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Workplace-based learning refers to a learning experience that enables medical students to acquire knowledge and skills via supervised application of their professional roles in authentic workplace settings. The learning triad in workplace learning comprises patients, medical students, and doctor–teacher. The success and effectiveness of workplace-based learning will eventually be determined by the kind of interaction and relationship between these stakeholders. There are three components of workplace learning, namely task, context, and learner. Learning theories occupy a special place in not only determining how people learn but also laying down the platform for medical educators to facilitate learning among medical students. To conclude, workplace-based learning is a crucial and indispensable component of medical undergraduate training. Acknowledging the merits of the same, it is crucial that it needs to be strengthened in each of the medical colleges. Further, awareness about learning theories and the application of the same for facilitating learning among medical students in workplace settings can prove to be instrumental, and thus medical educators should always work on the similar lines.

In the field of medical education, we have employed the closed-book test format as the standard approach for carrying out assessments for many decades. An open-book test in medical education is an assessment method wherein medical students are permitted to refer to learning resources during the examination. Thus, students do not rely primarily on their memory and understanding of the subject rather can access external resources to supplement their problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Even though multiple merits have been attributed to open-book tests, we must give attention to the time duration and the kind of references students can access during such tests. At this juncture, we must reiterate that we are not advocating that open-book tests should be introduced and they should replace the conventional closed-book tests. However, there is immense scope for open-book tests in medical education, and every medical institution must explore the scope and feasibility to introduce open-book tests within their settings.

In the process of producing competent and efficient medical graduates, clinical teaching is an integral component of undergraduate training. Even though clinical training has been linked with multiple benefits and plays a defining role in transforming a medical student into a competent doctor, it has some inherent challenges. The learner–doctor method emphasizes learning by doing and has the potential to counter the identified challenges in the traditional mode of clinical training. The learner–doctor method places emphasis on collaborative learning, wherein students learn by experiential learning and active participation in patient care. This method not only fosters the development of clinical skills but also cultivates critical thinking, teamwork, empathy, and effective communication. A number of activities or strategies must be planned and implemented to ensure that the set objectives of the learner–doctor method are accomplished by the medical institutions. In conclusion, as medical education continues to evolve, the learner–doctor method of clinical training is a dynamic approach to bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills. As this method enables medical students to actively engage in patient care and improve their critical thinking, it becomes the need of the hour that every medical institution should explore the opportunity to effectively implement the same in their settings.

Social accountability has been acknowledged as an important facet of medical education delivery as it envisages that healthcare professionals have the responsibility to be accountable for health-related community needs. The purpose of the current review is to identify the factors that determine the success of social accountability in medical education and explore different ways in which technology can aid in the implementation of social accountability initiatives in medical institutions. The successful implementation of socially accountable medical education depends on a broad gamut of factors, which can be associated with different stakeholders, including the role of technology in facilitating the implementation of the same. Owing to the fact that technology has reached every aspect of human life, it is our responsibility to explore its scope in promoting the attainment of competencies pertaining to social accountability among medical students. In conclusion, social accountability in medical education has multiple benefits and has emerged as the need of the hour. The integration of technology into socially accountable medical education plays a defining role in improving the effectiveness of educational activities, facilitating better community and student engagement, and eventually contributing to the production of socially responsible healthcare professionals.

The emergence of shared decision-making (SDM) in the field of medical education represents a significant shift in the way how health care is being taught to medical students and practiced by healthcare professionals. The purpose of the current review is to explore the merits of SDM to students and patients, identify the prevailing challenges in its successful implementation, and suggest appropriate solutions to overcome them. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was performed on the PubMed search engine, and a total of 20 articles were selected. The process of implementation of SDM in medical education can turn out to be extremely challenging due to a wide range of factors. In conclusion, training medical students in the domain of SDM is crucial to cultivate the skills and attitudes that are indispensable for future healthcare professionals. The need of the hour is to identify the prevailing challenges and address them by adopting a multifaceted approach.

In the field of medical education, moral case deliberations refer to a structured process, wherein health professionals together discuss and analyze moral issues or ethical dilemmas encountered in their clinical practice. The purpose of the current review is to explore the merits of moral case deliberations, identify the components, enumerate the strategies that can be used for implementation, and enlist the potential challenges and the remedial measures to overcome them. Moral case deliberations can be implemented in medical education in several ways that can be seamlessly integrated into the existing medical curriculum without stretching the overall duration of the training period. The path to successfully implement moral case deliberations in a medical school has its own share of challenges, and we must be aware of them to adopt countermeasures to overcome them. In conclusion, moral case deliberations play a vital role in augmenting ethical competence and establishing a culture of reflective practice among medical students. As medical students are bound to encounter multiple ethical dilemmas in their future clinical practice, it is our responsibility to incrementally expose them to such cases as a part of their undergraduate training to eventually prepare them for effective healthcare delivery.

