Postgraduate Pharmacology Education in India: Broadening the Horizons

Dr. Ananya Chakraborty

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, Whitefield, Bangalore, India-560066
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Outline
Evolution Career opportunities Traditional curriculum Re-look with emphasis on
Recent advances in drug related research Training faculty and students Regular assessments Examination system
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Science of Pharmacology
Developed in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries when scientists
Began to study naturally occurring drugs e.g. digitalis (foxglove), morphine (poppy) Basic principles of pharmacology were established with studies on such substances which had been in use for centuries

Some of these drugs are still in use today, but the majority are now synthetic
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Evolution: Traditional to Targeted Drug Discovery

Growth in biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology

Traditional Drug Discovery

Targeted Drug Discovery

Why choose Pharmacology?

Career Opportunities
Academic position Research position Principal investigator
Clinical research BA/BE studies

Medical advisor Medical content manager Pharmacovigilance expert

Pharmacology: Career Opportunities

Traditional Pharmacology Curriculum: Objectives

Basic and general pharmacology Animal experimentation including drug screening and bioassays Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics Research and teaching methodology
Identify a problem, formulate a hypothesis Design a study protocol
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Traditional Pharmacology Curriculum: Objectivescont.

Literature search and review Bioethics Statistics Drug prescription and utilization Drug related adverse effects Cost-effectiveness of drugs
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Traditional Pharmacology Curriculum: Bottleneck

Learning basic and general pharmacology
Theory oriented Monotonous Lacks
Bed side teaching Problem based approach

Provides more emphasis on knowledge rather than acquisition of skills and attitudes
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Traditional Pharmacology Curriculum: Bottleneck

Animal experimentation
CPCSEA Lack of advanced laboratory facilities Preference: Clinical study
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Traditional Curriculum: Bottleneckcont.

Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Lack of cooperation from clinical side Lack of hands on experience

Research and teaching methodology

Continuous learning process, can not be learnt by attending a few hours of lecture E.g. Medical writing industry: 6 weeks training with lot of assignments followed by review and assessment
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Traditional Curriculum: Bottleneckcont.

Bioethics
Not taught elaborately Does not include problem based aspects and approaches in research

Statistics
Not taught with research designs and examples Does not include training in statistical and clinical trial softwares
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Challenges for Students

Vast, theory oriented curriculum Examination pattern: Remember everything studied over three years Practical goals:
To train themselves in the recent advances To attain hands on experience on various aspects of pharmacology To acquire employable expertise
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Need of the day

Modification of curriculum based on recent advances in drug discovery and research Exposure and training
Molecular biology techniques, calculus Advanced animal models and screening techniques Computer simulated animal experiments Use of statistical and clinical trial software Use of recent tools and techniques
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Academic Institutions in India

Most of the institutions are not equipped with the required infrastructure Very few faculty members are trained in the recent advances

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Ways Out!!!
Short-term stints for faculty and students in relevant institutions and industry Online training or through CME Online forums : Exchange of knowledge e.g. Indpharm Online thesis repository: Continuation of promising work across different institutes

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Ways Outcont.
Faculty and students: Encouraged to attend workshops and training programs Workshops and training programs
Interactive, hands on experience Problem based case studies Assessments and evaluation IPSCON: Platform to propose workshops
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Updating the curriculum

GMP, GLP, GCP regulatory affairs Hands on experience
Clinical research
If infrastructure or confidentiality does not permit direct exposure to clinical studies, they could be trained through mock studies

Posting in hospital pharmacy Short term projects in pharmacovigilance and pharmacoeconomics

Communication skills
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Updating the curriculum : Credit based modular approach

Credit points: Training or exposure stint Credit points: A pre-requisite for exam
E.g. Suppose 50 credits are required to qualify for the final exam
20 credits for thesis work, 10 credits for seminars and journal reviews, 10 credits for UG teaching Remaining credits could be earned through trainings: 5 credits for training in basic pharmacology research, 5 credits for training in clinical research including ADRs
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Evaluation System
Written examination: Problem based Practical evaluation: Based on research and presentation skills Defend thesis: Presence of all examiners where at least one examiner should be chosen from a national panel

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Conclusion
Updating the curriculum, introducing credits, or changing examination pattern will not necessarily ensure quality PG teaching in the institutions Learning: Academic freedom, good infrastructure, a collaborative and positive research atmosphere
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Conclusioncontd.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high How do we ensure that?

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PG Pharmacology Education: Opinion of pharmacologists

Y-axis: % responses X-axis: Questionnaire
Q1: Provides emphasis only on only knowledge Q2: Research and teaching methodology are not learnt through lectures Q3: Most of the Indian Institutions are not equipped with the required infrastructure Q4: Faculty members are not trained in the recent advances Q5: Curriculum needs re-look
120 100

80

60

40

20

0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5

http://www.surveymethods.com/EndUser.aspx?7D4B35267C39202A7C3C

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Thank You

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