Twenty Years of Using and Contributing to the Model Curriculum for Psychopharmacology Teachers

The Model Curriculum for Teachers of Psychopharmacology was initiated as a project to collect and share teaching materials and lectures on a wide range of topics within psychopharmacology. Started in 2001 by members of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology under the leadership of Carl Salzman, MD, Richard Shader, MD, David Janowsky, MD, and Ira Glick, MD, the curriculum is now available in 2 editions: one each for psychiatric residents and primary care clinicians. Each version includes teaching notes and presentation slides to support faculty educating trainees and practitioners. The curriculum has been purchased by approximately half of the US psychiatry residency programs, all Canadian programs, and many international programs. Although the curriculum is in English, there are Japanese translations.

Just a few years after the first edition, in 2004, the curriculum editors began working on the third edition. At the same time, I was part of the Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project at the Harvard South Shore (HHS) Psychiatry Residency Training Program, which had been recognized that year with the Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation Education Award at the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP) Annual Meeting for our website (www.psychopharm.mobi). The curriculum editors recognized that many of our ideologies aligned (eg, neither accept support from pharmaceutical companies), and invited our group to contribute several algorithm flowcharts for that edition. Since then, it has been the privilege of the HHS Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project Program to contribute lectures and other content to each new edition of the curriculum.

In addition to contributing teaching material, I have extensive experience with using the curriculum at our HSS Program. At our facility, the more advanced topics (eg, algorithms) are presented in the PGY-III year, in a course for prescribing nurse practitioner residents, and at monthly staff psychopharmacology conferences. Our faculty who present are provided with the pertinent lectures, which they can deliver as designed or modify as they see fit.

Over the years, some things have changed, including chief editors and the sponsoring organization, but the dedication to quality has been consistent. Lecture topics within the curriculum range widely; there are sections on child psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and substance use disorders psychiatry .Drug development, ethics, drug company advertising, marketing and detailing, and methods of detecting study biases are also discussed. The curriculum was designed so lectures can be given by faculty without in-depth expertise on the topic presented: the speaker can rely on the expertise of the lecture author(s) and add comments from their own clinical experiences. Five or 10 pre- and post-lecture questions are included with most lectures so faculty can ascertain retention of the most important points. Further reading, including recommended journals and books and instructions on how to organize a curriculum, are included with the lecture materials.

Most recently, the 12th (2024) edition for psychiatry residency training is out and available. This edition is affiliated with the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and the editors are Charles DeBattista, MD, DMH, and Glick. It has 110 PowerPoint lectures, including 15 from this author: 4 in the introductory crash course on basic psychopharmacology, 9 lectures on algorithms, and talks on the use of 2 of our most important medications: lithium and clozapine.

Dr Osser is associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director, US Department of Veterans Affairs National Bipolar Disorder Telehealth Program. He is also a member of the Psychiatric Times editorial board and the editor of Psychiatric Times’ “Bipolar Update” series.