In the field of delivery of medical education, social accountability envisages the responsibility of medical and healthcare institutions to meet the health-related needs of the communities in the catchment areas. The medical colleges that have integrated social accountability in their curriculum work with a goal to produce not only knowledgeable and skilled medical graduates but also those who are committed to the well-being of the entire community. The process of implementation of social accountability in medical education can have its own share of challenges. There is an immense need to plan and implement potential solutions for each of the identified challenges to ensure maximum benefit to the students, teachers, and community at large. In conclusion, social accountability in medical education has been associated with multiple benefits to all the involved stakeholders. This calls for the need to identify the challenges that can play their part in the successful implementation in medical schools and employment of appropriate measures to overcome them and move thereby bringing about a decline in health disparity.

Theater of the oppressed has been regarded as a dynamic tool to bring about social change and empowerment of the audience. This theatrical exposure to medical students plays a significant role in the delivery of comprehensive training to medical students, which is not only restricted to clinical knowledge but extends to cultural and interpersonal skills to ensure the delivery of comprehensive patient care. In conclusion, the theater of the oppressed has the potential to prepare empathetic and compassionate medical practitioners. To augment the quality of healthcare delivery, this kind of exposure can help medical students in bridging the gap between theory and clinical practice.

Road safety has been acknowledged as a public health concern of global significance owing to its direct association with human lives and their well-being. Road safety is a much broader concept than measures that are aimed to just prevent accidents, but it extends to improving the quality of life of members of the community, safeguarding environmental health, and improving the economy of the nation. With the passage of time, several technologies in road safety have surfaced, and their collective employment can aid in the establishment of a smart, safe, and efficient transportation system in nations. In fact, these technologies will account for a significant reduction in the number of accidents, better management of traffic, and improved road safety. In conclusion, ensuring road safety can save lives, promote responsible behavior, and create secure transportation system. There is an immense need to create awareness, engage the community, and embrace technology to minimize the possibility of road accidents and ensure safe journeys for all.

The delivery of medical education is a complex process, considering the vast nature of the syllabus, and multiple competencies are needed to be attained by medical students. Escape rooms are an innovative approach to delivering medical education and provide an enriching learning experience for students. These rooms are designed to replicate clinical scenarios, and they provide a platform for students to apply their theoretical knowledge to clinical practice. The employment of escape rooms in medical education has been linked with multiple merits for the students and helps them to attain multiple competencies. The participants in escape rooms are generally from different disciplines, and as mentioned above, it gives a chance to students from varied disciplines to acknowledge the role of each specialty and understand the need that for successful healthcare delivery, all professionals have to work as a team. In other words, these room offers a wonderful opportunity for students to come out of discipline-level segregation and work together to ensure the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services. In conclusion, escape rooms have the potential to deliver experiential and contextual learning for students from different disciplines. As healthcare delivery is a multidisciplinary approach, there is an immense need to explore the possibility of running escape rooms along with students from other disciplines and together move forward across the complexities of clinical practice.

In the field of medical education, to understand how people learn, many learning theories have been proposed, and in the same context, learning styles also have attracted immense attention. Learning style refers to the wide range of approaches people prefer to adopt and process information to ensure learning. Furthermore, many studies have specified the importance of learning styles and the need that it must be given due consideration by teachers to facilitate and expedite learning among medical students. However, questions have even emerged with regard to the actual utility of learning styles in augmenting learning and making a call about learning outcomes. Considering that preference for learning style changes over a period of time, is often multimodal, and that learning results due to the interplay of a wide range of other internal and external factors and not only because of the learning style. In conclusion, even though learning style has its own scope and utility, the available scientific evidence indicates that preference for learning styles might not be able to ascertain learning outcomes.

The width and the depth of the information that medical students are expected to master in their undergraduate period of training is huge. Mind maps refer to the multi-sensory tools that aid medical students to integrate, organize, visualize, and subsequently retain and recall information for longer periods of time. Mind maps can be of different types in medical education, with each one having specific characteristics and plus points. Mind maps offer multiple benefits to students and have shown immense potential to expedite the learning process. Mind maps have their own share of limitations, and these must be taken into consideration to ensure that they are used in the right settings and do not interfere with the learning process. In conclusion, mind mapping is an effective and versatile tool for organizing and synthesizing information in medical education and thus has multiple applications. As mind maps have their share of utility and limitations, we must employ them based on the settings and use them as a supplementary tool to enable students to learn complex topics and thereby attain learning competencies.

Learning resources refer to the tools, materials, and approaches that are employed to support teaching and facilitate learning in terms of acquisition of knowledge and skills. The purpose of the current review is to explore the importance of learning resources, understand the role of teachers as a learning resource developer, and identify the challenges and propose potential solutions to overcome them. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 34 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include learning resources in the title alone only. Medical teachers play a key role in the development of learning resources for different cohorts of medical students. In today's era, as teachers are involved in the development of learning resources, technology plays a significant role in augmenting the quality, improving the accessibility, and effectiveness of learning materials by making them more engaging. In conclusion, the role of medical teachers as learning resource developers is crucial and has far-reaching implications for both educators and medical students. Teachers while designing learning resources can pay specific attention to their alignment with curriculum objectives, meet the needs of students with different learning styles, and also embrace technology. However, we must understand that this process is dynamic and continues to evolve in a rapidly changing world.

