PREFACE

The Knowledge Objectives in Medical Pharmacology was originally the product of the effort and vision of Dr. James Fisher and other senior Pharmacologists in 1985. The 2002, third edition, is intended to describe the minimum essential knowledge in Pharmacology which should be taught to and mastered by students. In a sense, it is a description of the competencies in Pharmacology that should be obtained by students completing their basic medical education. The Knowledge Objectives is broken down into major areas of Pharmacology in which specific and detailed knowledge points are described. At the end of each section, there is a drug list showing the primary and secondary drugs to which the students should be exposed for name recognition. What appears in this document is the consensus of more than 80 Chairs/Course Directors/Faculty who are specialists in their particular areas.

Pharmacology is accepted as an integrated science. It bridges the gap between the introductory disciplines, such as Physiology and Biochemistry, with Clinical Medicine. Therapeutics serves as the cornerstone in the practice of Clinical Medicine. For this reason, Pharmacology has significant emphasis in the licensure examinations suggesting that mastery is essential. Thus, it behooves us as educators to make certain that Pharmacology remains a primary portion of every medical school curriculum. Today, we see more diverse methods of information delivery and more competition for time in the medical school curriculum. Thus, we hope, that the Knowledge Objectives will serve as a guide to curriculum committees for them to include the essential material described. This is particularly important where a curriculum involves more self-study and independent learning.

The 2002 edition of the Knowledge Objectives has had significant change because of our changing knowledge base. Increased emphasis on transducing systems effected by receptor activation has been included in each of the drug categories. The profound influence of genomics in altering therapeutic application is cited where applicable. The increased use of herbal medications has resulted in a new section being added. Finally, the section on laboratory material has been eliminated because relatively few of our institutions have sufficient time for this experience. In other documents and web sites, an attempt has been made by ASPET to compile a list of electronic educational resources that can provide some experiences in this area.

This document is being made available through the AMSP web site and is intended to be a dynamic instrument. Users are urged to make suggestions for change and/or enhancements to the Chair of the selected subcommittee (the email address is provided). Following approval, we will update that section of the Knowledge Objectives.

The Editors are grateful to all of the members of the Association for Medical School Pharmacology and their faculties who participated in revising the Knowledge Objectives.