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The delivery of medical education to the undergraduate medical students and producing a competent medical graduate is a complex task, especially considering the wide range of domains, in which a medical student has to be trained. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of four studies similar to the current study objectives were identified initially and all were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives. In an effort to make the newly joined students get familiar with the campus environment and the general structure of the academic program, a month-long foundation course has been proposed. The regulatory body emphasized the need to evaluate the foundation course at institutional level so that it can be improved based on the received feedback for the upcoming batches of students. To conclude, the introduction of foundation course as a part of the competency-based medical education for undergraduate students is a welcome step. The foundation course has the potential to offer multiple benefits to the students, and thus it is the need of the hour that a thorough planning goes in the background, and all the available resources and logistics are utilized well for the effective implementation of the course.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to claim lives of the infected people and disrupt the routine functioning of all domains of lives. The development of a vaccine seems the only major tool which can prevent the acquisition of cases and bring an end to the pandemic. As on 11 November 2021, eight different vaccine manufacturers have been given permission to roll out their vaccines in different nations, with the first priority being offered to those who belong to vulnerable population groups. Considering the fact that the number of available vaccines will be less in initial time, it is essential to give priority to some specific groups and then gradually expand the reach of vaccine to everyone, once the supply increases. In conclusion, the ultimate aim of policy makers should be to ensure the availability and accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines to all those who could be benefited by the vaccine. However, it is a challenging task and a lot of planning and preparedness are required in each nation to ensure the safety of people.

Objectives: The objective of the article is to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the members of the general population. Introduction: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced the public health authorities to implement unprecedented public health measures with an intention to control the spread of the infection. Methods: An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and World Health Organization website and a total of 27 articles were selected based upon the suitability with the current review objectives. Results: In order to reduce the caseload and interrupt the chain of transmission of the novel viral infection, it was envisaged that people should stay indoors unless it is extremely essential. This intervention did play its part in reducing the caseload, but significantly affected the daily routine of the people, which in turn accounted for a significant impact on the mental health of the people. Considering the ongoing development and the impact of COVID-19 infection on the mental health of people, there is an immense need to implement strategies to improve the lifestyle of the general population and the health care professionals. Conclusion: To conclude, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created a state of public health emergency on the global scale. The infection has impacted people from all walks of life and is also responsible for precipitating a number of psychological and mental disorders. Thus, it is the need of the hour to identify those individuals who are prone to psychological disorders, and take urgent steps to ensure the preservation and improvement of the mental health of people. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Mental health; Depression.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to increase in number and geographic distribution with each day. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reported 161 cases, which amounts to 2.4% of the caseload in the African region, but it is the second leading nation in terms of reported deaths. From the public health perspective, the cause of concern is that local transmission has been reported and the fact that the nation has not yet completely recovered from the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease. The nation has already started its preparedness activities, and they are utilizing the setup, the facilities, and the experience gained by the health personnel for the effective containment of the outbreak of Ebola. In conclusion, the DRC has initiated its outbreak readiness and even implemented the response action plan in the nation against the COVID-19. Although the availability of resources in the nation is a challenging ask, the health personnel have utilized their experiencing of managing the Ebola outbreak and given a positive head start toward the containment of the infection within their settings.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact the lives of everyone and has influenced the functioning of all the sectors. In general, obesity tends to alter most of the physiological processes in the human body, including the immune system. Thus, it is important to get insights about the effect of obesity on the course of infection, so that morbidity and mortality can be minimized. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and World Health Organization website, and a total of 16 articles were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include COVID-19 and obesity. It has been reported that obesity plays an important role in different aspects of the infection (viz., increased risk to acquire the infection or more chances to transmit the infection), management, and the worst clinical outcome. To conclude, obesity has to be acknowledged as one of the risk factors for compromising the pulmonary functions and thus should be considered as a high-risk group. In fact, as obesity is an independent risk factor to warrant hospitalization of the COVID-19 patients, it is essential that the medical team anticipates the challenges and manages the obese patients proactively and improves their clinical outcomes.

