Case Based Learning in Teaching Pharmacology to Undergraduate Medical Students

BackgroundWith the new competency-based curriculum coming into effect we need to introduce newer teaching -learning methods to help students improve their learning and acquire necessary knowledge and skills. Hence to integrate pharmacology with clinical sciences and involve the students in their learning process, case -based learning (CBL) has been found to be very successful. Therefore the present study was planned to introduce CBL as a new teaching-learning method in pharmacology and to know the perceptions of the students regarding this method.ObjectivesThe study aimed to introduce CBL to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students as a method of teaching pharmacology and the perceptions of the students regarding CBL were noted.MethodologyAfter seeking institutional review board approval and sensitizing the students and faculty about this new teaching-learning method, CBL sessions were conducted on a few topics. Perceptions of the students were recorded on a feedback questionnaire and the results were analyzed.ResultsNinety-five percent of students agreed that CBL helped in better comprehension of the concepts. Ninety-six percent of the students found CBL interesting and 96% of students said that CBL will help them correlate pharmacology clinically.ConclusionsThe students felt that CBL is an effective learning tool and would promote the clinical application of pharmacology.