Experience with problem oriented teaching in pharmacology.

Pharmacology is one of the core subjects for further graduation in both preclinical and clinical area. Medical education is being performed either in the "classical" way (lecture based learning--LBL) or in a more advanced form, such as problem based learning (PBL). According to the Medline database, the interest in PBL is still increasing. At our department, the PBL has been introduced using the knowledge obtained at the the Mac Master University and University of Groningen. PBL in pharmacology requires well-qualified staff with clinical experience. A common character of PBL is the use of selected clinical cases as models and starting points to study certain topics with a student centred approach. In an interview we made on a sample of 88 students of our medical faculty in the last study year, 65.5% of them found the amount of information concerning pharmacotherapy not sufficient for their future clinical practice and 83.3% did not feel able to use the knowledge obtained. More than 90% of students did not see enough opportunities for pharmacotherapy training during clinical subject courses. These results are in support of our orientation of teaching towards the PBL. This type of teaching forces students to be active, trains their skills in communication and selection of knowledge, which is believed to enhance the long-term knowledge retention. By using the hybrid PBL-LBL model at our department we respect the principal proposal of medical education and attempt to improve skills in decision making in training of future medical doctors. (Tab. 3, Fig. 2, Ref. 13.)

Factors influencing the spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions--the experience of the Slovak Republic.

The system of adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring in the Slovak Republic is greatly influenced by changes taking place in the current health care delivery system. Under-reporting and reporting biases due to selective ADR reporting provide very serious problems in pharmacovigilance. In the year 2001, the number of reported ADRs increased due to reports of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-induced cough; this coincided with limits being imposed on the use of angiotensin-II receptor antagonists. These factors provide an example of selective ADR reporting, deforming the quality of drug safety monitoring. They also indicate that administrative strategies can significantly affect spontaneous reporting activities.

Temporal situation of NSAID-related adverse drug reaction reports in Slovak Republic.

To make the drug therapy safer and more rational, it is substantial to gain sufficient amount of information concerning the perception of ADRs, especially those related to most "risky" groups such as NSAID. By viewing ADR reporting as a professional responsibility, and recognizing that the quality of submitted information, health professionals can play a major role in improving the public health. (Fig. 2, Ref. 5.)