The ongoing coronavirus disease – 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the dynamics of all sectors and has significantly impacted the functioning of the healthcare delivery system. The purpose of the current review was to explore the significance of gatherings in COVID-19 outbreaks and the strategies to be implemented prior to organize a gathering to minimize the potential risk of a COVID-19 outbreak. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and a total of 14 articles were selected. Keywords used in the search include COVID-19 and gathering in the title alone only. As COVID-19 infection spreads via close contact, a gathering of any size carries the definite potential to amplify the risk of transmission and initiate a new chain of disease outbreaks. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from being yet over, and the decision to organize a gathering has to be based on the risk evaluation, risk mitigation, and establishment of a risk communication strategy. Even with all this, zero risk does not exist, and the best approach will be to strictly implement all the prevention and control measures and be responsible in all the gatherings.

Koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 (COVID-19) salgını, konaklama sektörünü ve otel endüstrilerini önemli ölçüde etkiledi. Halk sağlığının ve sosyal önlemlerin gevşetilmesi süreci dünyanın farklı yerlerinde başladığından, standart protokole sıkı sıkıya bağlı kalmak zorunlu bir gerekliliktir. İlk ve en önemli gereklilik, otel ortamlarında enfeksiyon kapma veya bulaşma olasılığını azaltmak için birlikte bir eylem planı ve stratejiler oluşturan bir ekip oluşturmaktır. Bu ekip, yerel halk sağlığı yetkilileri, turizm, yiyecek-içecek hizmetleri ve diğer paydaşlarla bağlantı kurmalıdır. Sonuç olarak, otellerin enfeksiyon kapması ve yayılması için potansiyel bir zemin olmaya devam ettiği gerçeği dikkate alındığında, saatin ihtiyacı, personelin ve misafirlerin güvenliğini sağlamak için enfeksiyon önleme ve kontrol önlemlerini güçlendirmektir., The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted the accommodation sector and hotel industries. As the process of relaxation of public health and social measures has begun in the different parts of the world, it is a mandatory requirement to strictly adhere to the standard protocol. The first and foremost requirement is to constitute a team, which together formulates an action plan and strategies to reduce the probability of acquisition or transmission of infection in hotel settings. This team should develop liaisons with the local public health authorities, tourism, catering, and other stakeholders. In conclusion, because hotels remain a potential ground for the acquisition and spread of infection, there is an immense need to strengthen infection prevention and control measures to ensure the safety of staff as well as guests.

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed the weaknesses in the public health care delivery system, and is extremely disheartening that thousands of people are losing their lives to a single disease. A single infectious disease is able to produce so much fear, uncertainty and disastrous impact predominantly because of its novelty and the fact that the many aspects of the disease are still not known. Even though, it has been proposed to strengthen multiple aspects of the disease control, but it is equally important to give immense priority to the research and development domain, as the findings of these results will reorganize the entire approach towards the disease. In conclusion, research and development is an important and integral component of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It is high time that resources are pooled in and research activities are encouraged and accelerated to get answers for the unanswered aspects of this novel viral infection, which will aid all of us to mount an improved public health response against the first pandemic of the 21st century.

The six-step Kern's model is used to develop a de novo curriculum and link the same to the health-care needs of the general population. The available estimated data from India suggest that the incidence of sleep disorders has increased in all the age groups. Considering the shortage of specialists dealing with sleep hygiene, at present, most of the patients either do not avail health care or are handled by some subspecialists. It is a fact that the current undergraduate curriculum offered to a medical student in India is not holistic and does not incorporate skills to identify and manage sleep disorders in all 4 years of the undergraduate course. In short, there is limited scope for an Indian medical graduate (IMG) to get sensitized about sleep medicine and thus is not competent to identify, evaluate, treat, and prevent sleep disorders. Thus, Kern's model was employed to develop a curriculum on sleep disorders which can be used for the benefit of an IMG.

