Intern doctors’ feedback on teaching methodologies in pharmacology

The second study involved chronic administration of aspartame for 6 days followed by induction of carrageenan-induced monoarthritis.[12] Interestingly, although aspartame in a dose of 50 mg/kg reduced mechanical pain, it did not demonstrate any significant anti-inflammatory effect. These findings appear to contradict the anti-inflammatory effect of aspartame in doses of 4 and 8 mg/kg observed in our study.

Pharmacology, similar to other branches of medical science, is an everchanging medical subject. It is accepted that reviewing the teaching and evaluation methods by feedback from students and modification of methodologies accordingly is very important for the undergraduate medical teaching. [1,2] Since quite some time, we have been following the modified teaching (teacher-assisted learning) program, which is also followed at other medical colleges with or without some modifications. [3,4] With a view to improve, we have decided to get feedback for our teaching methodologies and evaluation patterns from intern doctors who have completed their MBBS course from Govt. Medical College, Surat, as they deal with patients, the concepts of pharmacology become more relevant during internship.
Fifty interns were selected randomly by computer-generated random numbers. Individual interns were approached by one of the investigators with a questionnaire that contained 29 questions, each question having 3-9 options. This questionnaire was based on a previous study [5] and validated by a pilot study done on 15 intern doctors.
We observed that most of the interns had some knowledge in the subject of pharmacology before entering the second year (55. The best sequence to study systems in pharmacology suggested by interns is general pharmacology, ANS, CVS, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, central nervous system, endocrine system, chemotherapy, autocoids and others. ability to maintain rapport with the students and ability to make the subject interesting. Important suggestions regarding the modification in pharmacology teaching curricula are making the subject more clinically oriented, having more interactive classes, more problem-based learning and more MCQs.
In this study, many interns mentioned about not having any knowledge of pharmacology before entering the second year MBBS course. An overview of different subjects at the start of the first year of MBBS course may be helpful. Bilateral communication enhances the students' involvement in lectures, which might improve their performance in the exams, hence it was the most preferred. [5] Similar to a previous study, student seminar was not popular. [6] Many interns favored the introduction of bed side training of clinical pharmacology during internship, which is also supported by other studies. [7,8] Comparison of antiinflammatory activity of serratiopeptidase and diclofenac in albino rats Sir, Acute and chronic inflammatory diseases are one of the most important health problems in the world. Although several agents are known to treat inflammatory disorders, their prolonged use often leads to gastric intolerance, bone marrow depression and water and salt retention. [1] Although the newer nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are more potent, having the same or greater action against many chronic clinical situations and also having a favorable safety profile as compared with the older groups, an entirely satisfactory solution is still eluding. [2] Serratiopeptidase, a proteolytic enzyme, has been found useful in patients suffering from acute or chronic inflammatory disorders of ear, nose or throat, such as laryngitis, catarrhal rhino-pharyngitis and sinusitis. [3] Hence, the present study was undertaken to compare antiinflammatory effect of serratiopeptidase against diclofenac sodium.
Sixteen Charles foster albino rats of either sex weighing 150-250 g were randomly divided into four groups, with four animals in each group. The animals were maintained at room temperature and fed with standard pellet diet (Pranav Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd., Vadodara, India ) and water, ad libitum. Diclofenac sodium (Novartis India Ltd., Mumbai, India), serratiopeptidase (Systopic Laboratories Ltd., New Delhi, India) and formaldehyde were used for the study. The experimental study protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (Registration number 454/1a/ CPCSEA).
Acute inflammation was induced by subplantar injection of 0.1 mL of 2% formalin in both hind paws, 1 h after oral administration of distilled water (0.4 mL/100 g) in group 1, which served as control, diclofenac (0.5 mg/kg) in group 2, which served as standard, serratiopeptidase (10 mg/kg) in group 3 and serratiopeptidase (20 mg/kg) in group 4. The paw volume was measured immediately and at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 h following the injection of formalin. For chronic inflammation study, the above animals were further treated with serratiopeptidase, diclofenac or distilled water twice daily orally for 9 consecutive days. A second injection of formalin was given on the third day. [4] The daily changes in the paw volume were measured by plethysmograph and was expressed as an increase in the paw volume. The results of acute and chronic inflammation are represented graphically in Figures  1 and 2, respectively.
All values are presented as mean ± SEM. Differences between means were assessed by one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test using GraphPad Prism Version 5.01 software. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.