A first online postgraduate course in clinical pharmacy: impressions and experience

摘要

The first part of an international postgraduate e-learning clinical pharmacy course has gone live in German. The project leader, content designer professional facilitator and the participants all evaluated this course very positively. All in all, e-learning in clinical pharmacy is feasible! Why all this discussion about continuing education and lifelong learning? Pharmacy students spend a lot of time working hard and accumulating immense knowledge during their undergraduate studies (well, some more, some less). Is this not enough education? The answer is 'no'. Pharmacy is work in progress ? an area of active research. New drugs, new insights into old drugs, new molecular pathways, increasing understanding of diseases. Knowledge and skills in clinical pharmacy are required for optimal patient care in community and hospital pharmacies. In clinical pharmacy it is mandatory to keep abreast with this development. Adding to the need for continuing education in clinical pharmacy are: (1) the fact that this subject is the youngest among the pharmaceutical subjects and covers but a small percentage of the total pharmacy curriculum at most universities and (2) the inertia of university curricula, especially when regulated by law as in Germany, that slows down any adaptation to newly-developing professional demands.