The ongoing Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to advance with each day and it is worth noting that no individual, community, population group or nation is immune to the infection. Migrants and refugees constitute a vulnerable population group and this calls for the urgent need to include migrants and refugees in the action plan made for the containment of the infection and ensure that no compromises are made with regard to their right to attain highest levels of physical & mental health. In conclusion, it is very clear that if we want to overcome the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be needing a whole-of-community approach, partnerships with various sectors, which essentially includes inclusion of migrants and refugees. The need of the hour is to extend all the prevention and control activities to the vulnerable population groups and ensure that the risk of acquisition or transmission of infection can be minimized., Devam eden Corona Virüsü Hastalığı-2019 (COVID-19) pandemisi her gün ilerlemeyi sürdürmektedir hiçbir birey, toplum, nüfus grubu ya da ulusun enfeksiyona karşı bağışık değildir. Göçmenler ve mülteciler savunmasız bir nüfus grubunu oluşturmaktadır ve bu durum, göçmenlerin ve mültecilerin enfeksiyonun kontrol altına alınması için yapılan eylem planına acil olarak dahil edilmesini ve en üst düzeyde fiziksel ve ruhsal sağlığa ulaşma haklarından ödün verilmemesini gerektirmektedir. Sonuç olarak, COVID-19 salgını tehdidinin üstesinden gelmek istiyorsak, temel olarak göçmenleri ve mültecileri içeren, çeşitli sektörlerle ortaklıkların yapıldığı, toplumun tamamı yaklaşımına gereksinim duyacağımız çok açıktır. Şu an gereksinimimiz, tüm önleme ve kontrol faaliyetlerini savunmasız nüfus gruplarına yaymak ve enfeksiyonun yakalanması ya da bulaşma riskinin en aza indirgenmesini sağlamaktır.

Background: Adoption of competence-based medical education (CBME) is the need of the hour. Objectives: The objective of the study is to develop and validate appropriate assessment tools for the community medicine entrustable professional activities (EPAs) and to assess the usefulness of the validated tools in the assessment of postgraduate (PG) students. Methods: An interventional study for 14 months was done in the department of community medicine. After the sensitization of faculty members and PGs, three EPAs were selected through consensus between faculty members and appropriate assessment tools mini-clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX), case-based discussion (CBD), and direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS). Rubrics of milestones were formulated for the selected tools, and the designed tools were validated. These three validated tools were used for the quarterly assessment. Results: The item-content validity index for all three assessment tools was one, while Scale Content Validity Index for Mini-CEX and CBD were 1, and for DOPS, it was 0.87. Three PG students were assessed using the validated tools thrice for the three selected EPAs. The PGs opined that assessment using rubrics made their task-specific, while faculties were quite satisfied with the assessment process as it removed subjectivity. Conclusions: The developed and selected tools of EPAs were found to have a substantial level of both face validity and content validity. The tools were also found to useful for periodic assessment in workplace settings and acceptable to both PG students and internal/external faculty members.

Miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) and stillbirths have been regarded as one of the most common reasons for losing a baby during the period of pregnancy. From the societal perspective, losing a baby in pregnancy either through miscarriage or stillbirth has been acknowledged as a taboo and usually associated with stigma and shame. Acknowledging the magnitude of the problem and the impact on the quality of life of the pregnant women, a number of interventions have been recommended comprising of enhancing access to the available care and services, ensuring continuity of care through midwives and exploring the scope of delivery of community care as well. In conclusion, miscarriages and stillbirths are preventable to a significant extent and the need of the hour is to offer socio-culturally relevant, respectful and dignified care of the pregnant women, regardless of the settings to ensure that it no more continues to remain a social stigma., Spontan düşükler ve ölü doğumlar, gebelik dönemi bebek ölümlerinin en yaygın nedenlerindendir. Toplumsal açıdan bakıldığında, gebeliğin düşük veya ölü doğum yoluyla sona ermesi bir tabu olarak kabul edilmekte ve genellikle damgalanma ve utanç ile ilişkilendirilmektedir. Sorunun büyüklüğü ve gebe kadınların yaşam kalitesi üzerindeki etkileri göz önünde bulundurularak, mevcut doğum öncesi bakım ve hizmetlere erişimin artırılmasını, ebe yoluyla bakımın sürekliliğini sağlamayı ve doğumu kapsamına alacak şekilde toplumun sağlık düzeyinin yükselmesini içeren bir dizi uygulama önerilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, düşükler ve ölü doğumlar büyük ölçüde önlenebilir niteliktedir. Günümüzde hamile kadınlara sosyokültürel bileşenleri olan, saygılı ve onurlu doğum öncesi bakım hizmeti sunulması ile birlikte düşükler ve ölü doğumlar sosyal bir damgalama olarak kadın sağlığına etkili bir faktör olarak var olmayacaktır.

