Improving the pedagogy associated with the teaching of psychopharmacology

The authors summarize two special sessions focused on the teaching of psychopharmacology at the 2003 and 2004 annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). The focus was on whether "improving the teaching-learning process" in psychiatric residency programs could improve clinical practice.

Problems of strategies and pedagogic techniques that have been used were presented from multiple perspectives (e.g., from a dean, department chair, training director, and former students).

There was a consensus that action involving psychopharmacology organizations and the American Association of Directors of Residency Training in Psychiatry (AADPRT) was necessary to improve "evidence-based" competencies before graduation and to follow prescribing patterns into clinical practice to determine whether the standards of care could be improved.