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Background: As per the revised competency-based medical education guidelines given by the National medical council of India, students are offered elective posting after the first part of 3rd phase of the medical professional course. This has been started from the year 2023. There will be various postings offered and at end of the posting they will be assessed on various domains. Aims and Objectives: Our study aims to assess the impact of elective posting on the research skills and students’ perception toward it. It also aims to identify the best methods to implement elective postings. Materials and Methods: In the year 2023, using a complete enumeration technique 86 students from the third phase of MBBS at a medical college in Maharashtra, India, were registered for the 2 months of elective and would be questioned twice following consent using a pre-validated questionnaire. The first interview will take place following the completion of the first block of elective posting, and the second interview will take place following the conclusion of the second block of elective posting. Results: We observed a statistically significant difference when two blocks were compared on the domains of efforts. Students have reported higher efforts toward clinical and surgical postings. We also observed that students reported a statistically significant level of frustration in block two. In our study, we found that research work was taken more during the second block as students were sensitized in the first block regarding research. Conclusion: In our study, we have observed that research activities are taken up and processed for presentation using biostatistics in the second block of elective if resource material and support are provided in the block one. Students develop a better understanding of research with proper training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Covid-19 pandemic drastically affected medical education. One consequence was the shift of teaching--learning process to the online mode. This left many teachers unprepared. Our medical education department of a large teaching hospital did a qualitative analysis of the perceptions of the faculty towards this forced change. Methods. We conducted in-depth interviews with 10 of the nearly hundred undergraduate faculty of a teaching hospital in southern India, with a strength of 100 students per batch. The participants were chosen by purposive sampling so as to include all phases and seniority levels. Seven categories related to the topic of research were decided. These were given to the participants to then speak freely about. Standard methods for recording and transcribing were followed. Deductive content analysis was done to obtain the emergent themes. Results. The faculty had a definite negative perception of online teaching. Lack of interaction, absence of immediate feedback and concerns about attendance were uniformly the biggest issues. Practical and clinical teaching was deemed nearly impossible to be taught online. The positives were the gradual comfort factor with online teaching, and the mental preparation for the long haul with this modality. Conclusion. In-depth interview and its qualitative analysis proved useful in getting a deeper understanding of the perceptions of the medical faculty towards online teaching--learning. The negative and positive perceptions thus obtained have proved useful as feedback to the medical education department to suggest changes to improve the online teaching programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competency based medical education (CBME) was introduced by National medical Commission (NMC) to improve the medical education to global standards. Lot of infrastructural and curricular reforms have been introduced. This article describes the 6 months experience, challenges and road ahead of CBME curriculum by otolaryngology faculties in a deemed to be university of South India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the changes that colleges should initiate to enhance the orthopedic education in India. Topics mentioned include the key reasons why educational reform is needed, the basic skills that undergraduate students should possess, the failure of colleges to train students in orthopedics, the importance of faculty training, and the enhancement of mode of learning and teaching to help trainees retain their knowledge.

The growth and popularity of virtual science laboratories have skyrocketed all over the world in recent years due to the covid-19 pandemic. India has also adopted the idea of remote learning, but the overall utilization of virtual science labs to complement remote science learning has been slow and inadequate so far. This article aims to introduce the Indian audience to the world of three relatively new virtual laboratories (Beyond Labz, Labster, and Praxilabs) that can be useful for undergraduate science education. The salient features, experimental demonstration, and merits and demerits of these three platforms have been discussed in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic affected undergraduate medical education worldwide. By March 2020, colleges in India had to close following a national lockdown. Most of the colleges including ours started using e-platforms. Our earlier studies highlighted concern for lack of patient examination in clinical settings and successes of the online teaching programmes were limited to didactic teaching. The year 2020 also was the year in which the National Medical Commission (NMC) introduced a competency-based system, which was new to all stakeholders. We assessed the impact of Covid-19 on the ongoing teaching pattern in our institute. Actual coverage of theory classes and practical/clinical teaching sessions were gathered from departments across all years of undergraduate medical education and the gap percentage was calculated against the NMC/Medical Council of India requirements. The gap percentage was calculated as missing classes divided by required classes multiplied by hundred. The heads of departments were consulted, and details of theory, practical and clinical classes taken for each batch before and after lockdown were gathered using a questionnaire. These were compared against the mandated teaching by the NMC guideline for theory, practical and clinics. The results showed a gap ranging from 2% to 83% for theory classes, the least being in anatomy and the highest being in medicine. As there were no practical or clinical sessions during the lockdown, the gap was zero. Various challenges were faced due to online medical education. There was a dilemma over choosing the type of training that would produce adequate numbers with low quality or a delayed training but of assured quality. Various solutions including suspending the ongoing course and converting it to short-term skill training sessions to deal with pandemic care and strategies to improve online teaching were considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created a sense of emergency among the public health authorities and the general population across the world. The present review has been carried out to explore the introduction of pandemic module in the undergraduate medical training period in India. