Abstract
PurposeSharing and developing digital educational resources and open educational resources has been proposed as a way to harmonize and improve clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education in European medical schools. Previous research, however, has shown that there are barriers to the adoption and implementation of open educational resources. The aim of this study was to determine perceived opportunities and barriers to the use and creation of open educational resources among European CPT teachers and possible solutions for these barriers.MethodsCPT teachers of British and EU medical schools completed an online survey. Opportunities and challenges were identified by thematic analyses and subsequently discussed in an international consensus meeting.ResultsData from 99 CPT teachers from 95 medical schools were analysed. Thirty teachers (30.3%) shared or collaboratively produced digital educational resources. All teachers foresaw opportunities in the more active use of open educational resources, including improving the quality of their teaching. The challenges reported were language barriers, local differences, lack of time, technological issues, difficulties with quality management, and copyright restrictions. Practical solutions for these challenges were discussed and include a peer review system, clear indexing, and use of copyright licenses that permit adaptation of resources.ConclusionKey challenges to making greater use of CPT open educational resources are a limited applicability of such resources due to language and local differences and quality concerns. These challenges may be resolved by relatively simple measures, such as allowing adaptation and translation of resources and a peer review system.
Highlights
MethodsClinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education throughout Europe insufficiently prepares medical students and young doctors to prescribe safely [1]
Key challenges to making greater use of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) open educational resources are a limited applicability of such resources due to language and local differences and quality concerns
These challenges may be resolved by relatively simple measures, such as allowing adaptation and translation of resources and a peer review system
Summary
MethodsClinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education throughout Europe insufficiently prepares medical students and young doctors to prescribe safely [1]. The Education Working Group of the European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT) proposes to improve education and training in prescribing knowledge and skills, by harmonizing medical curricula and making them more problem-based [2] For this purpose, several initiatives, such as the establishment of universal learning outcomes for undergraduate CPT [5] and the introduction of a panEuropean prescribing skills examination [6], have been introduced. Several initiatives, such as the establishment of universal learning outcomes for undergraduate CPT [5] and the introduction of a panEuropean prescribing skills examination [6], have been introduced Another promising strategy to achieve harmonization is to create educational resources collaboratively and to actively share existing resources. The EACPT education working group aims to launch an online platform for open educational resources and collaboration amongst teachers
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