Background: In order to develop competent health care professionals and to help medical students to acquire clinical reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, it was decided to initiate problem-oriented learning (POL) sessions as a part of implementation of integrated learning in the second year of undergraduate education of medical students in a medical college. Methods: A group of 150 students in the second year of their undergraduate education was divided into 10 sets of 15 members each. For each weekly POL session, one lead department was identified and from that department, one faculty member was assigned for each of the 10 groups for clarity and guidance. Four to five departments in all were involved in these POL sessions based on the topic and were instructed to frame their objectives and share these with the lead department at least one week prior to each session to develop appropriate problems for discussion. Results: Initial results failed to meet the desired objectives. The entire exercise was restructured and attention was given to the areas where weaknesses were identified. Faculty members were provided with additional information about POL and the number of sessions was reduced to two per month. Faculty members were instructed to be discussion facilitators rather than to become involved in didactic teaching. Subsequently, a significant improvement was observed both in terms of outcomes and student participation. Conclusion: It is relatively easy to start a new mode of teaching-learning; however, outcomes improve when efforts are planned systematically and implementation is revisited after challenges and gaps are identified.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened the progress made in the field of the health sector across the globe. From the Indian perspective, we have become the third most affected nation across the globe and the trends of the novel infection continues to worsen further. All these estimates are a clear marker of the fact that we have not been up to the mark in terms of both preparedness activities as well as the public health response to the infection. Amidst all these developments, there is an indispensable need that we have to divert our all our resources and adopt a multi-sectoral response for the effective containment of the infection with the active and concerted support of all the stakeholders. In conclusion, the COVID-19 cases in India has been increasing on an alarming note and it is the need of the hour to continue to improve our outbreak readiness and emergency response. Further, we cannot defeat the COVID-19 until we all are together in the battle against the novel infection and continue to support the Government in all their planned strategies.

In the field of medical education, the role of feedback in imparting effective curriculum delivery and making of a lifelong and self-directed learner has been acknowledged for a long period of time. Feedback seeking behavior is an important area which the administrators and teachers should aim to strengthen as it is ideal to have students as active seekers of feedback rather than passive recipients of the same. Feedback-seeking creates a platform for the effective exchange of information and plays an important role in eliminating the uncertainty related to the course and the desired competencies. In conclusion, feedback in medical education is an effective tool to promote learning among medical students. However, the overall effectiveness and teaching-learning can be enhanced if we can succeed in creating an atmosphere where the students develop a feedback seeking behavior to monitor their own professional growth.

Reduction in the incidence of tobacco use and the attributed health consequences has been acknowledged as one of the important international public health priorities. The available global estimates suggest that in the last two decades, the use of tobacco has declined, and this has been mainly because of the decrease in the number of females using the same. However, for the very first time in 2019, a major shift in the tobacco epidemic has been highlighted owing to the reduction in the number of males using tobacco or its products. This reported decline is a clear marker of the fact that sustained political commitment and implementation of the evidence-based targeted strategies can deliver encouraging outcomes. In conclusion, the reported trend of decline in tobacco use among men is an important milestone in our battle against the global tobacco epidemic. However, the national policymakers should not reduce the intensity of the efforts and should strive hard to meet the set global targets.

In the ongoing battle against the Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is very important that the national leaders and health authorities must take appropriate measures to maintain an equilibrium between safeguarding the health, minimizing socioeconomic disruption, and protecting human rights of all the sections of the community. It is really a sad fact that the people who have been infected with the novel infection have been subjected to stigma and discrimination. As many nations have resorted to restriction of movements of the citizens, the girls and women are the most affected as their sexual and reproductive health needs are not being met, and in other words, these restrictions have aided in the violation of their human rights. In conclusion, the political leaders should understand the gravity of the situation and ensure that the human rights of all the sections of the society are given due importance by means of adoption of a comprehensive approach. In fact, safeguarding the human rights of the people is an important domain of the emergency public health response, and we all should not encourage discrimination of any kind against anyone.