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, the Medical Council of India website, and the World Health Organization website. Keywords used in the search include pandemic module, medical education, COVID-19, and awareness in the title alone. Initially, a total of 15 studies were identified, of which five were excluded as they were not matching with the current review objectives. Finally, a total of 10 research articles and one document were selected based upon the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. In order to be better prepared for the upcoming public health emergencies, including pandemics in the future, it has emerged as one of the necessities that the medical undergraduate students are exposed to the pandemics during the period of their training. Acknowledging the presence of these pressing needs, the Medical Council of India has introduced a Pandemic Module, which will be run on a longitudinal basis, starting right from the time of entry, across all the professional phases, and also in the form of an elective course. To conclude, the introduction of pandemic module in the undergraduate medical education training period is a welcome step to empower the students to discharge their roles effectively in their career. It is now the responsibility of individual medical colleges to properly plan and implement the designated number of sessions and benefit the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intra-regional cultural and linguistic differences are common in low- and middle-income countries. To sensitise undergraduate medical students to the social and contextual determinants of health to achieve the 'health for all' goal, these countries must focus on innovative teaching methods. The early introduction of a Community Orientation Program (COP) as a Community-based Medical Education (CBME) method could be a game changing strategy. In this paper the methods, evaluation, and implication of the COP in an Indian setting are described. Methods: The curriculum of the COP was developed based on the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) model for educational intervention. In this learner-centric and supervised educational program, the key aim was to focus on developing students' communication skills, observation power and enhancing their motivation for learning through collaborative learning. To meet the objectives of the COP, a situated learning model under the constructivism theory was adopted. Results: Between 2016 and 2019, 557 students were trained through the COP by visiting more than 1300 households in ten villages. To supplement the students' observations in the community, more than 150 small group discussions, a health education programme for the community and summary presentations were conducted. The students' feedback indicated the need to improve the clinical examinations demonstration quality and increase the number of instruments for clinical examinations. More than 80% of students felt that the program would assist them to improve their communication skills, their understanding of the various socio-demographic factors associated with the common diseases, and it will enable them to respect the local culture during their clinical practice. Conclusions: Early initiation of the COP as a CBME method in the undergraduate medical curriculum in an Indian setting has shown promising results. Further evidence is required to adopt such a program routinely for under-graduate medical teaching in the low- and middle- income settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical education in India is undergoing a landmark transformation under the National Medical Commission implementing competency‐based medical education (CBME). The CBME approach intends to ensure that medical graduates acquire the competencies needed to fulfill the health needs of the patient and society. This outcome‐based approach shifts the focus from the traditional knowledge‐based training to skill‐based training valued on attitude, ethics, and communication (AETCOM) competencies. CBME thus aims to create medical professionals capable of providing holistic care with compassion and excellence embracing the global trends. The opportunity posed by the CBME should be utilized to sensitize and create interest among the learners about the science and scope of psychiatry. However, there are many challenges in the successful implementation of CBME, which have to be identified and addressed on time for serving the purpose. A basic tenet in CBME is to continue training until the desired competencies are achieved; in other words, to de‐emphasize time‐based learning. Moreover, the current COVID 19 pandemic is posing a significant influence on the execution of CBME implemented in August 2019. Online platforms could have several advantages in assisting the implementation of CBME; they provide an alternative to continue teaching–learning and assessment during these times and allow learners with the flexibility to learn at their own pace. In this article, we discuss the opportunities, including digital platforms and challenges to be overcame as well as the need for training the faculty toward assimilating the curriculum in the undergraduate psychiatric training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional medical curriculum in India needed more focus on explicit teaching and assessment of interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, team-work and reflection for prevention and better management of increasing incidences of violence against doctors by building good doctor-patient relationships. Increasing number of seats in Indian medical colleges, decreasing hospital stay of patients, and decrease in faculty requirements will hamper adequate supervised authentic clinical experiences of undergraduates for developing clinical skills. