Análisis de las características de la docencia de pregrado de Dermatología en las universidades españolas. ¿Los contenidos teóricos se aproximan a la casuística de los médicos de Atención Primaria y dermatólogos generales?

IntroductionUndergraduate dermatology courses vary in the nearly 50 Spanish medical faculties that teach the subject. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of these courses and to analyze whether the weight assigned to dermatology topics reflect the caseloads of primary care physicians and general dermatologists in the Spanish national health system.Material and methodsCross-sectional study of syllabi used in Spanish medical faculties during the 2021-2022 academic year. We determined the number of teaching hours in public and private university curricula and compared the weight of dermatology topics covered to the dermatology caseloads of primary care physicians and general dermatologists as reported in published studies.ResultsMost medical faculties taught dermatology for one semester. The median number of credits offered was 4.5. On average, lectures covered 24 theoretical topics, and seminars and workshops covered 9 topics. We identified a clear disparity between the percentage of time devoted to dermatology topics in course lectures and the skin conditions usually managed in primary care and general dermatology practices.DiscussionThe skin diseases most commonly treated by primary care physicians and general dermatologists are underrepresented in the curricula of Spanish medical faculties. The topics that should be given more weight in syllabi, or recovered for inclusion in dermatology courses, should be re-examined. Our findings show that the topics that ideally should be emphasized more are types of dermatitis, infectious skin diseases, acne, psoriasis, rashes, and the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant neoplasms. There should be additional support for the theoretical teaching of these topics.     

[Translated article] Analysis of Undergraduate Dermatology Syllabi at Spanish Universities: Does the Weight of Theoretical Content Match the Skin Conditions Seen in Primary Care and General Dermatology Practices?

IntroductionUndergraduate dermatology courses vary in the nearly 50 Spanish medical faculties that teach the subject. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of these courses and to analyze whether the weight assigned to dermatology topics reflects the caseloads of primary care physicians and general dermatologists in the Spanish national health system.Material and methodsCross-sectional study of syllabi used in Spanish medical faculties during the 2021–2022 academic year. We determined the number of teaching hours in public and private university curricula and compared the weight of dermatology topics covered to the dermatology caseloads of primary care physicians and general dermatologists as reported in published studies.ResultsMost medical faculties taught dermatology for one semester. The median number of credits offered was 4.5. On average, lectures covered 24 theoretical topics, and seminars and workshops covered 9 topics. We identified a clear disparity between the percentage of time devoted to dermatology topics in course lectures and the skin conditions usually managed in primary care and general dermatology practices.DiscussionThe skin diseases most commonly treated by primary care physicians and general dermatologists are underrepresented in the curricula of Spanish medical faculties. The topics that should be given more weight in syllabi, or recovered for inclusion in dermatology courses, should be re-examined. Our findings show that the topics that ideally should be emphasized more are types of dermatitis, infectious skin diseases, acne, psoriasis, rashes, and the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant neoplasms. There should be additional support for the theoretical teaching of these topics.     

Preserving medical dermatology. A colleague lost, a call to arms, and a plan for battle.

Change within dermatology as a clinical discipline is expected and inevitable. However dermatology may change as a medical specialty in the new millennium, there will still be patients with medical dermatologic disease whose optimal care will depend on skin disease specialists' having the highest level of training and experience in medical dermatology. Dermatologists who have subspecialized in medical dermatology will provide the role models for new generations of dermatologists, perform the patient-oriented research, and care for the more complicated patients. Thus, if during its evolution, dermatology loses the ability to train and support medical dermatologists, it will be weakened as the discipline that can best care for skin disease. Clearly, the loss of talented academicians such as the person whose career was outlined in the case report presented at the beginning of this article should be a huge warning sign that the future of medical dermatology as a specialty is uncertain. The Medical Dermatology Society hopes to develop a coalition with all other leadership organizations within dermatology to deal with this problem effectively. There is a need for a broader discussion within organized dermatology of the growing crisis in this area and how all dermatology leadership organizations working together can develop an action plan for effectively dealing with this important but challenging problem. Dermatology must ask itself what it wants to look like as a medical specialty in the future. Without an steady stream of young clinician-investigators focused on the many challenging problems in medical dermatology, dermatology will not exist as the specialty it is today.     

皮肤科在全科医师培训的基本情况和教学体会

皮肤病是社区、农村人群的常见、多发病,全科医师迫切需要皮肤病知识培训,本文介绍皮肤性病学在全科医师培训中的基本情况和教学体会。分析和总结了本专业在全科医师教学中的措施、方法。教研室通过优化、强化教学内容、重视实践教学和强化皮肤性病学教学方法和教学手段改革等措施取得了较好的教学效果。同时也发现皮肤病学教师对全科医师培训规律、特点掌握还有待提高。