Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine

One of the developments that has contributed substantially to the improved quality of drug development is the emergence of Pharmaceutical Medicine. Pharmaceutical Medicine is the discipline concerned with the medical aspects of research, development, evaluation, registration, monitoring and marketing of medicines in the interest of patients. In Great Britain a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine was introduced in 1975, and in 1989 the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine was established as part of the Royal College of Physicians. Subsequently, similar developments took place in other countries. 

The Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine was established in 1976 by the three Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom. The diploma is awarded by examination once a year by the board of examiners of the RCPs Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine. The examination is knowledge based and comprises MCQs, short questions, essays and an oral. 

The Postgraduate Medical School of the University of Surrey, as part of its Master of Science programmes, offers eight core modules (of the 12 needed for the MSc) as covering the syllabus for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine. These are 3-day modules, which are part of the full 15-18-month cycle. They comprise 192 face-to-face teaching hours and may be taken as part of the MSc programme or separately. 

The Free University of Brussels (ULB) has offered the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine since 1992 in conjunction with ABEMEP, the national association of pharmaceutical physicians. This is a non-residential course consisting of eight modules. All modules are taught each year, but students can spread their training over 1-3 years. Each of the modules takes one full week every month between November and June, leading to 280 hours of teaching. 

The University of Barcelona offers a 2-year non-residential course consisting of 14 modules between 4-30 hours depending on the subject. Courses are taught at the university one day per week from January to June each year, representing a total of 222 hours of teaching. Written examinations are conducted twice a year. Successful candidates receive a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine. 

The University of Madrid offers a 2-year non-residential course which consists of 14 modules from October to June and totalling 300 hours of teaching at the University. Examinations, written and oral, are conducted once a year to register for the examinations, students must have attended at least 75% of the courses. Successful candidates receive a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine. 

The University of Lisbon has, since 1999, offered a 6-month non-residential course in pharmaceutical medicine taught every year from January till June. The course has 11 modules with two 2-day sessions per month, representing a total of 176 hours of teaching. Assessments are made at the end of each module, and only those students who have passed the 11 assessments and have attended 100% of the course are allowed to submit a dissertation of 20 000 words at the end of the course. Successful candidates receive a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine recognized by the Portuguese National Board of Physicians, where the Pharmaceutical... 

There is a Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine in Germany which is provided by the DGPharMed (German Society for Pharmaceutical Medicine). 

The first edition of this book appeared in 1993 and was sold out in six months the second edition was published in 1994 and the third edition in 1998 and this edition has now also sold out. The fact that there has been such an enthusiastic uptake of this book is a tribute to the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom who have done so much to sponsor the discipline and give it a favourable and high profile and achieve specialist recognition. However, we are aware that the book has had a much wider audience than that for which it was initially written, namely those studying for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Faculty. It is now the standard text used by courses in Pharmaceutical Medicine in Europe and the USA. 

Many other qualifications are also of benefit in pharmaceutical medicine, even if the holder was already a physician, nurse or pharmacist. These will be more or less specific to that long list given above, many of which have their own diplomas and university degrees. Human resources departments... 

The CEPM has approved diploma courses in pharmaceutical medicine in United Kingdom (2), Switzerland, Belgium, Spain (2) and Sweden. The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (London) has recognised two diplomas, in Belgium and Switzerland, as equivalent to the United Kingdom. 

There is a 2-year diploma course in pharmaceutical medicine given at the Karolinska Institute and the Medical Products Agency, Stockholm, organized for pharmaceutical physicians in conjunction with the Swedish Board of Pharmaceutical Medicine. 

In pharmaceutical medicine, efforts are being made to establish a diploma course at the University of Pisa supported by the Italian Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians (SSFA). 

Upon his return from military service, Jean Montreuil started pharmaceutical studies at the Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Lille, and obtained his diploma in pharmacy in 1945. This pharmaceutical background ensured that Jean always combined his interests for both chemistry and biology, and he was fascinated by the chemistry of life. After obtaining his pharmacy diploma, he first opened a small drugstore in a small village located near Saint Quentin (northeast of Paris), together with his wife Jeannine, who was also a pharmacist. He and Jeannine were to have four children, three daughters, and a son. 

Inevitably, in today s world, where science seems to be producing amazing advances almost weekly, the focus is on R D and further improvements in healthcare in the future. This should not cause us to take our eye off the needs of today and the ability of today s medicines to be used most effectively. The value of a new therapeutic agent is not maximal at the time of its first approval. Much can be done after market approval to ensure that a new drug s utility is both fully understood and actually realized. The physicians within pharmaceutical medicine need to oversee and lead this process. This requires that they are trained in economics and business as well as medicine. Indeed, some may well go on to specialized courses in those areas leading to diplomas and even university degrees. 

Theoretical training comprises 360 hours. The diploma examination for physicians comprises written papers, MCQs and oral. The diploma is recognized by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine as equivalent to that in the United Kingdom. 

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