JIST

Abstract

Background: Toxicological emergencies are considered one among three most common medico-legal emergencies in India which ultimately happens to be a must know subject for medical students

Objectives: Present study overviews the weightage given to Toxicology in MBBS curriculum in various universities across India and the attitude among the medical students regarding the curriculum.

Material & Methods: Various approaches involved A) Review of profile of poisoning related emergency cases, B) Statistical data from NCRB, C) Analysis of University question papers and D) Interviews with MBBS students.

Results: Percentage of poisoning cases reported to casualty ranges from 12% to 42% and also NCRB data reveals the high incidence of poisoning cases in India. University question papers have topic repetition as well as question repetitions and lack of case-based questions. Almost 82% students reported not reading Toxicology thoroughly.

Conclusion: The present curriculum does not incorporate and doesn’t assess enough knowledge of Toxicology to medical students considering the extent of poisoning cases reported at emergency departments.