Department of Pharmacology

B J Medical College, Ahmedabad

Goal

The primary goal of Department of Pharmacology is to train undergraduate and postgraduate students in Pharmacology, as per the Competency Based Medical Education curriculum, mandated by the NMC from time to time. The Department has defined certain specific research and academic interests too.The broad goal of teaching pharmacology to the undergraduate medical students is ‘to apply basic principles of pharmacology and therapeutics and to inculcate a rational and scientific basis of therapeutics’.The goal of postgraduate pharmacology training is to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable the student to function as an academician and/or as a research scientist or a professional in academic, research, corporate or administrative set up.

Message of Head of the Department

“Pharmacology aims to inculcate good prescribing habits in the Indian Medical Graduate. It draws heavily from other basic as well as applied sciences. The subject has come a long way, from mere focus on basic pharmacology and animal research to an orientation to applied (clinical) pharmacology and therapeutics. With an increasing relevance to patient care and clinical research, the subject has made a niche for itself. The department makes fruitful contributions to the institution and as carved a niche for itself in the institution, State and the Country with the vision and dedication of its faculty. I invite you all to collaborate, learn and contribute to the cause for better healthcare, through rational prescribing, safe use of medicines and an undying quest for advancement in therapeutics.”

Facilities in the Department

Teaching:Department of Pharmacology imparts training in Pharmacology for the following courses in the institution:

  1. M.B.B.S.
  2. M.D. (Pharmacology)
  3. Ph.D. (Medical)
  4. B.D.S.
  5. B. Physiotherapy
  6. Medical Laboratory Technology ( MLT ) certificate course
  7. B.Sc. ( Nursing )
  8. M.Sc. (Nursing )
  9. Occupational Therapy
  10. Orthotics and prosthetic courses

The department also evaluates and updates the course contents, teaching and assessment methods periodically. The department has revised the practical pharmacology course curriculum as per the current need and relevance with emphasis on clinical and rational basis of therapeutics.‘A journal of PracticalPharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics’has been published in this regard.

Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI):

  • The Department of Pharmacology is recognized as an Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre (AMC) under The Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India since 2010. It collects, collates and reports to the National Co-ordinating Centre via web-based ADR reporting system (Vigiflow®). It has been declared as one of the best 10 performing Centers by the PvPI. It has been recognized as the RTC (Regional Training Centre) for pharmacovigilance for West Zone, India since 2011. The department has reported 619 and 576 ADRs during the years 2020 and 2021, respectively.
  • Online Workshop-cum-sensitization Programme on Pharmacovigilance: Regional training center and AMC, B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad successfully organized the Online Workshop-cum-sensitization Programme on Pharmacovigilance-2021 on 20/2/2021 in technical collaboration with IPC, Ghaziabad. A total 279 participants including the AMC Coordinators and Patient safety Pharmacovigilance associates of Gujarat and Rajasthan States, Pharmacologists and postgraduate students from various medical colleges of Gujarat and Rajasthan attended the workshop. The objective of training programme was to impart knowledge regarding pharmacovigilance in Covid Pandemic, causality assessment, signal detection, research in pharmacovigilance, regulatory activities, AEFI among professionals involved in Pharmacovigilance activities.
  • The Department had organized a week-long Medication Safety Week, in collaboration with the PvPI, involving all stakeholders in ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance.

 

  • Materiovigilance Programme of India (MVPI):

Department of Pharmacology, B.J. Medical College, has been designated as a Medical Device Adverse Event Monitoring Centre under Materiovigilance Programme of India since 2020.

  • Research: Faculty of the Department have undertaken research projects funded by the Government of Gujarat, ICMR, National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme and Government of India. They have also guided the Short Term Student Projects, I.C.M.R., New Delhi
  • Scientific writing: The department has undertaken the manuscript management of Indian Journal of Pharmacology from 2007-2016.The department intends to increase awareness about good medical writing and publication practices by organizing workshops on medical writing in the institute. The department has in the past decade published a cumulative 110 publications in National and International Journals.
  • Various other service activities: The department is also involved in selection of drugs and publication of the list of Essential Medicines for the Central Medical Stores Organization, Government of Gujarat. Moreover, the department coordinates the functioning of the Institutional Ethics Committee. The department is also involved in Faculty Development Programme to sensitize and train medical teachers as recommended by the NMC, India.The department undertakes research projects pertaining to pharmacovigilance, drug utilization as well as rational use of drugs.
  • Department of Pharmacology is one of the ICMR Rational Use of Medicines (RM) Centers in the country. IT has contributed teaching and assessment modules for the Online Prescribing Skills Course for Interns and Medical Officers, lunched by the ICMR, New Delhi in 2010.It coordinates the prescription audit in the Medical College Hospitals, Government of Gujarat. audits under the ICMR program as well as for the Government of Gujarat. The department is also associated with rational use of medicines- with ICMR. The Department is a member of National Program on Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Project of National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India.