An inappropriate prescribing pattern by doctors often encourages inappropriate self-medication by patients because of the asymmetry of medical information. 1 The attitude today is the root on which the future grows. Hence, it is generally agreed that the teaching hospitals have a special responsibility to society to promote rational prescribing ABSTRACT Background: The quality of life in developing countries can be improved by enhancing the standards of medical treatment at all levels of the health care delivery system. Teaching hospitals have a special responsibility toward society to promote rational prescribing by their staff and, through them, the future generations of doctors. Methods: A sample of 1000 patient prescriptions was assessed retrospectively to assess the drug prescription patterns in the state of Goa. Results: Of 1842 drug products prescribed, the average number of drugs per prescription was 1.842. The total number of drugs prescribed by generic name was 1 (0.05%). An antibiotic was prescribed in 318 patient encounters (31.8%). Almost all drugs prescribed (n=1842, 99.67%) were on the essential drug list of India. During the study period, antibiotics were prescribed the most (n=318, 17.26%), followed by drug for cardiovascular system (n=265, 14.39%) and gastrointestinal tract (n=238, 12.92%). Conclusions: Baseline data gathered by this study can be used by researchers and policymakers. Further the problem-based basic training in pharmacotherapy; targeted continuing education can prove useful to medical profession to improve prescribing practice and public health administrators for promoting effective rational drug use.

Background: Practical examination is an important component of evaluation in the medical curriculum. OSPE (objective structured practical examination) pattern has structured questions with marks for each point and all the objectives of teaching-learning can be tested and assigned the desired weightage. Methods: The evaluation was done for 146 II MBBS students in Pharmacology. Every student had to spend two minutes each for dosage form (DF) and drug advice (DA) at their respective stations. All the students had to attempt same questions to avoid bias of evaluation. Checklist was provided to the faculty who functioned as observers. Results: All the students believed that OSPE tests practical skills. Most of the students rated OSPE as better than traditional viva or table work. Almost half the students were satisfied with the present setup. Since it tests practical skills better, all the faculty were in favour of conducting the entire practicals in OSPE setup. 50% of faculty proposed need of incorporating injection technique on dummies which will help the students to learn injection techniques well. Conclusions: It is often difficult to measure practical knowledge and applications by written practical examinations. In such situation OSPE can be structured and standardized to evaluate the clinical applications.