Student's opinion regarding teaching methods: A survey amongst MBBS and BDS students of a private Medical University in Karachi - Short Communication.

A cross sectional study was conducted in a private medical university among undergraduate MBBS and BDS students, to ascertain their opinion regarding various teaching methods. Convenience sampling technique was utilized with data collection spanning over March to August 2015 on a sample of 398 students. A self-administered questionnaire was used for the purpose. Descriptive analysis was applied for numerical data while chi square was used for categorical data. P value under 0.05 was considered significant. Our results showed that around 120 (30%) of the participants supported PBL as the most effective teaching method while 64(16%) considered clinical rotations, and 60(15%) voted for lectures. According to undergraduate students Problem-based Learning is the most significant tool for learning. Integrated method of teaching was endorsed by both MBBS and BDS students.

Case reports and their importance in Medical Literature.

It is important to appreciate how case reports have paved the way for modern research. They are still largely considered the first line of evidence. Indeed global endemics such as HIV and Zika Virus have been traced back to initial case reports. Strictly speaking; case reports are anecdotes - a factual story telling about nature's own experiment. Case reports can be characterized by two huge advantages, their ability to present novel, rare cases in a manner that can lead to the expansion in research of such cases and their use in generating new, innovative hypothesis that can be used to direct further research. The aim of this article is to identify the place and purpose of case reports in the current research setting with a focus on highlighting its merits and limitation amongst other things.