The doctor–patient relationship is an extremely important and indispensable aspect of health-care delivery. Instructional design refers to a structured strategy that a teacher adopts to develop and deliver any educational program or a specific topic in a streamlined manner. Gagne’s model of instructional design has been employed to deliver a wide range of skills in different settings. The topic of the doctor–patient relationship can be explained to the 1st-year undergraduate medical students as a part of the attitude, ethics, and communication module training. The proposed time for the session is 1 h, and we intend to employ a wide range of teaching–learning methods (namely flipped classroom; interactive discussion using case vignettes; employment of movies depicting a doctor–patient relationship; and role play, use of pear deck) to promote interaction and active engagement, and reflective writing. To summarize, the doctor–patient relationship is an integral part of health-care delivery and we must train students in this regard. Gagne’s model of instructional design provides both teachers and students an opportunity to learn the knowledge in a comprehensive and student-centered manner.

Background Peer teaching is a well-acknowledged method to facilitate teaching and learning among medical students. The objective of the study was to assess the merits and effectiveness of peer teaching in small groups using a student-centered approach through the employment of different learning media.

The training imparted to medical students during their undergraduation period has to be multifaceted to ensure that upon the completion of the training, we succeed in producing competent medical graduates. The purpose of the current review was to explore the utility of WhatsApp in the delivery of medical education and clinical teaching. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed search engine, and a total of 14 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include social media, WhatsApp, and medical education in the title alone only. WhatsApp is the instant messaging applications, and with time, it has been observed that it has become an integral part of the community of medical students worldwide. Utilizing the medium of WhatsApp can prove to be an effective approach to bridge the existing gap between teachers and students predominantly because of the flexibility, instant messaging, and sharing additional information with the students for additional reading. To conclude, the delivery of medical education has shown significant transformation over the years to meet the needs of learners. Acknowledging the potential of WhatsApp, its user-friendly nature, and its popularity among medical students, it is very much necessary to utilize the medium for the delivery of the curriculum beyond college hours and at their time of convenience.

Social accountability in medical education deals with the responsibility of medical colleges and health-care facilities to effectively respond to the health-related needs of the communities they cater to. The incorporation of social accountability into the medical curriculum has been linked with multiple benefits for different stakeholders. Considering the utility of social accountability, there is an immense need to integrate the same into the medical curriculum and implement it for the benefit of medical students. The success of social accountability will essentially depend on the kind of partnership of medical colleges with the local community. Upon implementation of social accountability into the medical curriculum, the next step is to ascertain the impact of such initiatives. In conclusion, the adoption of social accountability into medical education can significantly aid in the process of producing compassionate and culturally competent medical graduates. The need of the hour is to adopt a concerted approach to integrate social accountability in the medical curriculum and regularly measure its impact for periodic betterment and reduction in health disparity.

The medical curriculum is extremely vast and continues to expand further with each day, and this makes both the process of teaching as well as the process of learning extremely challenging. Moreover, we must acknowledge that it is not an easy process for all students to learn at the same pace, as each student differs from another and has their own set of concerns, motivating factors, and inhibiting factors to influence their learning progress. The purpose of the review was to identify the factors affect learning and then propose strategies to overcome these factors. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines and a total of 44 articles were selected based upon their suitability with the current review objectives. In our vision to produce a competent medical graduate, we have to give due consideration to all the above factors, so that the learning process continues among medical students. In conclusion, the learning styles and the factors that affect learning might vary from one medical student to another. As medical educators, we should take specific steps to neutralize the impact of external factors and even assist students in the process of modifying internal factors with the solitary goal to improve learning and attain learning competencies.

Mobile phones have become an integral element of the telecommunication, and a rapid upsurge has been observed in the global market. Mobile phones and the associated radiofrequency have already become an important cause of concern for the masses and the stakeholders as the released radiofrequencies have been categorised as carcinogenic. Owing to the large number of consumers, and the carcinogenic nature of the electromagnetic field produced by them, it is quite necessary to explore, analyse and monitor any health consequences. At the same time, it will be wrong to consider only harmful aspects of the mobile phones, as they have revolutionised healthcare and provided a quite effective option for the policymakers. To conclude, there is no doubt that mobile phone usage has increased and it will be further increasing in the coming years. Even though the use of mobile phones has been linked with multiple merits in the field of healthcare, we must carefully weigh the involved risks and thus take a wise and rational call to limit the extent of derangements.

The process of transforming a freshly joined medical student into a competent medical graduate is a complex one. It is an indisputable fact that having good knowledge (cognitive domain) is crucial for better performance in psychomotor and affective domains. In the global vision to improve health-care delivery, it is crucial that medical students are trained in critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered teaching–learning strategy, which ensures the active engagement of learners. As students get an opportunity to perform a literature search or explore different learning resources, they attempt to learn through self-directed learning, and in the process understand the need to be a lifelong learner for a successful clinical practice in future. In conclusion, PBL session is an effective way to inculcate complex cognitive skills among medical students, and thus, it is quite essential that medical colleges should initiate and implement PBL in their settings after proper planning and with the support of the Medical Education Unit.