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant decrease in student-patient encounters. Simulated patients are being used in many countries to address many of these issues. To make the Indian medical graduates competent to function as primary physician of first contact, competency-based medical education along with guidelines for use of skill-lab and simulation has been introduced from 2019. The current review is focused on the need and use of simulated patients; their advantages, limitations and role in students' teaching and assessment. It also gives a brief outline of their training process. Simulated patients should be used to supplement day-to-day learning, help in transition to attending real patients and also save enormous faculty time in the post-COVID-19 new normal. However, simulated patients are unlikely to completely replace real patients' experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical Council of India (MCI) implemented competency-based curriculum for undergraduate medical education nationwide in 2019, with assessment of competencies being its integral component. The curriculum has outlined some broad principles and components of assessment, but the process and schedule for formative and summative assessment is to be decided by the universities and institutions. In this document, we summarize the recommendations for the subject of Pediatrics, and propose an assessment model for summative assessment that can be adapted/adopted by universities and institutions. Few basic principles of formative assessment have been shared, the implementation of which may be the main challenge for the institutions. It is important to develop the capacity of the faculty for conducting the assessment under the ambit of principles of competency-based curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Clinical faculty are one of the pillars of undergraduate medical education. Clinicians are expected to be experts in consent and medicolegal issues in order to teach budding doctors the same. Teaching trainees to take proper consent and effective management of medicolegal cases has a major impact in making them competent doctors. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted among the faculty of department of Surgery to assess the level of knowledge regarding consent and medicolegal issues. Results: The faculty knowledge Regarding consent and medicolegal issues was unsatisfactory. The faculty should receive training with regards to consent and managing medicolegal issues so that they can impart proper training to the medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing paradigm of dental education in India has led its way to the development of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). This article describes the process of developing CBC in the specialty of Pediatric Dentistry under the initiative of Dental Council of India. Rationale behind CBC development is to bring uniform system of education for improving oral health outcomes of the society in long term. The process of CBC development was a collaborative teamwork, planned meticulously with predefined outline, tasks and timelines. Workflow involved identification of curricular content, defining program goals, outlining competencies, assigning them domains / levels of clinical competence, priority, educational strategies, assessment practices, integration and numbers needed for certification in selected competencies. Early clinical exposure was introduced in CBC. The final content was validated and submitted to the Council. CBC output can be summarized as competencies with fair share of all domains, levels, prioritization and integration. It is characterized by flexibility for choosing educational strategies and assessment practices. It opens up ways for global competition. However, it still has some inherent weaknesses like diverging learning paths, time constraints and number chasing. CBC can further have more academic flexibility and develop toward an outcome-based approach. Faculty preparedness and acceptability shall be the biggest challenges in CBC implementation besides resources' availability, support from leadership and acceptability from our primary stakeholders, our learners. CBC is the beginning of evidence-based delivery of education in dentistry. An effective implementation of CBC in current form would result in increased numbers of competent oral healthcare professionals for the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate education plays a vital role in the career path of any Individual, be it in professional or nonprofessional program. Specifically, Technical Education demands a balance of practical exposure with Theoretical knowledge acquired by the students. In the previous years, this type of education which enables the student to spend part of his graduation period in Industry is abysmal in India. The system of Technical Education understands the role of Industry in a student growth in technical Education. In the present scenario of student centric learning where outcome based education is playing a vital role, Industry exposure will enable the students to understand the concepts he actually learns in classroom. This will help the institution to develop core engineering students. This paper gives a detailed study on the impact of Industry collaborative activities in the institution. The Under graduate students who have performed these activities were impacted directly in the form of placements. The students are from core engineering stream like Electronics and Communications Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The students were involved in the activities like projects, internships and Industrial visits through the Industry Institute Interaction cell in the author's Institution. The paper shows the complete 3 year data and the impact of each activity in the core engineering departments thoroughly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background – Critical appraisal of AETCOM Module with reference to Bioethical inclusions vis-à-vis professional ethics inclusions needs appraisal for purposes of judicious operational mix of two, so that learner is oriented in all-round manner so that optimal results thereto stand generated with at par status in commensuration