The study of Pharmacology enables us to examine the effect of drugs on various human systems and the various ways the body deals with the drugs. It includes general pharmacology, systemic pharmacology and chemotherapy which is the study of the action of drugs on microorganisms, parasites or cancer cells that grow and multiply in the human body.
Pharmacology is an important basic medical science that is essential for the basic doctor to prescribe rationally and optimally for the patient he/she is treating. It is essential therefore to equip our medical students with a sound base in pharmacology so that he/she comprehends how drugs are absorbed, distributed, bound to receptors, initiate complex responses and then get bio-transformed and eliminated.
Developing a sound framework of the concepts and principles of drug action will stand the student in good stead as he moves into internship and starts prescribing for the patient. This is what the World Health Organisation states will enable physicians to prescribe rationally. In the “Guide to Good Prescribing,” brought out by the WHO, medical students are taught the six steps of how to prescribe rationally and optimise drugs for the patient by applying the criteria  –  efficacy, safety, suitability and cost.
A clinician well-grounded in the concepts of the basic sciences is the one who will be able to apply his knowledge to provide rational therapy for his/her patient. It is no secret that a large majority of Nobel prize winners were pharmacologists or had a strong base in pharmacology.


HISTORY

The Pharmacology department was founded in 2002 when the Malankara Orthodox Medical Mission Hospital was upgraded to become a Medical College. The department of Pharmacology was established under the leadership of Dr Lillykutty L.
Professor Dr. Hariharan TS joined the department in March 2003 and has rendered yeoman service to the department by establishing good systems, teaching modules and innovative practical exercises in the department. His presence in the department for the last 18 years have brought stability and academic quality to the department.

Dr Anna Mathew rendered her services to the department  from 2012 to 2020. Under her able stewardship and enthusiasm , the department achieved greater heights academically . Her passion for research and untiring efforts helped  MBBS students and faculty to take up various research activities including ICMR  projects and  helped to attain national and international acclaims for the institution.

This year we will be sending up the eighteenth batch of students for the pharmacology examinations. The pharmacology course has an innovative combination of didactic lectures and small group teaching with necessary media and teaching aids such as algorithms, charts, graphs, sample medications and demonstrations. With the removal of animal experimentation from the course curriculum we have set up a central computer lab consisting of 14 computers and have introduced computer assisted learning in our teaching.

We would like medical students to learn the principles of research methodology and develop a spirit of enquiry and lateral thinking and therefore since 2014 we have been encouraging medical students to submit research projects for the short term studentship (STS) programme of the Indian Medical Council of Research.

Since 2015 we have an actively functioning Pharmacovigilance cell and with the help of the ward sisters we are able to monitor adverse drug reactions that are reported in the hospital. Acknowledging this effort, our college has been recognised as ADR Monitoring Centre under Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) by Indian Pharmacopoea Commission, Ghaziabad from December 2021.