E-DRUG: Teaching pharmacology and therapeutics
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[I assume this is a follow up on discussing teaching by distant learning which happened around 10 September and not 'in the last few days'. Moderator]
Dear all CONCERNED !
It is indeed heartening to note the interest and enthusiasm, worries and concerns expressed so spontaneously in the series of e-drug communications on this subject in last few days. Then what ? How to bring about the change ?
Before anything else we must try to find where it goes wrong. I think the problem has many faces and facets.
One, who teaches them ? We, the teachers of Pharmacology, at least a vast majority of us, seem to be unsure about the learning objectives. Those of us who are a bit more serious in our job, are perhaps too obsessed to COVER the syllabus and help the learners to cram certain facts and figures and thus score pass / honours marks in exams.
Second, what are they made to learn ? The current MCI curriculum provides only a broad guidelines which at our own university levels, we, the medical teachers, could appropriately have translated it into specific action plans. Unfortunately, we preferred to reduce it to a teaching program which, I am afraid, is no better than what it used to be earlier. The Indian Pharmacological Society (IPS) could have taken the lead in this matter which at least would guarantee uniformity in teaching-learning of Pharmacology in medial colleges in India.
Third, how are they taught ? One example would suffice. The MCI-prescribed problem-based learning has been reduced, in many colleges, to a list of ten or fifteen hypothetical (not identified from real patient situations) clinical problems for which so-called model responses are also pre-designed by teachers and the learners are just expected to memorize (only ultra-short term memory is needed) and recall when asked. There is hardly any relevant skills training.
And then how are they evaluated ? The MCI-prescribed internal assessment, the purpose of which was formative evaluation, is again modified at the college level to best suit our (both teachers and learners) purpose.
It is high time the IPS in collaboration with other experts and organizations take up the matter with due seriousness, form a task force, draw up a time-bound action plan and imlement the program. Let stalwarts like Professors Ranjit Roychowdhury, V S Mathur, Y K Gupta, K Weerasriya (WHO) and others guide the task-force.
I shall be more than interested to join the program.
Prof. Santanu K Tripathi, Head,
Dept of Pharmacology,
N R S Medical College,
Kolkata 700 014.
tripathi.santanu@gmail.com