E-learning refers to the employment of technology to facilitate access to learning resources on the internet to enhance acquisition of new knowledge, skills and/or behavior. It is very important to develop an understanding about the process involved in the development of an e-learning strategy, and it has to start with analyzing the existing situation and how e-learning can bridge the gap. Regardless of the e-learning course, if the organizers want to ensure that participants are maximally benefited, it is essential that the organizers take efforts to know their participants, especially in terms of their learning behaviors and needs, so that these areas can be targeted during the course. Finally, the organizers should be always aiming for the improvement of the program through modifications in the program based on the feedback received from the participants. In conclusion, e-learning is an important addition in the delivery of the medical curriculum or the health professions education. However, it is crucial for the organizers to adopt different strategies to ensure that the overall effectiveness of the program can be enhanced and the intended objectives are accomplished.

The concept of integrated teaching in medical education has been advocated to provide meaningful connections between the topics and problems which are interrelated so that understanding between theory and practical application can be ameliorated. The integrated teaching has been associated with multiple advantages for both the teachers and students. However, it is important to explore the educational initiative in terms of the opportunity which it presents to the students, as eventually our aim is to produce a competent medical graduate. However, for the successful implementation of the integrated teaching and accomplishment of the intended learning outcomes, we have to give due consideration for the existing challenges. There are no doubts that challenges exist from the perspective of administrators and from the faculty perspective, but we cannot ignore the potential challenges attributed to the students. In conclusion, integrated teaching has been linked with multiple benefits for the students in the medical education. However, we have to understand the opportunity and the challenges attributed to the same from the students' perspective for better and successful implementation.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made all the national leaders and the international organizations realize that the health sector progress in containment of infectious disease is still not enough. Being an infectious disease, which is highly contagious and is transmitted through close contact or droplets, the importance of infection prevention measures like frequent hand washing, cough etiquettes, etc., is indispensable. Amidst the background of COVID-19 infection, it is a must that the governments should ensure provision of universal access to hand hygiene stations, which can be used compulsorily by the people. In conclusion, in the global fight against COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance of hand hygiene has been regarded as the most effective approach to reduce the onward transmission of the infection. Thus, it is the responsibility of the public health authorities to create an adequate number of opportunities for the general community and the health care professionals to practice hand hygiene.

Objectives: The objective of the article is to understand the need and importance of risk communication and community engagement in containing the COVID-19 outbreak. Introduction: The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, which has been designated as a public health emer- gency of international concern has created a sense of fear and apprehension among the community across the world. Methods: Acknowledging all these alarming facts, we cannot deny that we have to intensify our efforts and all the national policy makers should recognize the infection as of utmost public health priority and be prepared to respond to the potential outbreak within their own boundaries. Results: Based on the earlier outbreaks of the infectious diseases in the current decades, risk communication and communi- ty engagement have been identified as one of the crucial and integral elements of a successful response to the public health emergencies. Conclusion: In conclusion, risk communication and community engagement are an essential and challenging aspects of the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak and thus we have to try our best to establish a better system to ensure that risk communication is well in place and utilized effectively to engage the community. Keywords: COVID-19 outbreak; public health emergency of international concern; risk communication; community engagement; World Health Organization.

Background The objectives of the article are to assess the role of a strategic response in the prevention and control of the disease and the need for extending supports to the survivors of disease. Introduction Since the start of the August last year, a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease has been reported in provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods As of now, close to 1170 cases and 740 deaths have been attributed to the diseases due to the associated complications in the region.As of now, close to 1170 cases and 740 deaths have been attributed to the diseases due to the associated complications in the region. Result In order to effectively respond to the outbreak, a wide range of strategies have been proposed. It is a fact that the survivors of the disease outbreak face multiple challenges, the task of organizing eye clinics to promote early detection of the problems among the survivors has been initiated. Conclusion In conclusion, Ebola virus disease is a life threatening disease and is linked with a wide range of complications, including those involving eyes. Thus, the need of the hour is to formulate a strategic response comprising of different strategies which not only aim to reduce the incidence of the disease, but also to extend quality assured care to the survivors.

