[Reviewing the initial plans for the teaching of pharmacology: quality vs. quantity of knowledge, hesitation is no...

Pharmacology is located at the intersection of several branches of medical education. This position and the exponential development of medical knowledge, constrains university professors of pharmacology to make teaching choices, since time-limited education is imposed in this subject. Thus, it is necessary to list specific educational objectives within a frame of well defined and clear hierarchized pharmacological concepts. General and practical pharmacology teaching is to be preferred since it provides the knowledge base for further acquisition of specialized pharmacology. The necessary data can be easily and rapidly taught by means of clinical observations and case reports in connection with basic pharmacological concepts and therapeutic strategy. The medical student has to acquire rational guidelines for proper drug monitoring. He also has to learn how to assess the efficacy of the prescribed treatment and how to supervise the compliance. When an adverse effect is observed, the future physician must be able to evaluate the benefit-risk ratio. Initiation into the analysis of published clinical trials is the best way to develop a critical sense. Concurrently, pharmacology teachers should make available technical and practical resources to facilitate access to updated scientific data.