

White,

Cunningham

et al. 2023

British J Pharmacology

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Background and PurposeDevelopment of core concepts in disciplines such as biochemistry, microbiology and physiology have transformed teaching. They provide the foundation for the development of teaching resources for global educators, as well as valid and reliable approaches to assessment. An international research consensus recently identified 25 core concepts of pharmacology. The current study aimed to define and unpack these concepts.Experimental ApproachA two‐phase, iterative approach, involving 60 international pharmacology education experts, was used. The first phase involved drafting definitions for core concepts and identifying key sub‐concepts via a series of online meetings and asynchronous work. These were refined in the second phase, through a 2‐day hybrid workshop followed by a further series of online meetings and asynchronous work.Key ResultsThe project produced consensus definitions for a final list of 24 core concepts and 103 sub‐concepts of pharmacology. The iterative, discursive methodology resulted in modification of concepts from the original study, including change of ‘drug–receptor interaction’ to ‘drug–target interaction’ and the change of the core concept ‘agonists and antagonists’ to sub‐concepts of drug–target interaction.Conclusions and ImplicationsDefinitions and sub‐concepts of 24 core concepts provide an evidence‐based foundation for pharmacology curricula development and evaluation. The next steps for this project include the development of a concept inventory to assess acquisition of concepts, as well as the development of case studies and educational resources to support teaching by the global pharmacology community, and student learning of the most critical and fundamental concepts of the discipline.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Identification Of Sub-concepts For Each Core Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Defining and unpacking the core concepts of pharmacology: A global initiative

Guilding,

White,

Cunningham

et al. 2023

British J Pharmacology

Self Cite

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Pharmacology education in the medical curriculum: Challenges and opportunities for improvement

Fasinu,

Wilborn

2024

Pharmacology Res & Perspec

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The knowledge and application of pharmacology is essential for safe prescribing and administration of drugs. In this narrative review, the challenges to pharmacology education in the medical curricula were broadly identified to include issues around content and pedagogies. The increasing number of approved drugs and drug targets, expanding field of pharmacology and the often‐changing treatment guidelines and board‐defined competencies can make pharmacology education in the medical curriculum daunting. There has been a consensus around the deployment of innovative medical curricula with emphasis on vertical and horizontal integration. This strategy, effective as it has been, presents new challenges to pharmacology education. As a discipline often perceived by students to be hard‐to‐learn, the future of pharmacology education must include heavy reliance on active learning strategies. The continuing utilization of problem‐based, team‐based and case‐based learning can be complemented with personalized learning which aims to identify the learning gaps in individual students. Technology‐inspired student engagement can foster pharmacology learning and retention. Early exposure to pharmacology from premedical preparation through an enduring across‐the‐level integration can be an effective way to enhance pharmacology learning in the medical curricula.

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Evaluating the quality of multiple‐choice question pilot database: A global educator‐created tool for concept‐based pharmacology learning

Netere,

Hughes,

Babey

et al. 2024

Pharmacology Res & Perspec

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The Core Concepts of Pharmacology (CCP) initiative is developing educational resources to transform pharmacology education into a concept‐based approach. This study evaluated the quality of global educator‐created MCQs in generating items for the pharmacology concept inventory (PCI) instrument and developed as a resource for learning pharmacology fundamental concepts. A panel of 22 global pharmacology experts recruited from the CCP initiative research team participated in the MCQ pilot database design and evaluation. The quality analysis framework of the MCQs in the pilot database included four assessment tools: item writing guidelines (IWGs), Bloom's taxonomy, the CCP, and the MCQ design format. A two‐phase evaluation process was involved, including inter‐rater agreement on item quality, followed by resolving conflicts that occurred in quality assessment. The chi‐square (χ2) test of independence and Cramer's V correlation tests were utilized to measure the relationship among quality assessment attributes. About 200 MCQs were gathered and 98% underwent expert evaluation. Nearly 80% addressed one or more CCP, with 52% designed using a context‐dependent format. However, only 40% addressed higher levels of Bloom's cognitive domain and 10% adhered to all IWGs. A strong positive correlation was observed between the context‐based item format and its effectiveness in assessing the higher cognitive domain, the main CCP and improved IWGs adherence. Context‐based item construction can assess the higher cognitive skills and fundamental pharmacology concepts, showing potential for rigorous PCI development. The pilot database will store items to create the PCI, aiding the development of a concept‐based pharmacology curriculum.

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Identifying the core concepts of pharmacology education: A global initiative

Cited by 12 publications

References 34 publications

Defining and unpacking the core concepts of pharmacology: A global initiative

Defining and unpacking the core concepts of pharmacology: A global initiative

Pharmacology education in the medical curriculum: Challenges and opportunities for improvement

Evaluating the quality of multiple‐choice question pilot database: A global educator‐created tool for concept‐based pharmacology learning

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