Pharmaceutical Medicine (Diploma)
An International Training Course in Pharmaceutical Medicine
This course was established in 1975 to provide a structured training programme in pharmaceutical medicine for doctors employed in the pharmaceutical industry, contract research organisations (CROs) and regulatory authorities. It is now the leading course of its type in the world. Jointly organised by the Cardiff University (CU) and the British Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians (BrAPP), the two year part-time residential course is specifically designed to train newly recruited hospital doctors or general medical practitioners as specialists in pharmaceutical medicine who may wish to either obtain a professional postgraduate qualification in pharmaceutical medicine or receive a thorough training in all aspects of the speciality. The programme provides doctors with the specialist knowledge and skills to practise as a pharmaceutical physician, to prepare them for the Royal Colleges of Physicians' Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine and Membership of the Royal Colleges' Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, and to fulfil requirements for the first part of Higher Medical Training (HMT) and Continuing Medical Education (CME).
The Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine syllabus published by the Royal Colleges has been grouped into ten free-standing modules, each of 2½ days duration. Five modules are taught in each academic year being held in a number of locations in hotels such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Southampton, Bristol, Egham and Cardiff. Throughout the two-year programme, emphasis is placed on problem-solving in small groups rather than on the more formal lecture approach.
Over 2,000 participants have completed the course since its commencement, of which two thirds have sat the examination for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine.
The UW/BrAPP Course
- To provide medically qualified personnel who have recently joined the pharmaceutical industry with the specialist knowledge and skills required by a doctor to practise as a pharmaceutical physician.
- To prepare doctors for the Royal College of Physicians' Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine and Associate Membership of the Royal Colleges' Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.
Intended Participants
To be eligible for entry to the Postgraduate Course in Pharmaceutical Medicine a person must hold a medical qualification and be registered either in the British Medical Register or in the country in which the qualification was granted. The person must also be employed as a physician in a pharmaceutical company or work as a physician for a regulatory authority. Course participants will normally be expected to reside within a European country.
Course Structure
A comprehensive syllabus has been grouped into 10 key areas, each forming a free-standing module, with five modules being organised per year for two years. Each module is of 2½ days duration. Formal didactic teaching has been reduced to a minimum. Most teaching is based on interactive sessions in which case studies provide course participants, working in small groups, with the opportunity to apply their knowledge to the types of problem-solving situations which regularly confront the pharmaceutical physician in the work-place.
Admission
This takes place each summer for commencement of the Course with Module 1. Commencement will not normally be permitted at any other point of the Course.
Course Fee
A fee is payable at the beginning of each of the two years to cover tuition and course material. This is split into Registration and Tuition Fees, the Registration Fee of £175 to be received with the Application Form. The remaining Tuition Fee is invoiced at the start of the academic year.