Abstract
Background and Purpose Development of core concepts in
disciplines such as biochemistry, microbiology, and physiology
transformed teaching. They provided the foundation for the development
of teaching resources for global educators, as well as valid and
reliable approaches to assessment. An international research consensus
recently identified 25 core concepts of pharmacology. The current study
aimed to define and unpack these concepts. Experimental
approach A two-phase, iterative approach, involving 60 international
pharmacology education experts was used. The first phase involved
drafting definitions for the core concepts and identifying key
sub-concepts via a series of online meetings and asynchronous work.
These were refined in the second phase, through a two-day hybrid
workshop followed by a further series of online meetings and
asynchronous work. Key Results The project produced consensus
definitions for a final list of 24 core concepts and 103 sub-concepts of
pharmacology. The iterative, discursive methodology resulted in the
modification concepts from the original study, including the change of
‘drug-receptor interaction’ to ‘drug-target interaction’ and the change
of the core concept ‘agonists and antagonists’ to sub-concepts of
drug-target interaction. Conclusion and Implications The
definitions and sub-concepts of the 24 core concepts provide an
evidence-based foundation for pharmacology curricula development and
evaluation. The next steps for this project include the development of a
concept inventory to assess acquisition of the concepts, as well as the
development of cases studies and educational resources to support
teaching by the global pharmacology community, and student learning of
the most critical and fundamental concepts of the discipline.