The syllabus in the medical curriculum is extremely vast, and in order to attain the intended learning competencies, students have to take intensive efforts to continue or expedite the learning process. Learning in itself is a complex process, as a number of factors play their part to ensure that a medical student can understand and apply the concepts or even perform the skills/procedures. In general, factors affecting the learning process have been broadly categorized into intrinsic (viz. Learning style) and extrinsic (such as learning environment and support from teachers). It becomes extremely crucial that teachers should be aware of these differences to ensure that learning can be facilitated among both types of students. To conclude, a number of factors are responsible to impact the learning acquisition process among medical students. It is important that a teacher should be aware of these wide gamut of factors, so that they can play a defining role in neutralizing some of these factors and encourage students to continue to learn.

The process of medical education delivery has evolved constantly considering the rapid progress in the field of medical sciences, and the varied roles expected of a health-care professional. The current review has been done to explore the role of virtual reality in medical education, and to identify the potential challenges and the suggestions that can aid in the successful introduction of the same in the undergraduate teaching period. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of 23 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include virtual reality and medical education in the title alone only. Virtual reality is a kind of dynamic and adaptive learning and has been associated with multiple benefits that extend much beyond what is being offered by conventional teaching. Regardless of the multiple benefits, we must realize that it should be used to keep the intended learning outcomes in mind, so as to ensure that it can be integrated into the curriculum effectively. In conclusion, the tool of virtual reality has all the potential to transform medical education delivery in the coming days. Since virtual reality advocates principles of adult learning and gives them a platform to apply their knowledge to practice and subsequently improve on, it is quite necessary that all the medical colleges look to introduce the same within their setup and integrate it with conventional learning.

Time and again it has been envisaged that health-care services imparted should be inclusive and should be equitably distributed regardless of any sociodemographic determinants. The purpose of the current review is to identify the problems encountered by transgender people and the role of medical education in preparing medical professionals who are competent enough to address their special needs. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 49 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include transgender and medical education in the title alone only. A number of studies and review articles have concluded that there is an urgent need to augment the knowledge, skills, and attitude of medical students to improve the clinical care of transgender people. Medical educators have to acknowledge the need and take concerted efforts to ensure the delivery of holistic, transgender-specific health-care education to all medical students. To conclude, transgender people have been subjected to a wide range of challenging circumstances that have significantly impacted their chances to avail of health care. One of the potential reasons for this is the lack of sensitization of medical doctors about transgender health in the current era. There is an immense need to bridge the existing gap, and it has to begin with bringing about curricular reforms and preparing the current crop of medical students about issues pertaining to transgender health during their training period.

Clinical teaching does not limit to teaching alone, rather it actually deals with the process wherein students are supported in their learning process while interacting with real patients during clinical settings. The purpose of the current review was to explore the factors that impact clinical teaching and then propose the potential recommendations to overcome them. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines and 39 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include clinical teaching, patient, student, and teacher in the title alone only. Clinical teaching is affected by a wide range of teacher-related, student-related, and patient-related factors, and as medical educators, we are aware of these factors so that we can minimize their impact to enhance the effectiveness of clinical teaching, thereby augmenting learning among medical students. Most of the identified factors that can influence clinical teaching can be taken care of in one or another way, if we strengthen the domain of the faculty development program. The shortage of patients, this concern can be managed by either adoption of standardized patients or by ensuring clinical teaching in outpatient department settings. To conclude, clinical teaching is an important aspect of the making of a competent medical graduate. However, the effectiveness of such sessions depends immensely on the stakeholders that are involved in the process. It is the need of the hour to identify the prevailing factors and then plan for corrective measures to neutralize the impact of such factors and also simultaneously enhance learning among students.

Competency-based medical education (CBME) has emerged as one of the modes of the curriculum which is built around a framework of competencies and plays an important role in the making of a healthcare professional who is competent enough to meet the health care needs of the society. The purpose of the current review was to explore the role of e-learning in enhancing learning in different domains of learning and identify the various e-learning resources. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed search engine and a total of 35 articles were selected based upon the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. The search was carried out for a period of one month and all articles published between 2003 to 2021 were included. As only one search engine was used, there were no duplications. Keywords used in the search include e-learning and medical education in the title alone only. E-learning has been acknowledged as one of the significant curricular reforms, which has the potential to bring about a paradigm shift in medical education in India. The basic rationale for the utility of e-learning in the medical curriculum originates from the fact that the syllabus is extremely vast and students have to study many subjects in a fully-packed schedule, and that cannot happen only within the classroom hours. E-learning can play an important role in the augmentation of cognitive, psychomotor, and attitudinal/communication skills through the optimal use of e-learning resources. To conclude, e-learning has emerged as an important approach to strengthen the process of implementation of competency-based medical education in Indian settings. The need of the hour is to acknowledge the merits of e-learning and plan strategies for the successful integration so that the overall process of CBME implementation can be strengthened and streamlined.

