ABSTRACT
Background: First year MBBS curriculum in Biochemistry is taught by the conventional methods of teaching in which didactic lectures share almost 70% of the total content load, in which students fail to grasp the importance of biochemistry and its significant contribution in medical laboratory science. Hence, case-based learning (CBL) is being used in the medical curriculum, so that students are exposed to the real-life medical problems. Aim and Objectives: The study aimed implementation of CBL sessions in 1st year MBBS students and to analyze perception of students and faculty about the effectiveness of CBL method. Materials and Methods: A group of 150 students of Phase 1 MBBS course was selected for interventional study comprising two teaching-learning sessions on two core topics in biochemistry. Pre-test and post-test were conducted before and after the CBL session. A third test was conducted 1 month after the post-test to assess retention of knowledge gained by the students. The performance of the students was analyzed. Results: Pre-test and post-test analysis showed a very significant improvement in performance of the students after the CBL sessions. About 95% of the students and 90% of faculty reported that CBL sessions were useful to facilitate critical thinking through active learning. About 85% of students and 80% of faculty expressed that CBL helped in bridging the gap between theory and practice. Conclusion: It is evident from the present study that CBL in biochemistry can be implemented as innovative and effective teaching module to achieve the learning objectives. Case studies encourage active learning, promote critical thinking, and instill motivation in the subject.
ABSTRACT
Background: In order to successfully run a curriculum in a medical college, it is a mandatory to collect regular feedback from the students regarding teaching and learning methodologies. The primary objective of our study was to analyse the various teaching-learning aids and course content of pharmacology. The secondary objective was evaluation of pharmacology practical classes and their relevance in relation to the interests of students as well as clinical application. Methods: This is a cross sectional, open labelled questionnaire based study conducted among 100 2nd year MBBS students of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions with 4 response options each. Descriptive statistics was used for analysis and interpretation and the results were expressed as percentage frequency of responses. Results: It was revealed from our study that a majority of the students (45%) found microbiology undergraduate practical laboratory more interesting with pharmacology at 35%, which reflects that 65% students think that pharmacology laboratory exercises are boring and less useful. From among the pharmacology practical laboratories (clinical laboratory, experimental pharmacology and pharmacy), majority (47%) of the students opted for clinical prescription and problem based learning exercises as most beneficial. A whopping 55/100 students wanted introduction of clinical case studies as part of the regular practical teaching schedule while 30 students felt that doctor-patient role play should be included in teaching curriculum for better understanding of subject. Surprisingly, 42% of students find audio visual aids as most useful teaching methodologies while 33% students like bilateral (student- teacher) interactive classes. On the contrary, 72% of the students prefer studying pharmacology from combination of both lecture notes, textbooks and their self-prepared notes. 50/100 students wanted inclusion of more case studies and treatment protocols as a part of regular teaching protocol in pharmacology and 30 students wanted more group discussions to be included as a part of teaching curriculum in pharmacology. Conclusion: Pharmacology is a dynamic and continuously evolving branch of medicine. The results of our study are hoped to help in knowing students’ perspective regarding pharmacology teaching and modifying pharmacology teaching patterns for better outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Academic institutions collect student feedback to improve their curriculum and teaching quality. At the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSoM), National University of Singapore (NUS), the feedback is also used to disburse funds to clinical teaching sites as well as to make decisions on faculty performance. There are studies on the benefits and uses of measurement tools (e.g. student ratings) to evaluate university courses, however, studies evaluating the process of effecting changes to the system are few. In this study, the authors discuss the limitations of the student feedback system/processes and the way new changes were instituted to overcome these limitations at YLLSoM, NUS. This study highlights the importance of constantly reviewing the feedback mechanism to obtain better inputs for improving the learning environment. Our findings are particularly useful for the training of clinical teachers in Asian and new medical schools, who can learn from our strengths to meet the required standards.