Proposal for a standardised inter-professional undergraduate curriculum in preventive cardiology.

Abstract

Dear Sir, We read with interest the article by Heidbuchel and colleagues in this journal, presenting a comprehensive curriculum in sports cardiology, which may be suitable for physicians seeking higher specialist training in this evolving subspecialty. We would like to relate our experiences in providing educational programmes in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, together with the development of a core undergraduate curriculum in preventive cardiology. The newly established National Institute for Preventive Cardiology has as a central mission the generation of scholars and leaders in cardiovascular disease prevention. Our multidisciplinary clinical team has reported findings from a community-based, lifestylecentred cardiovascular disease prevention programme, demonstrating that managing cardiovascular diseases as a single family of diseases with common antecedents represents a new paradigm for cardiovascular disease prevention. Our postgraduate taught programmes in preventive cardiology, delivered in partnership with our university, introduce graduates from diverse professional backgrounds to the practical clinical application of evidence-based prevention guidelines. Healthcare team members, who are honorary clinical fellows of the university, also deliver a range of student selected components to undergraduate medical students, including modules in sports cardiology, cardiovascular nutrition, stroke prevention and preventive cardiology. Healthcare graduates should serve as positive role models for health promoting lifestyles, and undergraduate exposure to preventive cardiology has been demonstrated favourably to affect knowledge, attitudes and dietary behaviour of medical students. Furthermore, with a shift in healthcare policy towards disease prevention, there is a pressing need to ensure that all graduates of healthcare courses are equipped with the core knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to effect meaningful changes in patients’ lifestyles that modify their cardiovascular disease risk. We propose that a standardised inter-professional undergraduate curriculum in preventive cardiology be developed on an e-learning platform, which could ensure consistency of teaching across Europe. A precedent exists with the development of the European Society of Cardiology e-learning platform for cardiology education. Table 1 outlines the modular structure of such a programme, which may be delivered to medical, nursing and other healthcare students as an online certified, interactive study programme, comprising narrated lecture slides, core reading material, video consultations and self-assessment activities. Previous research supports the potential for e-learning and blended learning approaches in the development of inter-professional team knowledge, attitudes and skills. Our proposed syllabus emphasises cardiovascular disease risk estimation using the SCORE tool, and the integration of health behaviour change, lifestyle and pharmacological approaches to cardiovascular disease risk modification. We believe that, if implemented on a Europe-wide level, a standardised core undergraduate healthcare curriculum in preventive cardiology has the potential to support the translation of evidence-based prevention guidelines to clinical practice, address health inequalities, improve quality of life and reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular disease.