DOI: https://doi.org/10.53350/pjmhs22161049 ORIGINAL ARTICLE P J M H S Vol. 16, No. 10, October, 2022 49 Impact of Integrated Modular Pharmacology Curriculum on Undergraduate Medical Student’s Performance ASMA INAM 1 , MUHAMMAD ZAHID LATIF 2 , MUHAMMAD ATIF QURESHI 3 1 Associate Professor Pharmacology, Azra Naheed Medical College, Superior University, Lahore 2 Professor of Community Medicine, Director DME & PGME, Azra Naheed Medical College, Lahore 3 Professor of Medicine, Azra Naheed Medical College, Superior University, Lahore Correspondence to Dr. Sama Inam, Email: asma.inam@superior.edu.pk, Cell: +923344554664 ABSTRACT Background: Continuous efforts to reform health profession are being exercised around the world through change in medical curriculum. Gradual shift of medical teaching towards integration of basic and clinical subjects is a need of time. However, the impact of this change on students’ performance is yet not defined completely. Aim: To compare pharmacology final professional result status & mean score of undergraduate medical students taught by integrated and conventional curriculum. Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 305 undergraduate medical students of Azra Naheed Medical College. Students who were educated& assessed by two different teaching system were enrolled. Result status and exam score of Final term examination in Pharmacology subject were noted and compared. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.Chi-square test and was applied for statistical significance, and p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The study reflects that 55% of students are male while 45% are female. Our study indicates statistically significant higher passing percentage and exam score of students belonging to integrated modular system compared to conventional teaching system i.e., (98% Vs 89%) and (204.98±1.45 vs 188.04 ±2.45). Also, the curriculum design and result status were significantly associated with each other (Pearson chi square P-value 0.003). Conclusion: Undergraduate medical students performed better under integrated modular system than conventional teaching. MeSH words: Integrated modular curriculum, Traditional medical curriculum, Assessment score, medical education, INTRODUCTION Medical education experts aim to produce medical graduates with the best clinical and communication skills. The medical degree has now been reinvented because of the high level of professional skills and research in the medical profession. Continuous efforts to reform medical education are being attempted around the world 1 .In this context, different types of curricula have been adopted according to requirement of medical graduates 2 . In traditional curriculum of MBBS, students learn passively by didactic lectures, and assessment is taken at the end of the year. The students are unable to interlink the concepts of a particular topic with other subjects 3 . In the end, it becomes the sole responsibility of students to correlate all the knowledge gained in different subjects to apply for the final diagnosis and treatment of patients. Abraham Flexner, An education reformer, has criticized the current status of conventional teaching methods for mere fact memorization and recall. He also commended the need to improve medical education in South Asia 4 . In contrast an integrated curriculum is about connecting academic knowledge with practical things. Different disciplines organize and integrate a concept to be learned around by students 5 . It has been concluded that the retention of knowledge and clinical applicability of the basic sciences would be enhanced by an integrated teaching method 6,7,8 . Many authors are of the view that an integrated curriculum not only helps in building concepts but side by side it may include superficial learning of basic sciences if its clinical counterpart is given more weightage 9 . Previously only two medical institutes in Pakistan were providing modular integrated teaching systems, The Agha Khan and Ziauddin University Karachi. In the past few years, there have been trends to include problem-based learning and integrated teaching in health care setup in Pakistan 10 . In lieu of this, Pakistan Medical Commission has put stress on producing the best quality professionals in the light of modern scenario. It has now emphasized on need-based curriculum that stimulates student learning styles to make them community-oriented health care providers 11 . ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Received on 05-06-2022 Accepted on 28-09-2022 Azra Naheed Medical College (A constituent college of the Superior University), was established in 2011 in Lahore 12 . The institute continues to offer quality medical education to its undergraduate and postgraduate medical students by offering an innovative and tailored curriculum through best teaching and learning practices. Since its inception, the conventional medical curriculum has been taught for the whole five years duration of MBBS studies followed by clinical rotations. However, an effective integrated curriculum has been introduced a few years back with curriculum content being spirally integrated with the coordination of basic and clinical departments. The faculty of all the disciplines are involved in the curriculum development of particular modules including teaching, learning and assessment techniques. To support the deep learning of a particular topic from different aspects, horizontal integration is planned among the basic sciences subjects. However, in vertical integration, clinical subjects are incorporated during the basic sciences phase of the curriculum in the early years 13,14 . This revolutionary shift in the curriculum would not only meet the requirement of global medical education standards but would also play a role in patient-oriented care in health care organizations 15 .To accommodate modern trends, several new modalities have also been adopted at our institute including problem-based learning, integrated seminars, student-directed learning, small group discussions, and formative assessments 16,17 . The impact of launching an integrated modular curriculum on students’ academic performance had not been evaluated at Azra Naheed Medical College in previous years. The present study was aimed to compare the assessment score of students in modular integrated and conventional curriculum in the subject of Pharmacology. The objective of the study was to determine pharmacology final professional result status and assessment scores of undergraduate medical students exposed to the integrated and conventional curriculum. METHODOLOGY This cross-sectional, retrospective comparative study 18 was conducted at Pharmacology Department, Azra Naheed Medical College, Lahore for a duration of 2 months from April-May 2022 after getting approval from Institutional Ethical Committee. The