Research work essentially involves the collection of data or facts unknown or untouched till date. To collect these data, a wide range of tools or instruments can be used based on the study objectives or the settings in which they have to be used. For conducting a sensitization session for faculty and postgraduate students about competency-based medical education, entrustable professional activities, use of appropriate assessment tools for the certification of EPAs to produce a competent postgraduate, and roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders, a number of tools can be employed, such as questionnaire, checklist, rating scale, attitude scale, and observation. To conclude, planned utilization of appropriate data collection tool can play a crucial part in the successful outcome of a project or a session. Thus, it is very much important that the researcher should be aware of the merits and demerits of each tool and the settings under which they should be employed.

The ongoing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accounted for massive socioeconomic disruptions on the global scale and the number of cases and attributed deaths continue to rise. As the outbreak continues to expand in various nations, it indeed creates an opportunity for the policy makers to have a re-look on the national response to the outbreak. The proposed intra-action review can be scheduled whenever the policy makers feel that there is a need to update the existing emergency response strategies. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the health stakeholders and welfare agencies realize the gaps which are prevailing in the preparedness and emergency response. The conduction of periodic reviews at national or subnational level is the most appropriate approach to give an insight to the policy makers about the best interventions and those interventions which need to be re-visited for ensuring effective containment of the infection.

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rise in terms of its geographical distribution, the number of people infected and the number of people losing their lives due to the resulting complications. Contact tracing is an effective strategy to identify, assess and manage people with a positive history of exposure to a confirmed case, so that we succeed in interrupting the transmission chain and further transmission of infection. It is essential to follow-up the contacts for a period of 2 weeks from the last date of exposure, but the successful implementation of this strategy will depend upon the support of the general population, planning of the entire process after considering the local contexts, trained and adequate number of workforce, logistics, and a supportive mechanism to collect, compile and analyze the data in real-time. In conclusion, the component of contact tracing is a crucial link in interrupting the chain of transmission of the COVID-19. It is the responsibility of the public health authorities and members of the community to work in close collaboration to identify the contacts at the earliest and quarantine them with an aim to prevent onward transmission.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has stretched the health system beyond their capacity & capability. The initial evidence has suggested that the infection is transmitted from one person to another through close contacts and droplets and thus the role of infection prevention strategies is extremely important. It has been advocated that frequent and proper maintenance of hand hygiene can prove to be the most effective strategy to prevent infection acquisition. However, in order to maintain hand hygiene, it is ideal to have access to safe water, sanitation and hygienic (WASH) facilities, as this will significantly reduce the risk of the transmission of infection between humans. Thus, all steps should be taken to ensure that improved WASH facilities and waste management provisions are available at home, education institutions, workplaces, community and health care establishment. In conclusion, the provision of standard WASH facilities in all the settings is critical to strengthen hand hygiene practices and thereby plays a significant role in reducing the risk of acquisition of infection and thus the caseload of COVID-19.

The process of teaching learning in medical education is a complex task considering the fact that teachers have to not only impart knowledge but also train the medical students in clinical skills, decision-making, clinical reasoning, etc. A wide range of teaching-learning methods have been employed to deliver theory, practical, and clinical skills. Grand rounds play an important role in keeping the health professionals abreast about the recent developments. In fact, sharing time with the attending doctor can be regarded as one of the best ways to achieve on-the-job training and learning. The emergence of coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic has changed all the dynamics, and there is a definite scope for virtual grand rounds, which will not only continue learning but even ensure the safety of all the attendees. To conclude, grand rounds can be acknowledged as one of the essential modes of teaching-learning in the overall process of delivery of medical education. Thus, all efforts should be taken to rejuvenate the same in those settings where they are not under practice so that students can improve their knowledge and skills.

Disabled individuals are more often than not subjected to a wide range of barriers, including physical which significantly affects their access and utilization of quality-assured preventive and healthcare services. Acknowledging the problems encountered by the disabled individuals, it is of utmost importance to train the medical students to respond to the special needs of these people and to ensure the provision of optimal healthcare. With the introduction of new competency-based medical education for undergraduation, a set of disability competencies have been defined for medical students for the very first time in the foundation course document. A wide range of teaching–learning methods and assessment methods can be employed to assess the learning. In conclusion, considering the problems faced by the disabled individuals, the need of the hour is to address the disability competencies expected of a medical graduate; to accomplish the same, curriculum planning has to be done and the medical students have to be trained in a phase-wise manner.

