Teaching Resource Centre (TRC):
Personalized E-Teaching of pharmacology and pharmacotherapy Throughout A
medical school curriculum
Eline Dubois1* and Kari Franson1,2, 1Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the NETHERLANDS, 2Centre for Human Drug Research,
Leiden, the NETHERLANDS.
PURPOSE:
Due to curriculuar changes at our medical school,
pharmacology and pharmacotherapy teaching had to be integrated into courses throughout
the curriculum. For this purpose one integrated learning strategy (Teaching Resource Centre: TRC) has been developed to provide
a consistent presentation across the curriculum and optimal personalized student
self-learning possibilities.
METHODS:
The TRC program contains basic pharmacological information and mechanisms of drug action integrated with
respect to physiology and pathophysiology using graphics or animations in the TRC icon language, explanation texts and
formative feedback questions. Another part of the TRC teaches the student therapeutic decision making for a specific patient following the Dutch 6step format.
The student is guided through the therapeutic decision process and can practice
writing therapeutic plans in interactive,
step-by-step assignments. Furthermore, the TRC is personalized for each user. This
means that anybody can log onto the TRC program using a personal account and
easily identify previously studied, newly added or changed topics. Finally,
usability is enhanced by adding improved search options and a new interface.
RESULTS:
Increasing numbers of medical students from
all Dutch medical schools use TRC. Over 80% of the
CONCLUSION:
The TRC program helps
students to obtain pharmacological knowledge and to practice with therapeutic
plans throughout the curriculum in a consistent, structured and stimulating
manner. Curriculum-wide
e-learning programs should specifically address usability issues like
personalization, user friendliness and recognizability
for optimal student learning
efficiency.