Department of Pharmacology

The Department of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University organized an interactive seminar on "Voice of Medicine vs. Voice of Lifeworld Communication: Communication and Patient Compliance Dilemma" on 24.7.2024. The colloquium featured Dr. Shariq I. Sherwani, a senior faculty member at the Department of Communication, Utah Tech University, St. George, Utah, USA, as the keynote speaker.

Dr Sherwani shared insights into the importance of effective communication between healthcare providers and patients, emphasizing the distinction between the "Voice of Medicine" and the "Voice of Lifeworld." He said that the Voice of Medicine prioritises evidence-based treatment. In contrast, the Voice of Lifeworld focuses on patients’ emotions and paves the way for the prevention of injuries or diseases, instead of treating them in the case of Voice of Medicine.

He illustrated his points with case studies, highlighting the critical role of empathy from doctors and cooperation from patients' relatives in maintaining patients’ health. He also emphasized the point of digital prescription for the convenience of patients and also to avoid any casualty due to misunderstanding of the handwriting.

The seminar also featured a short video on empathy, titled "The Human Connection to Patient Care," which reinforced the importance of compassionate communication in medical practice.

Earlier, welcoming the guest speaker, Prof. Syed Ziaur Rahman, Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, introduced him to the audience and highlighted his achievements in clinical and pre-clinical research.

He said Dr Sherwani is a Faculty Chair for the Policy Steering Committee and a dedicated Public Policy Advocate and Community Educator for the Alzheimer’s Association, Utah Chapter.

"With a diverse academic background, including a PhD and Master of Arts from Ohio University, an MBA and a Master of Applied Clinical and Preclinical Research from the Ohio State University, and a Master of Science in Agricultural Microbiology from AMU, Dr. Sherwani brought a unique blend of expertise to share his views at JNMC," added Prof Rahman.

Prof. Khalid A. Sherwani, former Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, shared his thoughts on the art of writing prescriptions in good handwriting, stressing its benefits for both the patients and healthcare professionals.

Dr. Jameel Ahmad extended a vote of thanks while Dr Riya Sharma, a junior resident, conducted the programme.



The department hosted 21st Annual Meeting of the 

The Department of Pharmacology, JN Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University organized an Indo-Saudi Pharma Symposium on ‘Research Avenues’ as a part of the celebratory programmes being held in AMU to mark India’s Presidency of G-20 Summit on 9.8.2023.

Prof Mohammad Asif Hussain, Biomedical Engineering Options, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, King Abdul Aziz University, KSA, shed light on the new developments in biomedical research and discussed his projects on nanotechnology, three-dimensional nanomaterials and other biomaterials used as various medical applications to support, enhance or replace damaged tissue or a biological function.

Dr Ishrat Rahman, Department of Pharmacology, Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University, KSA, shared her views on newer entities in oral cancer research, green phytonutrients and pre-clinical drug and vaccine development.

Dr Misbahuddin Rafiq, Department of Pharmacology, King Abdul Aziz University, KSA, highlighted the importance of research in his academic career and shared his experience of managing independent research grants in KSA. He underlined the significance of his research in an integrated approach to clinical therapeutics using pharmacogenomics tools, with a special focus on diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.

Earlier, welcoming the guests, Prof Syed Ziaur Rahman, Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, underscored the need for holding the symposium, especially for the young students.

Dr. Irfan Ahmad Khan conducted the programme and Dr. Jameel Ahmad extended a vote of thanks.

An interactive workshop by the District unit of World Health Organisation (WHO) was organised at Committee Room, JNMC, AMU, Aligarh on a topic, “Covid-19 vaccination and carry forward its learnings to strengthen routine immunization (RI), vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) and adverse event following immunization (AEFI) surveillance” on 25/07/2023.

The resource persons were Dr. Vikas K. Gupta (Sub Regional Team Leader, WHO Country office for India) and Dr. Abdur Rahman (Surveillance Medical Officer, WHO Country office for India).

 Dr. Vikas K. Gupta, deliberated about the National Immunization Coverage Trends. He informed that there was a quantum jump in Full Immunization Coverage to 14.4% from NFHS-4 to NFHS-5. India experienced a relatively large drop in coverage in 2020 (91% to 85%). More than 1.32 million children missed DPT-3 vaccination in 2020. 65% (0.86 million) of these were in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Though Immunization services continued as per COVID categorization of areas, there were clear strategies and guidelines developed during those periods. Virtual methods were developed to sensitize health workers on Routine Immunization and new vaccine introduction such as Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine and Polio supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) with modified SOP for COVID-19 context. He also informed about the Mission Indradhanush performance.

Dr. Abdur Rahman elaborated about Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) and specially the types of AEFI for Reporting. He explained four WHO cause specific definitions of AEFIs that are vaccine product-related reaction, vaccine quality defect-related reaction, Immunization error-related reaction, Immunization anxiety-related reaction and Coincidental event. He stressed the importance of reporting vaccine related ADRs to the AEFI surveillance program.

A large number of residents and teachers attended the workshop. Prof. Haris M Khan, Principal & CMS, JN Medical College and Hospital, stressed the need to organise such programs on a regular basis. He permitted and provided local logistics to hold the WHO program. Prof. Syed Ziaur Rahman, Coordinator, Medical Device Adverse Event and Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre, JNMC, AMU, Aligarh conducted the program.

National Workshop on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) December 1 - 2, 2022