Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Postgraduate Education in Pharmaceutical Medicine in Australia: Evaluation and Evolution to a Global Program Over 20 Years

  • Educational Perspective: Original Article
  • Published:
Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The Pharmaceutical Medicine program at the University of New South Wales provides postgraduate education for students seeking employment relating to development of new medicines and medical technology. The objective of this study was to determine which changes to the program were required to meet future educational needs of students.

Methods

Responses to questions from 76 students, tutors, lecturers, and stakeholders were obtained via Qualtrics surveys.

Results

Most respondents would recommend the program because of scope and program emphasis, content, quality of teaching, flexibility, and availability of distance and online content. Students valued links to industry and the national regulatory authority. Respondents recommended program content be current, expanded to meet needs of the Asia-Pacific region, and structured to ensure opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Conclusions

Recommended changes to the program are being implemented to optimize skills and knowledge of graduates for roles in global pharmaceutical, medical technology, and biotechnology industries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Daniels S. Pharmaceutical medicine in the UK. Pharma Med. 2011;25(1):1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board, 2014. Specialty training curriculum for pharmaceutical medicine. August 2010 (amended 2014). https://www.fpm.org.uk/trainingexams/pmst/curriculumassessment. Accessed November 2, 2017.

  3. Boyd A, Cottam B, Obiora K, Stonier P. The faculty of pharmaceutical medicine—foundation, function and future. J Med Dev Sci. 2017;3(1):1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Drago D, Shire S, Ekmekci O. Improving regulatory education: can we reconcile employers’ expectations with academic offerings? Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science. 2016;50(3):330–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Sancar Tokmak H, Baturay MH, Fadde PJ. Applying the context, input, process, product evaluation model for evaluation, research, and redesign of an online master’s program. Int Rev Res Open Dist Learn. 2013;14(3):273–293.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Adamo JE, Wilhelm EE, Steele SJ. Advancing a vision for regulatory science training. Clin Transl Sci. 2015;8(5):615–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Commonwealth Government of Australia. National Innovation and Science Agenda. ISBN 978-1-925238-18 -1. Published 2017. https://www.innovation.gov.au/.

  8. MTPConnect. Sector competitiveness plan. https://www.mtpconnect.org.au/Category?Action=View&Category_id=125. Published 2016.

  9. CSIRO. National Infrastructure Roadmap. https://www.education.gov.au/2016-national-research-infrastructure-roadmap?resource=. Published 2016.

  10. CSIRO Futures. Medical technologies and pharmaceuticals: a roadmap for unlocking future growth opportunities for Australia. https://www.csiro.au/en/Do-business/Futures/Reports/Medical-Technologies-and-Pharmaceuticals-Roadmap. Published 2017.

  11. Fox AW. The practice and practitioners of pharmaceutical medicine. In: Edwards LD, Fletcher AJ, Fox AW, et al, eds. Principles and Practice of Pharmaceutical Medicine. 2nd ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.; 2007:3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Naraynassamy C. Making the proper choices on education for the pharmaceutical industry. Pharm Med. 2015;29(1):7–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Silva H, Stonier P, Buhler F, et al. Core competencies for pharmaceutical physicians and drug development scientists. Front Pharmacol. 2013;4(article 105):1–8.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Silva H, Sonstein S, Stonier P, et al. Alignment of competencies to address inefficiencies in medicines development and clinical research: need for inter-professional education. Pharm Med. 2015;29(3):131–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Chisholm O. Program transformation: reimagining distance education in the digital world. Research and Development in Higher Education: Curriculum Transformation. 2017;40:61–72. Available at http://www.herdsa.org.au/research-and-development-higher-education-vol-40-61.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Baker SE, Edwards R. How many qualitative interviews is enough? Discussion paper. National Centre for Research methods. http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2273/. Published 2012. Accessed September 21, 2017.

  17. Luscombe DK, Salek MS. An international postgraduate course in pharmaceutical medicine: a 25-year review. Int J Pharm Med. 2001;15(6):261–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Rees M, Bijker M, Fillman S. Medical Affairs role clarity: what do all the job titles mean? 2017, (personal communication).

  19. Huang H-M. Towards constructivism for adult learners in online environments. Br J Educ Technol. 2002;33(1):27–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Siemens G. Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. Int J Instruct Technol Distance Learn. 2005;2(1):3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Robinson GF, Moore CG, McTigue KM, et al. Assessing competencies in a Master of Science in Clinical Research program: the comprehensive competency review. Clin Transl Sci. 2015;8(6): 770–775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Dubois DJ, Jurczynska A, Kerpel-Fronius S, et al. Fostering competence in medicines development: the IFAPP perspective. Front Pharmacol. 2016;7(Article 377):1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Callreus T, Schneider CK. The emergence of regulatory science in pharmaceutical medicine. Pharm Med. 2013;27(6):345–351.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Furlow B. Medical 3-D printing. Radiol Technol. 2017;8(5): 519C–537C.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Moss RJ, Smith EB, Anderson G, et al. A survey of key opinion leaders to support curriculum development in advanced medical science liaison training. Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science. 2015;49(1):45–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Allen IE, Seaman J. Changing course: 10 years of tracking education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, LLC. http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf. Published 2013. Accessed January 28, 2017.

  27. Barber M, Donnelli K, Rizvi S. An Avalanche Is Coming. Higher Education and the Revolution Ahead. London: Institute for Public Policy Research, 2013. http://www.ippr.org/publications/an-avalanche-is-coming-higher-education-and-the-revolution-ahead. Accessed January 28, 2017.

  28. Laurillard D. The pedagogical challenges to collaborative technologies. Comp Support Collabor Learn. 2009;4:5–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Yuan J, Kim C. Guidelines for facilitating the development of learning communities in online courses. J Comp Assisted Learn. 2013;30(3):220–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Beetham H, Sharpe R, eds. Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning. 2nd ed. Oxon, UK: Routledge; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Kerpel-Fronius S, Rosenkranz B, Allen E, et al. Education and training for medicines development, regulation, and clinical research in emerging countries. Front Pharmacol. 2015;6(Article 80):1–7.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Orin Chisholm PhD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Allen, G.M., Chisholm, O. Postgraduate Education in Pharmaceutical Medicine in Australia: Evaluation and Evolution to a Global Program Over 20 Years. Ther Innov Regul Sci 53, 654–660 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479018793129

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479018793129

Keywords

Navigation