Objectives: To compare the perception of students about two different teachingmethods in the subject of pathology at Central Park Medical College Lahore. Background:In medical education, it becomes essential to adopt an approach of teaching and learningthat is best suited to the undergraduate medical students. Many studies have revealed thatsmall group discussions lead to an improved and active learning as compared to conventionaldidactic lectures. Hence, new research is required to identify the preferences and needs of themedical students in relation to their daily learning activities. Study Design: Cross sectionalstudy. Setting: Central Park Medical Lahore. Materials and methods: Comparative analysisof lectures and SGD was done via a feedback performa which was distributed among third(n=105) and fourth year (n=114) MBBS students during a small group discussion session.The students were explained about the purpose of study and 20 minutes were given to fillthe performa. Feedback performa comprised of selecting the preferred method of teaching insubject of Pathology at Central Park Medical Lahore. Results: The study revealed that studentswere satisfied with the current teaching pattern in pathology. 68.9% of the participants preferredSGDs over lectures as the ideal teaching modality in Pathology. According to 47.9% of thestudents the appropriate time for a single lecture of Pathology should be 30 minutes. 55.2%of the participants suggested discussion as the most helpful method of teaching during anSGD. Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that students preferred SGD as the mosthelpful method of learning in subject of pathology. SGD of the topics which had been coveredin the comprehensive lectures in the same week lead to a better understanding of the topicresulting in an improved and active learning of the students.

Objectives: To explore the factors affecting academic performance ofundergraduate MBBS students in Central Park Medical College Lahore. Background: Inmedical education, academic achievement tends to be an important aspect of professionaldevelopment later in the life of medical graduates. In Pakistan, pre-admission grades are oneof the most important criteria for admission in medical colleges. Several other factors are alsobelieved to play an important role to predict performance of undergraduate students in medicalcolleges. A detailed study of these factors can help to improve the performance of studentsin medical colleges. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Setting: Central ParkMedical College, Lahore. Materials and methods:Two MBBS batches (n=200) of Central ParkMedical College. Student data regarding gender, parent occupation, being a boarder or dayscholar, marks scored in F.sc and MCAT along with the score obtained in all professionalexaminations was collected. The data was analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Results: Thisstudy revealed that there was a positive correlation between preadmission grades of studentsand their academic performance throughout the five year period of medical college. Therewas no significant difference (p-value >0.05) between the academic performances ofstudents from parents of medical background as compared to those from parents withoutany medical background. The performances of students living in hostels were almost same astheir counterparts who were day scholars (p-value>0.05). The overall performance of studentswas better in the final years of medical colleges as compared to the initial years with femalesperforming better than males. Conclusion: The findings of this study support the fact that preadmission grades may prove to be a predictor of performance later in professional college life.Factors like parent occupation and place of accommodation have little role in predicting theacademic achievement of medical students. Learning though interactive manner tend to helpin achieving better grades as compared to students who learn through less interactive/didacticlecture technique.