The ongoing Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has already been given a Pandemic status and also continues to be a public health emergency of international concern. The epidemiological analysis and the trends of mortality clearly suggests that even though, the disease is quite common in all age-groups, the disease has manifested in severe forms among elderly and those people who are having pre-existing medical illnesses. It is the need of the hour to ensure that both these high-risk groups are offered additional attention, without subjecting them to isolation or stigmatization, which decreases their overall probability of access to health care services. Further, it is extremely important to strengthen the risk communication mechanism and take appropriate steps for the relay of timely and trustworthy measures to the entire community, with special attention to the two high-risk groups. In conclusion, as the COVID-19 continues to increase in magnitude and geographical distribution, it is our responsibility to take appropriate steps to improve the wellbeing of community, with an additional support to the high-risk population groups.

The training period in the delivery of medical education has to be utilized for the comprehensive development of the student. Acknowledging the presence of multiple problems in the life of a medical student is inevitable to plan and implement a student support system within each of the medical institutions. In fact, specific standards have been laid down by the national and international regulatory bodies to minimize stress, resolve problems, and holistically address all the issues which can together influence the academic performance of a student. The need of the hour is to adopt a student-centered approach that enables the students to understand their thoughts and feelings better and this can be streamlined with the help of a mentor or teacher in a confidential and nonjudgmental manner. In conclusion, the life of a medical student is full of ups and downs, and thus, there is an indispensable need to develop a student support system, which ensures the comprehensive development of them. Moreover, the success of such a system will be determined by the institutional culture, wherein all the stakeholders work together for the betterment of the students.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has taken the world by storm and has made each and every government to introspect about their preparedness and the response action plan. Amidst all the unknown epidemiological attributes of the novel virus, the health care professionals have been at the forefront dealing with infectious cases to save their lives by compromising their own safety. In order to ensure that health professionals actively participate in the process of health care, it is their right to have access to all standard preventive & protective measures. To conclude, in the ongoing outbreak of Coronavirus disease, the efforts of the health care professionals will be the real factor in improving the survival chances of thousands of the affected patients. However, considering the fact that they are working in high-risk settings, it is the responsibility of the health administrators to safeguard the health and wellbeing of health professionals.

The clinical reasoning competency has been identified as one of the core competencies, which is expected to be attained by an undergraduate medical student. It is difficult to assess the clinical reasoning skills in a standardized manner using the available existing tests. To address these gaps and to ensure standardization of the assessments, a script concordance test (SCT) has been designed and implemented in the field of medical education to assess different domains. The test is designed in such a way that it indicates the manner in which a doctor in authentic settings organizes their knowledge and attempts to solve the problem using clinical reasoning skills. In conclusion, the SCT in the field of medical education can be employed to assess clinical reasoning skills and the ability of the student to interpret the given findings under the clouds of uncertainty. Moreover, owing to the relative ease to create, administer, and score and because of better psychometric indices, each of the medical colleges should explore its possibility and implement it within their settings as a tool for teaching and assessment.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted all the areas of health care, including interruptions in the delivery of essential health care services in varied settings. In the oral settings, the virus transmission can happen either through direct transmission via inhalation of droplets produced during coughing or sneezing, or direct transmission via mucous membranes, or indirect transmission through contaminated surfaces or fomites. It is quite obvious that most of the aerosol-generating procedures are being done in the oral settings and thus the potential risk of transmission of infection cannot be ruled out. There is a specific need to strengthen infection prevention and control measures in the oral health care settings. In conclusion, the oral health care services need to be rigourosly strengthened in the current pandemic as there is a potential risk for the spread of the COVID-19 infection. The need of the hour is to continue the delivery of emergency services and at the same time delay the routine procedures to ensure safety of the patients as well as the health care personnel.

