Trend and Weightage of Problem-based Questions in Undergraduate Pharmacology Written Question Papers of Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: The key objective of pharmacology education is to make graduates competent enough to prescribe safely and effectively. There is worldwide speculation of inadequacy of pharmacology education to achieve the expected learning outcomes. Problem-based pharmacotherapy is considered as one of the crucial way to prepare future physicians as rational prescribers. As assessment drives learning priorities, adequate weightage on problem-based questions in undergraduate pharmacology examination might be helpful. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the undergraduate pharmacology written question papers (SAQ) of MBBS curriculum of 07 different universities (Bangladesh University of Professionals, University of Dhaka, University of Chittagong, University of Rajshahi, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology, Chittagong and Gono Bishwabidyalay) of Bangladesh in last 10 years (January 2010 to November 2019). Total 131 question papers were collected, and trend and weightage of problem-based questions were evaluated. Results: Problem-based questions have been reduced dramatically over the decade and mean percentage of marks allocated for problem-based questions was 1.2 (SD1.3) over last years. There was significant difference (<0.00001) of weightage of problem-based questions among different universities of Bangladesh. Highest presence of problem-based question was observed in Gono Bishwabidyalay (GB), followed by Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), University of Rajshahi (RU) and Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) but there was not a single problem-based question in University of Dhaka (DU), University of Chittagong (CU) and University of Science and Technology (USTC) over 10 years period. Conclusion: Current study revealed negligible presence of problem-based questions in undergraduate pharmacology written question papers of Bangladesh over 10 years period.

Evaluation of the Weightage on Dermatological Pharmacotherapy in Undergraduate Pharmacology Education of Bangladesh

“…14,15 Interuniversity variation in weightage of dermatological pharmacotherapy was also found, and this finding is concordance with published literatures which showed interuniversity variation of pharmacology question papers in regards to curricular objectives, content coverage, nation health priorities and problembased problem. 20,21 Skin diseases comprise a certain percentage of patient bulk in outdoor department of primary care in Bangladesh and treated by MBBS doctor. 24 So appropriate weightage on dermatological pharmacotherapy might improve quality of healthcare as well as quality of life of a large group of patients.…”

“…13 Several studies were conducted in Bangladesh to evaluate pharmacology education (curriculum, textbooks and question papers) from different perspectives. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In this backdrop, current study was conducted to evaluate pharmacology curriculum and written question papers of last 10 years with the attempt to find out the weightage and trend of dermatological pharmacotherapy in undergraduate pharmacology curricula and written assessment system.…”

Undergraduate Pharmacology Written Question Papers of Different Universities of Bangladesh: Analysis of One Decade

“…23,24 One recent study conducted in Bangladesh revealed pharmacology written question papers of different universities under guidance of same curriculum of BMDC differ in the aspect of weightage of problem-based questions. 36…”

Pharmacology Written Questions of One Decade: Evaluation of Curricular Objectives and Content Coverage

“…Discrepancy between allocated teaching times and weightage given in written exam, missing the spirit of the curriculum, lack of questions on evaluating problem solving skill, less focus on issues related to antimicrobial resistance and absence of factors influencing prescribing e.g. ethics, moral values, pharmaceutical promotion and critical appraisal were revealed in previous studies 7,[20][21][22][23][24] . In this backdrop, current study was an attempt to illustrate the reflection of curricular objectives, content coverage and national health priorities in the Pharmacology written question papers of last 10 years.…”