Student feedback on teaching-learning methodology and evaluation methods in pharmacology

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Background: Pharmacology as a medical subject undergoes constant update and thus is ever expanding. Periodic review of the teaching-learning tools along with the evaluation methods and then improvisation of the same to make the curriculum effective as well as student friendly can help in making the medical student grasp the difficult subject easily. The present study was undertaken to get the students’ feedback regarding the various teaching methodologies used in the Department of Pharmacology and the evaluation techniques to assess them. Methods: A prevalidated and anonymous questionnaire was given to the second professional MBBS students at the end of their session. The questionnaire had both closed ended and open ended questions. The data were compiled and evaluated as counts and percentages. Approval was taken from Institutional Ethics Committee. Results: About 57.9% students found the subject useful and interesting and the most common topics of interest among the students were general pharmacology (29.5%), cardiovascular system (17.9%), and autonomic nervous system (15.8%). Interactive lectures, audio-visual aids with demonstrations and tutorials were considered the most interesting method of learning pharmacology (42.1%, 31.6%, and 31.6%, respectively). The majority of the students (61%) wanted clinical case studies to be incorporated in the routine teaching of pharmacology for better understanding and better correlation of drugs used in diseases. The best method of evaluation according to the students was a combination of written and viva exam (51.6%), followed by written class test only (33.7%), and tutorials (22.1%). The suggestions about improvement in pharmacology teaching which were highlighted by the students were inclusion of clinical case studies with drug management, incorporation of multiple choice questions, and computer simulations. Conclusion: It is important to take regular feedbacks from the students to make the teaching more useful and interesting so that synchronization between teaching-learning, evaluation and assessment can be achieved for improved outcome.