In July, Venu Gopala Rao Tanneru (CMCL 2007) and Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences conducted a one-day workshop on Reforms in Medical Education. Sixty principals from several of Dr. NTR University’s affiliated medical and dental colleges gathered in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of India’s medical education system and discuss the implementation of reforms that would improve the areas of weakness. Topics included improving tools for evaluating medical education; developing an accreditation system; improving faculty retention; using technology; and encouraging continuous professional development, research, and publication. The government of India is expected to take the recommendations of this working group under consideration when contemplating changes to medical education policy in the country.
Twenty-five participants from Maharashtra state attended the Third Basic Medical Education Technology Workshop, held July 1-2, 2010, at the Regional Center for National Faculty Development at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha. Topics included educational objectives, taxonomy of learning, teaching methods and media, giving effective feedback, and group dynamics, among others. Professor and regional center faculty member Nitin Gaikwad (GSMC 2009) led several sessions. July marked the first anniversary of the designation of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha, as a regional center in India’s nationwide faculty development program. In addition to the three medical education technology workshops, the center conducted workshops on writing grants, writing scientific papers, and a two-part advanced workshop on evidenced-based medicine, all in its first year.
In Nagpur, India, N. K. P. Salve Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre conducted a three-day basic faculty development course for 25 faculty members from July 27 to 29, 2010. Suresh Chari (GSMC 2009) is Professor of Biochemistry and Director of Research and the Medical Education Technology (MET) Unit at the university, and this course was based on his FAIMER fellowship innovation project. Fellows Shubhada Anant Gade (CMCL 2010) and Sushil Pande (GSMC 2009) assisted Dr. Chari in conducting this course for their colleagues. Nitin Gaikwad attended as an official observer representing the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) nationwide faculty development program. MCI officially recognized the MET Unit course and granted permission for it to be conducted twice annually.
The Medical Education Unit at Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, held its second faculty development workshop on basic medical education technologies from July 29 to 31, 2010, in Gujarat, India. Pramukhswami Medical College faculty members Himanshu Pandya (CMCL 2007), Praveen R. Singh (CMCL 2008), Suman P. Singh (CMCL 2008), Shushil Kumar Singh (GSMC 2010), and Uday Shankar Singh (GSMC 2008) each led sessions, as did Chetna Desai (CMCL 2007) from B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad. Topics included educational objectives, group dynamics, microteaching, problem-based learning, assessment, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and the mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX). Thirty health professions educators from the institutions of H. M. Patel Centre for Medical Care & Education participated in the workshop, which was directed by Dr. Pandya and coordinated by Dr. Shushil Kumar Singh.
In August, Savita Marathe (GSMC 2008) and the Department of Medical Education & Technology at Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) conducted their Fourth Advanced Course on Health Sciences Education Technology at MUHS Regional Centre, Pune. The goal of this faculty development course is to enhance skills that participants can use to make educational improvements at their own institutions. Participants are required to conduct a small education project at their home institution. Nearly 100 educators from various health sciences institutions across Maharashtra state have attended this course in the four times it has been offered.
