Feedback from Physiotherapy And Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Students On Teaching – Learning And Evaluation Methodology In Pharmacology.

Background: “Students’ Feedback” is an important tool to evaluate the teaching- learning and evaluation methodologies. It can identify strengths and weaknesses which can be used to strengthen methodologies. Objective: 1.To develop a tool to obtain feedback from Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy undergraduate students. 2. To identify strengths and weaknesses in the current teaching-learning and evaluation methodology in pharmacology using feedback from Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy undergraduate students. Materials and methods: Prevalidated Questionnaire consisting of questions pertaining to teaching-learning and evaluation methodology was designed. Students of 2nd and 3rd year Bachelor of Physiotherapy (B. P. Th.) and students of 2nd year Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (B. O. Th.) were requested to fill the questionnaire. The questionnaires were analyzed. Results: Students were satisfied with the current teaching-learning methodologies except they showed preference to introduce case studies and group discussions. According to them, power point presentation with chalk and board was the most effective A-V aid. Students opined that Chemotherapy and ANS should be covered in more detail. All the students felt that the questions with model answers asked in formative evaluations should be discussed with them. Conclusion: Current teaching learning and evaluation methodology could be strengthened by inclusion of case studies and group discussions and discussion of model answers with students post examinations.

Promotional literature: how do we critically appraise?

There has been a tremendous increase in the number of new and generic drugs coming into the market. The busy practitioner obtains the information from various sources, of which promotional literature forms an important source. The promotional literature provided by the pharmaceutical companies cannot be entirely relied upon; moreover, very few physicians are equipped with the skills of critically appraising it. The new drug should be relevant to the clinician's practice in terms of population studied, the disease and the need for new treatment. The methodology of the study should be carefully judged to determine the authenticity of the evidence. The new drug should be preferred over the existing one if it offers clear advantages in terms of safety, tolerability, efficacy and price. Critical appraisal of promotional literature can provide valuable information to the busy physician to practice evidence-based medicine.