Abstract
Background and Purpose: In recent decades, a focus on
the most critical and fundamental concepts has proven highly
advantageous to students and educators in many science disciplines.
Pharmacology, unlike microbiology, biochemistry or physiology, lacks a
consensus list of such core concepts .
Experimental approach: We sought to develop a
research-based, globally relevant list of core concepts that all
students completing a foundational pharmacology course should master.
This two-part project consisted of exploratory and refinement phases.
The exploratory phase involved empirical data mining of the introductory
sections of five key textbooks, in parallel with an online survey of
over 200 pharmacology educators from 17 countries across six continents.
The refinement phase involved three Delphi rounds involving 24 experts
from 15 countries across six continents.
Key Results: The exploratory phase resulted in a
consolidated list of 74 candidate core concepts. In the refinement
phase, the expert group produced a consensus list of 25 core concepts of
pharmacology.
Conclusion and Implications: This list will allow
pharmacology educators everywhere to focus their efforts on the
conceptual knowledge perceived to matter most by experts within the
discipline. Next steps for this project include defining and unpacking
each core concept and developing resources to help pharmacology
educators globally teach and assess these concepts within their
educational contexts.