The process of delivery of medical education has always been a complex one, considering the amount of knowledge, skills, and other essential attributes that need to be developed during the training period. The purpose of the current review was to explore the role of Twitter in medical education and the areas in which it can help to augment the learning process. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 39 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. The review of literature was done by a single investigator and thus there were no duplicate articles. Keywords used in the search include social media, Twitter, and medical education in the title alone only. Twitter plays a crucial role in ensuring the active engagement of students by promoting academic conversations. To conclude, Twitter provides a platform for rapid and easy sharing of information on a global scale and thus encourages collaborative learning. Amid the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and in order to satisfy the learning needs of medical students and practicing physicians, Twitter is an innovative option. The need of the hour is to encourage and explore the utility of Twitter in different settings and use the same as an added tool for the attainment of learning outcomes.

With the passage of time, a number of curricular reforms have been introduced in the process of delivery of medical education. A video blog is a type of blog which utilizes the video medium to reach the audience. The purpose of the current review is to explore the role of video logs in strengthening the delivery of medical education. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed search engine and a total of 13 articles were selected based upon their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include video blogs, and medical education in the title alone only. The video blogs have immense scope in the field of medical education, as it is one of an essential tool to promote student-centered learning, and enables the medical student to learn at their pace, and that too at their time of convenience. The need of the hour is that vlogs are integrated within the curriculum on a pilot basis, and research work is carried out to explore their benefit in terms of improving the attainment of knowledge and student engagement. Further, based on the obtained results, we can make modifications and eventually introduce vlogs in a structured manner in the curriculum. To conclude, vlogs are a widely used mode to share information on the online platform, nevertheless, it is high time that its utility is also explored and harnessed for improving the delivery of medical education. This calls for the need of all the stakeholders to take active steps and simultaneously plan for its inclusion and implementation in the teaching-learning process.

Programmatic assessment is a holistic and unified approach to assessing the learning progress of medical students. The high-stakes decision to pass or fail medical students in the specialty of community medicine that depends on the performance in summative assessment. This makes the entire process of summative assessment quite challenging for medical students, as they cannot afford any mistakes on the day of summative assessment. We propose a programmatic assessment model for community medicine, by which we can overcome the prevailing shortcomings and take high-stakes decisions based on the longitudinal overview of multiple activities, rather than just performance on summative assessments. The proposed programmatic assessment for the specialty of community medicine will essentially have all these elements, which the community medicine department must cover with an intention to address subject-specific competencies. In conclusion, programmatic assessment has emerged as a valuable approach in the field of community medicine, as it is a comprehensive and systematic method to assess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of medical students in different aspects of the specialty. Further, by ensuring integration between different assessment methods, we can longitudinally track the performance of students and eventually perform a more holistic evaluation of the competencies expected of medical students.

From the global perspective, the medical curricula that is being designed and implemented across medical colleges, place more emphasis on acquisition of knowledge and skills. Ethics and professionalism are indispensable traits in the making of a successful medical doctor. Even though medical ethics has been acknowledged and regarded as an integral component of the medical curriculum, we cannot ignore the presence of a curricular gap. As far as professionalism in medical education is considered, we have to acknowledge that a wide range of challenges exist with reference to its teaching and assessment, including the involvement of stakeholders. To conclude, the training component for medical students on ethics and professionalism has been undermined in multiple settings. However, as these are indispensable aspects in the making of a competent medical professional, we must identify the prevailing challenges and accordingly design our action plan to seamlessly integrate training on ethics and professionalism in the medical curriculum.

Significant paradigm shifts and reforms have been reported in the field of medical education delivery worldwide depending on the changing health-care needs of the community and the demands of medical students. The purpose of the current review is to explore the role of YouTube in facilitating the delivery of medical education and improving clinical practice on the global platform. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines and a total of 49 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include YouTube, social media, and medical education in the title alone only. Being a freely available platform that can be accessed by anyone, YouTube has emerged as a platform that can be looked upon as an option to combine different kinds of educational resources for the benefit of medical students. In addition, the introduction of YouTube as a learning resource material has played a significant role in improving confidence levels, better acquisition of knowledge, and improved levels of satisfaction among students. To conclude, social networking sites like YouTube have emerged as one of the popular tools of information and educational material for the benefit of medical students and health-care professionals. Realizing the potential of the platform, it is high time that specific steps are taken to integrate YouTube into the medical curriculum and help students and health-care professionals to acquire knowledge and clinical skills.

Online assessments in medical education have brought about a huge transformation in the way medical students are assessed to date. As teachers will be the ones who will be working in the background in the planning, implementation, and integration process of online assessments into the medical curriculum, we must ascertain their readiness regarding the same. The best approach to get an in-depth understanding is through the conduct of a comprehensive needs assessment. As we all are aware that the successful conduct of online assessments will be defined by the competence levels of teachers, we must do capacity-building activities to empower them for their new role. We must realize that the training program may differ from one institution to another depending on the findings of the needs assessment, the available infrastructure in the institute, and the domain we are targeting in online assessments. In conclusion, online assessments have been linked with multiple benefits to all the concerned stakeholders. However, its successful planning and conduct will depend on the capacity-building training programs to augment the competence levels of teachers and their empowerment in the due course.

