Short and long-term impact of pharmacovigilance training on the pharmacovigilance knowledge of medical students

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short and long-term impact of pharmacovigilance (PV) training on the 5th year medical students knowledge about definitions and on the awareness of the regulatory aspects in PV. Materials and Methods: In academic year 2010/11, the students completed structured, questionnaire before and just after training. They also completed the same questionnaire 1-year after the training. Results: The students knowledge about PV significantly increased after training in the short term (P < 0.001). However, the improvement decreased significantly in the long-term (P < 0.001). Although long-term scores were higher than the baseline score, the difference was not statistically significant. Total scores were 17.5 +/- 2.0, 20.8 +/- 2.0 and 18.0 +/- 2.5; before, at short and long-term after the training. Conclusion: PV training increased the students' knowledge significantly. However, in the long-term, the impact of the training is limited. Repeated training of PV should be planned.