Pharmacy Students’ Attitude in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences toward Using Computerized Simulations in Teaching

Introduction::Using computerized simulation is one of the new methods in medical education. However, there is no report on applying this technique for teaching pharmacology in Iran. This study was conducted to assess the attitude of pharmacy students toward using this method in the teaching of practical pharmacology. Methods: This descriptive–cross sectional study was performed on pharmacy students (n=30) selecting practical pharmacology course in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2008. A part of practical pharmacology was taught by computer simulation soft ware. Finally, students’ viewpoints were collected by a researcher made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics through SPSS software. Results: The score of students' satisfaction with teaching practical pharmacology by computer simulation was 3.51±0.21. Effect of the simulation on better understanding of theoretical aspects of pharmacology was assessed more than 75% .Students’ learning and active participation were 76% and 82% more than the sessions held in laboratory respectively. About 80% of pharmacology students, attended in the research, asked for teaching 25-50% of the practical pharmacology course through computer simulation. The students' satisfaction means score with final exam assessment was 3.54±0.24. Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated that application of computer simulation was effective on improvement of deep and active learning of pharmacology in students of pharmacy. It seems that teaching methods of this course can be revised so that some parts of practical pharmacology can be taught by such computer simulation.