The kind and range of attributes that an undergraduate medical student should acquire by the time of completion of their training are extensive. The exposure of undergraduate medical students to the local community during the training period carries immense significance in the learning curve of the students. The exposure to community as a learning resource satisfies multiple principles of adult learning, as medical students can be actively engaged in the learning process, wherein they have to play a specific role and the learning happens across all the learning domains and does not remain restricted to the cognitive domain alone. In conclusion, the use of community as a learning resource for facilitating the training of medical students has been linked with multiple benefits. However, it is quite essential that potential challenges should be identified and accordingly preparation is done by the concerned departments to ensure the attainment of learning objectives and avoid rejection from the community.

Technology has found its root and application in all sectors, and the same stands true in the field of medical education. Moreover, with the emergence of the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic, the use of technology in online teaching-learning and assessment has increased immensely. The purpose of the current review is to explore the utility of gamification apps to enhance the active engagement of medical students. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and a total of five articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include gamification and medical education. Gamification refers to the employment of elements of games in nongame contexts with an intention to engage users and making them to solve the given problems. It promotes the delivery of information in a learner-centered way and meets the requirement of individual students, especially by targeting those domains in which they are interested. These games are designed in such a way that it simulates problems of the real world, wherein students have to apply their knowledge into practice and simultaneously learn the clinical decision-making skills. In conclusion, gamification and the use of technology should be acknowledged as the new aspects of curriculum delivery and all efforts should be taken to incorporate them as one of the components of medical teaching and assessment in the near future across all medical institutions.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been regarded as a global public health concern. In the global mission to minimize the existing gap on the diagnostic front, a number of strategies to promote HIV testing have been encouraged in heterogeneous settings. Detection of HIV infection using self-testing kits has emerged as an important approach to ascertain the identification of new cases and for connecting the affected people with the health-care delivery system. It is quite an alarming fact that despite HIV is a major public health problem in India, we to date have no policy on the promotion of self-testing. The findings of a recently released report in India revealed that self-testing was found to be acceptable to vulnerable population groups and their partners. To conclude, acknowledging the merits that have been linked with self-testing and considering the encouraging results obtained in Indian settings, it is the need of the hour that policymakers draft the much-awaited policy on the promotion of HIV self-testing in the nation and promote it.

The medical knowledge is extremely vast and continues to advance with each day making it extremely challenging for medical students. One of the innovative teaching-learning methods has been the use of comics in the field of delivering medical education and for improving patient care. The utility of comics in the delivery of medical education can be explained in different ways, namely mediation of varied emotional states upon errors made while diagnosis, highlighting illustrations about the good and bad practice of medicine, etc. Like any intervention, even the use of comics in medical education and clinical practice has its own challenges. To conclude, the integration of comics in medical education and patient care is an innovative approach to strengthen the overall process of curriculum delivery. The need of the hour is to understand its scope and then use in relevant settings to make it more effective and beneficial to different stakeholders.

The field of medicine is quite complex, which makes it extremely difficult for students to accomplish the learning outcomes at an identical pace. The medical teachers often have to deal with the students, who either lag on the cognitive aspect or have problems related to their attitude or behavior. These students are broadly referred as “problem learners” and it becomes extremely important for the teachers to give due attention to their needs. Under ideal circumstances, it is always an encouraging practice to have a structured framework within a medical college, which will not only help the teachers in the identification of the problem learners, but also aid in the planning and assessing the impact of the intervention specific to a student. In conclusion, the presence of a problem learner in the field of medicine cannot be denied. However, the important thing will be to identify them at the earliest and give due consideration to teacher and system-related attributes. The entire process should be driven by the teachers, and they should offer them support and help the learners to overcome their issues.

Medicine continues to change with each day, and it becomes the responsibility of the medical students, medical teachers, and practicing doctors to stay abreast with the recent developments and thereby use the same in patient care. There arises the need to encourage medical professionals to be lifelong learners and keep moving forward in the journey of continuous professional development. Professional development plan refers to a document that specifies the goals, stays up-to-date about recent trends, acquires new skills, and the objectives that a medical professional has to attain to ensure continuous improvement and career development. To conclude, for a medical teacher and student it is quite essential that they actively engage in professional development activities. The professional development plan is an effective tool to help them to grow professionally and align their individual goals with the institutional goals and thereby aid in the growth of all the involved stakeholders, including students.

Qualitative research in the field of public health and medical education has immense scope and potential considering the richness of information that it adds to the existing literature. We completely acknowledge the in-depth information and the variety of viewpoints that qualitative research methodologies add to the existing pool of information, but the process of data collection has many challenges, which need to be appropriately addressed to enhance the overall quality of data. These challenges include investigator‒participant rapport, participant attributes, researcher attributes, and administrative and logistics constraints. To summarize, the conclusion in qualitative research immensely depends on the process of data collection, and thus it is very much important that all specific steps are taken to overcome these challenges and thereby produce meaningful and evidence-based inferences.

