The Medical Council of India (MCI) has upgraded the designation of six of the schools in its nationwide faculty development program from regional center to nodal center. Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, home to the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute, and Seth G.S. Medical College, home to the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute, have both been upgraded to nodal centers. Under the MCI plan, the regional center designation provides approval for conducting a three-day basic education workshop, while the nodal center designation provides approval for conducting the basic workshop as well as an advanced course in medical education. Participants who have completed the basic education workshop will be eligible for the advanced course, which will emphasize self-learning and foster mentoring relationships among medical educators. Programming is still under development, but the basic structure for the advanced course will model the FAIMER fellowship program. Tentatively, the course will be 12 months in duration and include two sessions, each consisting of one week of on-site instruction followed by six months of distance learning. As part of the course, participants would design an educational innovation project and implement it at their home institution.
Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research
