Adapting and consolidating teaching in pharmacology and therapeutics for medical students

The French National Academy of Medicine has repeatedly underlined the inadequate training of medical students in pharmacology and therapeutics. In 1993, Paul Lechat proposed that drug therapy should become an institutional topic of medical teaching, that acquisitions be verified by specific examinations, and that future practitioners be trained to critically analyze the medical literature. These recommendations have only been partly taken into account, owing to an overburdened curriculum, the lack of specific validation, and poor coordination. It is now proposed to unite these two disciplines, to define their respective teaching programs, to validate them independently from other teaching topics, and to include significant questions on pharmacotherapeutics in the national medical graduation exams. Moreover, MDs should receive continuous training in these topics throughout their medical practice. The fact that the French medical teaching system must now comply with European Community recommendations offers the opportunity to integrate pharmacology and therapeutics into the three stages of the European program (bachelor's, master's and doctorate). The contents and respective places of the two topics in these new structures are described, as supported by the French National Academy of Medicine.