Self-directed learning (SDL) has been acknowledged as a crucial approach in the delivery of medical education. In fact, the goal of lifelong learner defined for a medical graduate cannot be accomplished if the student does not practice SDL. Realizing the importance of SDL in the field of medical education, in the recently adopted competency-based undergraduate curriculum, the regulatory body has clearly specified defined number of hours per year per subject to ensure that provision is created in the curriculum and all the planning is done keeping that in mind. However, the real challenge in the implementation has been the assessment of the SDL, as conventional tools cannot be employed for the same. In general, four different types of assessment methods can be employed, namely, self-assessment, peer assessment, teacher assessment, and external assessment. In conclusion, assessment of SDL sessions is a potential challenge for all the teachers; nevertheless, the adoption of a well-thought approach will surely reduce the apprehensions associated with it and eventually enhance the learning among of the medical students.

The field of medicine is extremely vast and dynamic and it becomes really challenging for the medical undergraduate students to master all the subject specific competencies within the available timeframe of the course. The current review is done with an aim to assess the utility of task-based learning in undergraduate medical education. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and a total of 13 studies similar to current study objectives were selected for the review. Task-based learning refers to a teaching-learning methodology that is being employed in the clinical years in a medical institution. This method has its root originating from problem-based learning and it also advocates integrated teaching by providing students with a multi-specialty clinical exposure, that eventually creates a number of learning opportunities and makes the entire experience enriching. The selected task should be the one that represents a frequent concern of the local community, and should have specific learning objectives for making progress in clinical medicine. In conclusion, task-based learning is a holistic and a transdisciplinary approach to help the medical students to develop clinical competencies. Further, owing to the integration of clinical and basic science subjects in authentic clinical settings, the students learn the art of providing a holistic clinical care, while being motivated and satisfied with the entire learning experience.

Effective delivery of medical education depends on a number of factors and the role of every stakeholder is crucial to ensure the development of competent medical graduates. Storytelling in the delivery of medical education essentially refers to the employment of narratives, anecdotes, and real-life experiences to stories to share and teach medical concepts and principles. Storytelling offers a wide range of benefits to medical students and empowers them to become better and more compassionate clinicians. Each medical institution must explore the possibility of introducing storytelling within the medical curriculum to benefit students in terms of the attainment of their learning outcomes. In conclusion, storytelling in medical education is a teaching–learning method that can play its part in the development of empathy, promoting cultural understanding, and creating ethical awareness. Considering the merits of storytelling, it is the need of the hour to adopt a systematic plan to enable its integration and move forward in a journey toward creating more empathetic and culturally competent medical doctors.

The stream of medicine is rapidly changing with each day, and to meet the wide range of expectations of the members of the community, a corresponding change in the process of medical training is also essential. Blended learning refers to a teaching-learning approach that comprises a systematic amalgamation of both conventional and online learning. The adoption of blended learning in medical education delivery tends to overcome the drawbacks of conventional and online learning. We must acknowledge that blended learning not only is cost-effective but also enhances learning, disseminates information, and plays an important role in creating a network of learners. To conclude, the introduction of blended learning in medical education delivery is an important curricular reform for the benefit of medical students. It is the need of the hour to systematically explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, and then takes a well-informed call about the planning and implementation of blended learning in medical institutions.

Humanitarian emergencies such as man-made conflicts tend to influence and impact every aspect of human lives, including medical education. Humanitarian emergencies accounts for far-reaching consequences in the domain of medical education, including disruption of educational infrastructure (viz. medical school and training facilities) that significantly hampers the delivery of medical education. There is an immense need to plan and prepare for these humanitarian emergencies and thereby implement appropriate measures to ensure that delivery of medical education is not disturbed. To conclude, humanitarian emergencies have become quite common in today's era. However, as the impact of these emergencies on medical education is multi-fold, there is an immense need to address the problem. In-fact, the need of the hour is to plan and implement a multi-pronged approach to ensure that despite the challenges posed by humanitarian emergencies, we are well-equipped to ensure medical education delivery.

The primary aim of medical education delivery in most nations across the world is to increase the number of medical doctors, with variable attention towards the quality of the produced graduates. The purpose of the current review was to understand the lacunae in medical education delivery and the necessity to impart value-based medical education to trainee medical students. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed search engine and a total of 18 articles were selected based upon their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include values and medical education in the title alone only. In our desire to learn novel tools, somewhere we are falling short in our compassion and empathy, and this is quite evident considering that there is a remarkable rise in the incidents of violence against doctors and burnouts among them. The presence of these values in a medical student or a doctor ensures the development of trust with patients, makes the process of healthcare delivery transparent, and ensures cooperation and respect from the patients, caregivers, and the other members of the health team. To conclude, the delivery of value-based medical education is very much essential considering the dynamics of healthcare. The period of medical training should be wisely utilized to train medical students on values so that upon completion of their training, these students become a vital cog in the delivery of value-based health care to the patients.

