What Should a Spanish Graduate in Medicine in the European Higher Education System Know About Biochemistry and Molecular Biology? A Personal Reflection

For over 40 years of working in the area of biochemistry and molecular biology, 30 of which have been spent teaching at the University of Malaga, I have been involved in the theoretical and practical teaching of the subject initially called biochemistry and now called biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB). The expansion of this scientific discipline and the renewed interest in research have led to such a large accumulation of knowledge (knowledge base) that the elaboration of a BMB program requires applying notable doses of synthesis; otherwise, it would be impossible to cover all this subject within the strict confines of the bi-semestral term. Advances in medicine and BMB are inseparable, and much of modern medicine would not be practiced as it is if it were not for our understanding of how hereditary, pathogenic, and environmental factors affect the human body at the molecular level. The importance, therefore, of teaching medical students biochemistry is evident. BMB is a subject that corresponds to the area of biomedicine and is taught during the first year of medicine. The main aim is to study the basics of chemical structures from the molecular viewpoint, with special emphasis on regulating and integrating aspects, necessary to understand such disciplines as physiology, pharmacology, or pathology. Thus, based on many years of experience teaching BMB to medical undergraduates, my aim is to define what it is that a graduate in medicine should know about the subject.