with “The UNESCO Universal Declaration On Bioethics And Human Rights”. Methods – Rapid review of literature with reference to AETCOM Module for identification of Bioethical inclusions in it with reference to Bioethical principles included in UNESCO declaration specially those applicable to profession and not propagation or advocacy. Critical appraisal of identified Bioethical inclusions with reference to their conformity with bioethical principles as applicable to profession included in UNESCO declaration and to work out appropriate inclusion of non-included bioethical principles in form of structured competencies and their incorporation in AETCOM module with reference to their placement, learning levels, mode of assessment. Conclusion –This study deals with mapping and matching of competencies included in AETCOM module with UNESCO universal declaration on human rights and bioethics giving recommendations which can fulfil realised omissions in present AETCOM module thereby leading to its simplification and adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Snakebite envenomation is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with India contributing to the majority of cases. Effective management is important to mitigate the impact of the condition. Medical practitioners dealing with snakebite victims need to be thoroughly aware of the current guidelines to provide effective care.Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the knowledge and awareness of Indian medical practitioners about the current guidelines regarding the management of snakebite and their opinion about the cogency of their undergraduate medical training regarding the subject.Materials and Methods: Allopathic practitioners currently practicing in India were administered a pretested questionnaire to assess their knowledge about epidemiology, diagnosis, and the treatment of snakebite.Results: Of the 143 practitioners in the study, 79.4% underestimated the burden of morbidity due to snakebite in India. About 6.8% had correct knowledge about the number of species of the highest medical importance. About 52.2%, 91.7%, and 20.2% were aware of the common presentation of Common Krait, other neurotoxic elapids (e.g., Indian Cobra) and Viper envenomation, respectively. About 32.6% had correct knowledge about the management of adverse reactions to anti-snake venom. About 72.3% responded that their undergraduate medical education was inadequate to deal with snakebite and 91.4% responded that the topic of snakebite needs more emphasis at the undergraduate level.Conclusions:The current undergraduate medical education in India, about the management of snakebite is limited to outdated concepts or those gained from Western literature, leading to gaps in knowledge in several key areas. A clinically oriented approach suited to the Indian scenario needs to be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Role of an engineer is imperative in improving the quality of human life and India is one of the largest producers of engineers with 23 IITs (Indian Institute of Technology), 31 NITs (National Institute of Technology) and state universities offer technical education in the form of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs. Since India, a predominantly young population, IITs and NITs are not sufficient in number and hence AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) has approved over ten thousand self-financed private engineering colleges across the country to cater the huge demand for engineering education. Except for IITs, NITs, and other premier institutes, most engineering colleges failed to give quality education to the students, which would get them suitable jobs. As per the research carried out by Aspiring Minds a leading employability assessment company, only 1.7 percent of the engineering graduates are suitable for the new age jobs and top 10 IT companies recruit only 7 percent of the engineering graduates every year which is a serious concern. [1] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medical colleges strive to create a learning environment best suitable for undergraduate medical education. In this process, measures taken can affect and influence the medical undergraduate psychological well-being. The demands of medical education lead to a psychological distress far beyond that experienced by the students of other specialties. Aims: The aim of this study is to study the levels of psychological well-being in medical under graduates. Materials and Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 402 medical students were surveyed using the Ryffs's Psychological Well-being Scale. Results: Low psychological well-being is evident in most of the medical undergraduates with the presence of stressors playing a significant role on psychological well-being with academic stress taking a major role. Conclusion: As depicted from the current study, academic stress plays a role in low psychological well-being of medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The much-awaited dream of many educationalists across India has finally turned into reality and we have shifted to the competency-based curriculum for the undergraduates from the 2019 academic year. With close to 4 months into this transition and implementation, we have realized a wide range of strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-challenges (SWOC) and it is the need of the hour to learn from the same and plan our curriculum in such a manner that the execution of the same can be significantly improved in the coming years. Even though, challenges are there, but it is important to understand and have a belief that all this has been done to improve the health care services offered to the general population. In conclusion, the competency-based curriculum for undergraduate students has to be looked upon as an opportunity to produce competent and globally acceptable doctors and thus it is high time that all the stakeholders accept this as a challenge and work in a concerted manner to accomplish the intended goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the problems of teaching and learning of the English language at undergraduate level in the affiliated colleges of the University of Jammu (J&K). Topics discussed include literary sensibility for understanding a variety of English texts; needs of the students for learning the English language; and the reforms in the teaching methodology and techniques.

