[india-drug] Re: Teaching Pharmacology and Therapeutics (14)

[themathurs@hotmail.com]

Teaching Pharmacology and Therapeutics (14)
*********** 

Dear Prof. Sunita Mittal,
                                   Thank you very much for your letter.I 
have a feeling that my letter has given you the wrong impression about the 
teaching of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, this was basically 
applicable to undergraduates and not MD Pharmacology students. All that I 
have mentioned in my letter deals with the UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING. The 
College I  had refered to was the College of Medicine, Arabian Gulf 
University, Bahrain and the details were of the 6 years PBL curriculum 
leading to the undergraduate degree. As you would be well aware that 
different institutions in different parts of the world give the basic degree 
of MBBS/MD, and I  am sorry this must have created the confusion. Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics is taught from 
Year 2-6 of the programme and the clinicians are involved in the teaching 
at CMMS, AGU, Bahrain though most of it is done by the department of 
Pharmacology which presently has 2 DM's in Clinical Pharmacology.

                           Your views on teaching of therapeutics and the 
role of clinical teachers is indeed laudable and must be converted to 
action. In this regard I  must mention that at the University College of 
Medicine, Shadara, Delhi under the stewardship of Prof. K.K.Sharma ably 
assisted by his colleagues Profs. Pramod Kumari and Naresh Khanna a course 
on prescription writing, rational selection of drugs, solving 
clinico-therapeutic exercises and writing prescriptions and chart 
orders, consulting the Brit. Nat. Formulary and the list of drugs approved by the Government of Delhi, preparing their P drug list was done and all the 
students taking their pharmacology examination were provided with the 
Standard Treatment Gulde Lines prepared by the Delhi Society for Promoting 
Rational Use of Drugs. For further details you may contact Prof. 
K.K.Sharma. They also carried a formative assesment and the students 
evaluated the course.
                        Keeping in view your enthusiasm and the fact that 
you are working at the prestigious national institute, you can certainly 
bring a change nation wise to the teaching of therapeutics in our medical 
schools.
                                                                  
With all good wishes
                                                                          
Sincerely,
                                                                                         V.S.Mathur 
Prof. V.S.Mathur, MD,D.Phil(Oxon)FAMS
                                                                      formerly Chairman, Department of Pharmacol. & Therapeutics                                                                            
CMMS, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain, Arabian Gulf
Email: <themathurs@hotmail.com>