The employment of computers for facilitating learning in the field of medicine is a known identity. The purpose of the current review is to explore the role of computer-based assessment in medical education and the potential challenges and strategies that need to be adopted to overcome them. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of 15 articles were selected based upon their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. The keywords used in the search include computer-based assessment and medical education. The mode of use of computers in assessment can be decided based on the purpose of the intended assessment and play an important role in helping predominantly the students to expedite their learning. Computer-based assessments offer a good option for the students to assess their knowledge and learning progression in a nonthreatening and noncompetitive environment. In conclusion, computer-based assessments can be acknowledged as an exciting prospect and have the potential to bring about reforms in the assessment in medical education. This calls for the need that each and every medical institution should gradually aim for the introduction of the same within their set-up and thus prepare students better for their future medical career.

Ethics has been considered an integral and indispensable part of the health-care profession for multiple decades. The term “bioethics” generally refers to the study of ethical issues arising because of the development made in the field of medicine, biology, and technology, which might become a cause of concern for humans or detrimentally affects the association between human and their environment. In order to streamline the training process of medical students in bioethics, there is an indispensable need to define the competencies that need to be covered during the training period. We must understand that teaching bioethics is way more than covers a theoretical topic, rather it requires exposure of medical students to a number of practical and clinically relevant scenarios. In conclusion, training medical students in bioethics have to be acknowledged as an important need, as it will eventually determine the safety and well-being of the current and future generations of people. It is high time that specific steps are taken to define specific bioethics competencies and integrate them with the existing medical curriculum to benefit both medical students and the general population.

Background A medical teacher has a very complex job profile, wherein they are expected to train a cohort of newly joined medical aspirants to competent health care professionals. The current study was conducted to identify the challenges faced by the faculty members in medical teaching and to assess the perception of teachers on the role of medical education workshops in addressing these challenges. Methods It was a Mixed Methods study conducted over a period of 9 months from January to September 2021 in a tertiary teaching medical college and hospital of Chengalpet District of Tamil Nadu amongst the faculty members of the teaching medical college and hospital. In the first phase, universal sampling method was employed, wherein all faculty members were asked to fill the online semi-structured questionnaire. In the second phase, purposive sampling was employed, wherein all teachers who have a minimum teaching experience of 3 years and have attended any medical education workshop were included and interviewed using a focus group discussion guide. The quantitative date was analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data was analyzed using manual content analysis. Results In the quantitative phase, 149 faculty members filled the online questionnaire, of which majority were females (52.3%) and were from the clinical departments (63.1%). The manual thematic content analysis of the FGD resulted in the identification of two themes (challenges and utility of workshops). The challenges theme consisted of three categories of Faculty, Students, and Administration, while Utility of workshops theme included two categories of refinement of skills, and suggestions for future Conclusion In conclusion, lack of teamwork in the department, multiple responsibilities assigned to a single person, and shortage of clinical material during COVID-19 were identified as the main challenges in teaching–learning. The medical education workshops play a significant role in improving the knowledge of various domains of teaching and assessment, introduction of innovations, and ensure better performance of the faculty members.

The ultimate goal of medical education across heterogeneous settings is to produce a competent medical graduate. It is important to remember that this vision cannot be complete without incorporating observation, assessment, and documentation of the students' performance while they are involved in patient care throughout the duration of the course. The present review was planned to explore the utility of clinical work sampling (CWS) tool in the process of assessment of competencies. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of 15 articles were selected based upon the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. To ensure that the students are directly observed while at work, the use of workplace-based assessment tools has been strongly advocated owing to the high reliability, validity, feasibility, and better educational impact. CWS is an effective teaching-learning and assessment tool that involves observation and simultaneous scoring of different domains of patient interaction and management. In conclusion, the assessment method of CWS is based on the direct observation of clinical performance of the students in the workplace. Owing to the high validity and reliability of the tool, it is the need of the hour to employ the same as a part of clinical teaching and assessment in heterogeneous settings.

The branch of medicine is dynamic and keeps changing with each day, and thus, it is a big responsibility of the teachers to train medical students to fulfill the roles expected of them. The current review was carried out to understand the role of movies in medical education and the working model that can be adopted for its smooth integration within the existing curriculum. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of 10 articles were selected based upon the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. The employment of cinemas or movies in medical education has a special place, considering the rationale that watching and listening a video establish a sense of reality that is more conducive to learning. The use of movies creates a platform for the delivery of medical care in a humanistic, empathetic, and patient-centered manner and that makes the entire process of teaching efficient and effective. The introduction of movies and videos as a part of the medical curriculum delivery is a positive approach to ensure that students learn both cognitive and noncognitive skills. Considering the need that we have to appeal to all the learning domains, all the medical colleges should formulate a potential plan to introduce the use of movies and videos in teaching-learning and thereby benefit all types of learners.