Background The classical didactic lecture has been the cornerstone of the theoretical undergraduate medical education. Their efficacy however reduces due to reduced interaction and short attention span of the students. It is hypothesized that the interactive response pad obviates some of these drawbacks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive response system by comparing it with conventional classroom teaching. Methods A prospective comparative longitudinal study was conducted on 192 students who were exposed to either conventional or interactive teaching over 20 classes. Pre-test, Post-test and retentions test (post 8–12 weeks) scores were collated and statistically analysed. An independent observer measured number of student interactions in each class. Results Pre-test scores from both groups were similar (p = 0.71). There was significant improvement in both post test scores when compared to pre-test scores in either method (p < 0.001). The interactive post-test score was better than conventional post test score (p < 0.001) by 8–10% (95% CI-difference of means – 8.2%–9.24%–10.3%). The interactive retention test score was better than conventional retention test score (p < 0.001) by 15–18% (95% CI-difference of means – 15.0%–16.64%–18.2%). There were 51 participative events in the interactive group vs 25 in the conventional group. Conclusions The Interactive Response Pad method was efficacious in teaching. Students taught with the interactive method were likely to score 8–10% higher (statistically significant) in the immediate post class time and 15–18% higher (statistically significant) after 8–12 weeks. The number of student–teacher interactions increases when using the interactive response pads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to determine if dental colleges are clustered in selective states in India and if population to dental college admissions (seats) is correlated with regional health, economic, and human development in that country. There are 29 states and seven union territories in India, with 301 dental colleges. This study used publicly available data from the Dental Council of India, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Institute of Applied Manpower Research of the Government of India. Non-parametric tests were used to test for associations. In academic year 2013- 14, a total of 293 approved and recognized colleges were in existence, and a total of 23,780 seats were available in all dental colleges. Close to 54% of all dental colleges and 55% of all dental college seats were clustered in five states. The mean population per dental college seat was 94,324 (median was 46,898, and range was a minimum of 2,432 to a maximum of 780,139). The population to one dental college seat decreased significantly as the health and human development index increased (p<0.05). The results showed that dental colleges are clustered in a few states, leaving multiple states in India with no dental colleges. Dental colleges appear to be located in states with high health, economic, and human development indices, thus doing little to address the imbalance in dentist to population ratios in states that are disadvantaged in terms of health, economics, and human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study identifies the priorities of vocational educational courses and interests of the Indian undergraduate students. The study was conducted in S.V. University area covering 300 undergraduate students of Arts, Commerce and Science streams. The study identified the more prominent, prominent and less prominent vocational educational courses. Further, studies the association between vocational education interests and the background of the students (sex, caste, stream of study, year of study and area). The difference between various groups of students belonging to above groups in their vocational education interests of the undergraduate students was also identified. The study provided a suggestive list of vocational educational courses for undergraduate students for enhancing their employability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article details how Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been incorporated in India's undergraduate education, particularly in Andhra Pradesh. A discussion on how socio-economic factors played a major role in the change of the context of the whole teaching situation in the country starting in 2000 is given, Also presented is a description of the education situation in Andhra Pradesh. Explained as well is the paradigmatic shift in the way English has been regarded and taught in India.

In compliance with the Medical Council of India, preclinical medical students maintain a record of their laboratory work in physiology. The physiology record books also contain a set of questions to be answered by the students. Faculty members and students had indicated that responding to these questions did not serve the intended purpose of being an effective learning tool. The purpose of this study was to obtain the views of the medical students and faculty members at our institution concerning the usefulness of responding to the questions and to gather suggestions for possible improvement. Data were collected through focus groups and questionnaires to first-year medical students and faculty members in physiology and were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The students and faculty members viewed the physiology record books as a potentially useful learning aid, but lack of time led the students to write the answers without understanding the topic rather than generating their own responses to the questions. Faculty members and students recommended that the students should write the responses to the questions on site during the practical classes, using relevant on-site resources and interacting with faculty members. The findings of the present study may be of value to other medical colleges in India and outside India with modifications based on their specific needs to improve the effectiveness of physiology record books as a learning tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author discusses the changing profile of undergraduate level science teaching with special reference to biology in India. He mentions the two level of model in teaching natural sciences in undergraduates (UG) including three-science domain teaching model and the other model is popularly called Honors involves in-depth training in one of the science domain.

In this article, the author focuses on the importance of training undergraduates in the field of psychiatry for the development of mental health services in India. It mentions the initiatives taken by Medical Council of India such as making department of psychiatry in all medical colleges as a part of teaching hospitals and providing mental health services. It also mentions the University Grants Commission for teaching psychiatry in universities.

The article presents the authors' insights on the segregation of XII level undergraduate students in India to science and technical colleges. The authors say that the divide had become detrimental to students due to the absence of motivation and a vibrant intellectual environment. They add that science and technology education should coexist in the undergraduate education for the development of competent scientists and technologists.