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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2023 | Volume
: 55
| Issue : 4 | Page : 268-269 |
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Pharmacovigilance in the medical education: In UG curriculum where do we stand? What can be done?
Shiva Murthy Nanjundappa1, Pratibha Durgesh Nadig1, MK Jayanti2, RM Veena3, GN Manjunath4
1 Department of Pharmacology, Dr. Chandramma Dayananda Sagar Mediacal Education and Research, Ramanagara, Karnataka, India
2 Department of Pharmacology, JSS Medical College, Mysore, Karnataka, India
3 Department of Pharmacology, BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
4 Department of Pharmacology, Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur, Karnataka, India
| Date of Submission | 17-Mar-2023 |
| Date of Decision | 25-Apr-2023 |
| Date of Acceptance | 08-Aug-2023 |
| Date of Web Publication | 11-Sep-2023 |
Correspondence Address:
Shiva Murthy Nanjundappa
Department of Pharmacology, Dr. Chandramma Dayananda Sagar Institute of Medical Education and Research, Devarakaggalahalli, Harohalli Hobali, Kanakapura Taluk, Ramanagara, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijp.ijp_145_23
How to cite this article:
Nanjundappa SM, Nadig PD, Jayanti M K, Veena R M, Manjunath G N. Pharmacovigilance in the medical education: In UG curriculum where do we stand? What can be done?. Indian J Pharmacol 2023;55:268-9 |
How to cite this URL:
Nanjundappa SM, Nadig PD, Jayanti M K, Veena R M, Manjunath G N. Pharmacovigilance in the medical education: In UG curriculum where do we stand? What can be done?. Indian J Pharmacol [serial online] 2023 [cited 2023 Oct 3];55:268-9. Available from: https://www.ijp-online.com/text.asp?2023/55/4/268/385491 |
Dear Editor,
National Pharmacovigilance Week activities are conducted regularly every year, from September 17 to 23. Due to these activities, awareness about pharmacovigilance is increasing at the ground level. As a part of these activities, we conducted a panel discussion on the topic “Pharmacovigilance in the Medical Education: Where do we stand? and What can be done?” In this letter to the editor, we have summarized the points discussed and the opinions of the panelists for the further attention of the National Medical Council (NMC) and other professional colleagues. It is our humble submission to our fellow colleagues in medical education to debate further and suggest the honorable committees at NMC to look into the matter and modify the respective schedules in the Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2019 Act and its supporting documents to accommodate the suggestions given by the experts.[1]
| » Points Discussed and Comments/Suggestions | |  |
- Currently, a competency on adverse drug reactions (ADRs) monitoring and reporting is included in the phase II MBBS as per the Competency-Based Medical Education curriculum. However, it is not a certifying skill. This skill needs to be upgraded and modified as a certifying skill. This has already been taken up by Dayananda Sagar University (DSU) and has been mandated as a certifying skill and implemented. As per the teachers' experience at DSU, they found this to be an implementable activity. The MBBS students also find it interesting to collect the ADRs from wards while taking case histories, making case presentations, and interacting with nurses, consultants, patients, parents, and their relatives. This makes it activity-based learning from the real-time cases
- As per the current NMC curriculum, the minimum number of ADRs to be reported by an undergraduate is not mentioned. We suggest including a minimum of five ADRs to be reported by each student over a period of 6 months. These ADRs should be collected by the undergraduates during their clinical postings. As per the teachers' experience at DSU, this is also feasible but requires continuous follow-ups and reinforcements by faculty members to complete the activity successfully. We believe that this will help the students upgrade their skill sets from the “know how” to the “does” level, as per Miller's pyramid of learning[2]
- Currently, NMC documents are silent on the minimum number of pharmacovigilance-related community engagement activities to be performed by undergraduate students during their MBBS phase 2. The attention of the curriculum committee of the NMC is required on this aspect and may include the participation of undergraduates in the activities conducted under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PVPI). This will help them to understand the impact of such programs in spreading health awareness about drug safety and the safe use of medications. Panelists recommended including undergraduates' participation in at least two activities, such as competition, rally, street play, conference, and continuous medical education programs, either as active participants or as spectators
- The panelists felt the need for teaching the concepts related to pharmacovigilance and rational use of medicines in the MBBS phase 1 itself, as the students are getting involved in the family adoption program as per the NMC curriculum requirements in association with the community medicine department. A need was also felt to extend the teaching of pharmacology topics (such as pharmacovigilance, materiovigilance, hemovigilance, adverse events following immunization, rational drug therapy, drug–drug and drug-disease interactions, pharmacoeconomics, and discussion on therapeutic outcomes) to MBBS phase 3 part I and phase 3 part II students
- Integrating pharmacovigilance activities with the community medicine department to raise awareness among health-care workers and the general public at the community level is also the need of the hour. This will help in implementing the PVPI program at the community level and enhancing public participation in ADR reporting
- The panelists suggested including 1 week of posting during the internship to the department of pharmacology to work and learn good pharmacovigilance practices, including the method of uploading ADRs into the VigiFlow database, good prescription practices, essential medicines list preparation, hospital formulary development, prescription auditing, P-drug prescribing, and case discussion on rational therapeutics.
Financial support and sponsorship
We acknowledge the support extended by the management of CDSIMER and the staff of the Department of Pharmacology, CDSIMER, Devarakaggalahalli, Ramanagara District, Karnataka. We also would like to thank all the other panelists and the audience for their active participation.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| » References | | |
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| 2. | Norcini JJ. Work based assessment. BMJ 2003;326:753-5.  |
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