Innovative methods in teaching clinical pharmacology

M.E ELKARIMI, I RAHMOUNE, H FILALI, F HAKKOU. faculty of medicine, pharmacology, Morocco

Introduction : pharmacology is one of the most fundamental basics for medical practionners. It is regarded as a dry subject by the student. Worldwidely , lecture based learning is the most common way in teaching pharmacology. In this paper we review through a literature synthesis the new tools in teaching pharmacology.

Methods : Literature review, using MeSH system and Pubmed system. Selection of articles in English from 1991 January to 2011 January.

Results : all the studies conclude that the delopment of further tools had become compulsory, in order to make students able to reflect on what and how they are learning. Congnitives activities should promote deep rather than surface learning. Many suggestions are mentioned : problem based learning, simulated practicals, peer assessment, use of internet, computer base learning , virtual learning environments.

Discussion :

In the current information age, with an explosion of drug-related data, the prime topic for discussion is how to teach clinical pharmacology. In this environment there is a pressing need for medical graduates to be fully prepared to take on the responsiblilities of prescribing and to be able to respond to the rapid changes in therapeutics that will be inevitable in the coming years.