Medicine

Student in the lead

RECIPE is responsible for the development and implementation of innovative pharmacology, clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy (CP&T) education during the undergraduate medical curriculum at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers (location VUmc). The curriculum consits of a bachelor-master structure, is characterized by context-based training and gives students prescribing responsibility as early as possible in their medical education.

Learning objectives
Every medical student graduated at the AmsterdamUMC should be able to:

• Take an appropriate medical history from a patient;

• Choose and monitor an appropriate (drug) therapy for 52 common diseases (‘essential diseases’);

• Understand and explain the mechanism of action of frequently prescribed drugs (‘essential drugs’);

• Write a drug prescription safely and unambiguously;

• Optimize drug use using medication chart review;

• Calculate the correct drug dose;

• Administer a drug correctly;

• Involve the patient in therapeutic descision making;

• Provide adequate instructions and information about a (drug) therapy;

• Find relevant, updated and unbiased information on drugs, as a support in the prescribing process;

• Detect and rapport adverse drug reactions.

Theoretic models
We apply the following theoretic models in our curriculum:

• Context-based learning: learning in the context of the future profession;

• Flip the classroom: delivering instructional content outside of the classroom, such as e-learnings (Pscribe), mobile applications (TRC) and iBooks;

• Blended learning: using various learning styles, such as online courses and face-to-face contacts with students;

• Student-run: developing and organizing education and research by medical students, such as the Masterclass Pharmacotherapy, Student-run clinic and student assistants;

• Evidence based education: our education programma is based on effective teaching methods identified in the literature.

Curriculum design
The CP&T curriculum in AmsterdamUMC is integrated througout the entire medical curriculum (see Figure 1). During the Bachelor years, the emphasis lies on gaining CP&T knowledge and simultaneously learning to apply this knowledge by training skills in therapeutics. During this phase, less attention is given to the prescription of drugs in clinical practice. During the Master years, as CP&T knowledge and therapeutic skills increase, increased emphasis is given to prescribing in clinical practice, while the acquisition of knowledge and skills diminish. The curriculum is based on final learning objectives in which the required level of therapeutic competence of medical graduates is determined. To verify if students are competent prescribers before graduation, they have to pass the National Pharmacotherapy Assessment. Besides the 6-year compulsory CP&T programme, we offer three electives courses: Minor Drugs, Masterclass Pharmacotherapy and Student-run clinic.

Figure 1. The undergraduate CP&T curriculum at Amsterdam University Medical Centers (location VUmc)

Want more information about our CP&T curriculum? Please use send an email.