The field of medical education is quite complex and there are lots of unsaid expectations of a medical student to eventually transform into a competent medical professional. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and a total of 13 articles were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives. Apart from the various teaching–learning methods adopted by the teachers in the delivery of information, it is a must that in order to accomplish deep learning, we have to encourage medical students to reflect upon all the learning and clinical interactions. As a matter of fact, most of the regulatory and professional bodies have strongly advocated for the inclusion of reflection in different phases of both undergraduation and postgraduation medical education. In conclusion, the strategy of reflection should be looked upon as a method for advancement in knowledge, shaping the learning in the future, and to improve the competence level to deal with complex and emotionally or ethically challenging situations. It is the need of the hour that all the medical institutions should develop a detailed plan to encourage students to reflect upon and improve their learning.

In the field of medicine, it is extremely important to establish a correct and timely diagnosis to ensure delivery of appropriate quality assured care, maintain patient safety, and minimize hospital-induced errors. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and a total of 6 articles were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. There are no doubts that the process of making a precise clinical diagnosis is a complex one and is error prone. Amid these facts, it is a real challenge for the medical teachers to teach and train the medical students with an aim to accomplish the core competency of reaching a correct clinical diagnosis in authentic settings. One of the approaches adopted by the teachers is to provide learning opportunities to the students so that they can develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills. In conclusion, medical teachers have to adopt a systematic approach for teaching students the skill of establishing a clinical diagnosis in authentic settings. It is essential that the training should start from the early years and should be implemented in such a way that students get a number of learning opportunities in real settings to be more useful.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact the lives of almost everyone across the globe. The present review has been carried out to explore and understand the relationship between COVID-19 infection and diabetes mellitus from the public health perspective. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of 25 research articles were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include COVID-19 and Diabetes mellitus in the title alone only. Considering the risk of poor prognosis of infection among diabetics, it has been envisaged that such people should strictly adhere to the preventive measures. Self-care plays a crucial role in the management of diabetes, and the significance of the same has immensely increased during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As the people with diabetes constitute a high-risk group, it is the need of the hour to increase awareness among these people about COVID-19 infection. To conclude, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and the people living with diabetes are at significant risk to land up into complications, if they acquire the infection.This call for the need to intensify the preventive strategies and strengthen the health care delivery system for ensuring better management of diabetes among COVID-19 cases.

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to remain a public health emergency of international concern. In the Western Pacific region, the estimates pertaining to the caseload and death rates have shown a big improvement, as the region accounts for 1.8% and 1.3% of the global caseload and deaths worldwide. The available estimates clearly suggest that now the epicenter of the disease has shifted to the European and the American region. However, it will be a wrong assumption to presume that the epidemic is over in the Western Pacific region, and thus it will be a premature decision to be complacent about the outbreak readiness and emergency response action plan. In conclusion, the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Western Pacific region is not a time to relax, as any lacunae on our part will result in a resurgence of the disease. The right approach will be to continue the fight against the disease with the support of individuals, families, societies and the health sector and thus prepare ourselves for a large-scale community transmission.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the healthcare system. Patients with cancer have been severely affected by the pandemic and have not been able to utilize the required healthcare services in a timely manner. This review is aimed at assessing the clinical and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cancer and cancer survivors. A comprehensive literature search was performed for this review in the PubMed database and Google Scholar database using the keywords, “COVID-19,” “cancer,” and “impact” in the title. Of a total of 30 relevant studies, 27 articles were included in the review. In addition, the World Health Organization website was extensively searched for relevant information. For patients with cancer who are affected by COVID-19, it has been advocated that post recovery from COVID-19, the therapeutic management of cancer should resume at the earliest to minimize cancer-related mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive disruptions in the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and management of cancer. Therefore, minimizing the effect of the COVID-19 infection and improving the healthcare services offered to the patients with cancer by strengthening the healthcare system is the need of the hour.

The number of cases reported in the ongoing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to rise across the world. The primary reason due to which the disease is able to produce so much disastrous impact is its novel nature, as the virus was detected for the first time and even now there are many epidemiological, clinical and virological characteristics which are not known about the disease. All the available facts clearly suggest the need that we have to strengthen the research and development sector immensely, otherwise the disease will continue to claim lives of thousands of more people and will eventually break the health system of each and every nation and negatively impact the economy of the nations as well. In conclusion, research and development is a primary focus of interest for all the stakeholders involved in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The need of the hour is to expedite the entire process and utilize the research findings in ensuring better prevention and effective treatment of the cases of the disease.