New educational strategy in toxicology: the requirements of governmental health care and industrial sectors

Abstract

Toxicology as a multidisciplinary field, provides career opportunities for graduates with medical, or veterinarian. pharmacological, pharmaceutical. biological, microbiological, molecular biological, chemical, biochemical, and genetic backgrounds. Today, however, specialists with a university degree in toxicology or a postgraduate training in toxicology have a clear advantage. Postgraduate diplomas are now available in most industrial and even developing countries including Iran. In addition. to be successful, modern toxicologists in the industrial sector also need a good understanding of how to turn a scientific project into a successful product, an expertise generally acquired by on-/he-job training. The rapid progress in essentially all toxicology-relevant sciences makes continuous training mandatory. On the other hand, the governmental health care sector provides rewarding career opportunities for professional toxicologists. Toxicologists in this sector evaluate diverse data on chemicals, assess the risks for exposed populations and assist in the articulation of policies for mc11wgement of those risks. The latter aspects require extensive experience in health care and environmental fields, awareness of international policies and developments. and ability to communicate risk to politicians and to the public. Education of toxicologists for the governmental health care sector must reflect the broad general and specialist knowledge required Keywords education, training, governmental toxicology, industrial toxicology