Students' perceptions about learning pharmacology at a single private institute in Malaysia

ObjectiveUnderstanding current perceptions of medical students regarding learning pharmacology and understanding pharmacology's important role in both clinical practice and research may be helpful in improving the teaching of this discipline. This study was conducted to evaluate medical students' opinions toward pharmacology.MethodsOne hundred fifty medical students, randomly selected from the Management and Sciences University (MSU) in Malaysia, completed a self-administered questionnaire that inquired concerning their views toward learning pharmacology.ResultsThe majority (75.3%), of the participants were female and (68%) were Malays whose parents were non-medical professionals (88.7–95.3%). The average percentage of respondents agreeing to participate (47.15 ± 11.69) was highly significant (p < 0.0001) compared with the average percentage of respondents that disagreed (9.97 ± 3.15). The percentage of students that considered pharmacology as a favoured subject and a choice for post-graduate studies was significantly lower (p < 0.05) compared with the percentage that did not, although the students that agreed were less than 30% of the total participants.ConclusionsThe study found that the general perceptions of students regarding the study of pharmacology were positive. Nevertheless, the study also exposed the need for concerted efforts to make learning pharmacology an interesting experience and to identify priority areas for such improvements.