EMPOWERING MEDICAL TEACHING IN INDIA

Dr.T.V.Rao MD We Medical teachers live in a period of transition from traditional, didactic teaching methods to the empowering of elearning technologies. Senior Professors still continue to be in demand as the age of retirement is increased to 7o years. The Medical Council of India currently (2011) fully recognizes 335, with a total capacity to train 40, 525 Indian medical students. Teachers should be aware in future we are going to have many students technologically oriented and even at +2, having learnt schedules created as e-learning in CBSE syllabus. They are going to have a square one situation when they find a traditional teacher with chalk and board. However the e-education in Medicine is difficult and not possible to implement in several situations. The e-learning in Medical education is with several defects never understood in detail and continues to be controversial. It is valid to understand some of the teachers view point, as E-learning is too often driven by the technology and not the learner and the learning. As new technology become available and is used for educational purposes, educators often take existing training and simply transcribe it into the new technological medium. This puts the technology at the forefront, driving the learning, rather than being subservient to it. However the teachers in developing countries cannot totally discard the modern education methods, with proliferation of Internet and Broad band, as the students are free to access to any content even the best in the world. Technology is there to serve the learner and the learning. Therefore, one needs to think of the learning outcomes, and only then consider to use technology, and if technology can be useful, then what technology and how best to use it. Making technology

enhanced learning (TEL) effective. Many times we are teaching content of outdated medicine, if you observe the Post graduates in several centres of excellence the discussions are cutting edge with students too making the best contributions. Many times technology can be a very powerful tool in achieving these learning outcomes, but only if it is used correctly. The many wonderful and exciting opportunities that technology offers are also full of pitfalls. To respond to these challenges, technology must be learner friendly. TEL must support the cognitive architecture of the learners, for example, providing appropriate mental representations and correctly considering cognitive load. When we consider how to use technology to enhance learning in general, and in medical training specifically, we need to think if and how it can help to better engage the cognitive system. We have several younger generations of Medical teachers coming with solutions with technology and certain to increase the gap between senior and junior competent teachers. Indian basic Medical degree MBBS students lack basic skills in practice of Medicine many are unfamiliar with simple procedures even delivering a normal child, and safe, simple emergency lifesaving procedures. Many upcoming new Medical institutes have few effective teachers, and many clinicians are private practice oriented and students are left to their choice in learning, which many may not agree and never think of any solution to the existing problem as the defects in system will be exposed. Our teaching in real time clinical training is a failure in the present system in many Medical Colleges as the Medical profession is becoming a matter of private practice; few serious patients reach the teaching Hospitals. Medical simulations, virtual patients, are vital tools in medical training. Patients in real practice do not always present the best training examples, and even when good learning examples are presented by real patients, patient care is the main focus and objective. Medical simulations allow for

the selection of the most effective clinical cases and for learningcentric training. Simulations also allow students to explore, test actions, and observe their effects, which is important for learning but would be inappropriate on real patients. Training in the clinical environment therefore takes a secondary role and is pursued only as much as it does not hamper patient safety and care. Videos are widely used in the medical domain. They enable the capture of important learning opportunities that may not present themselves during clinical cases. Making videos interactive engages the learners and actively involves them with the material presented in the video, so they pay attention and focus on the learning. The interactions in the video are intended to challenge the viewers and make them cognitively effective. With mass production of MBBS doctors and few skilled teachers is going to hamper the performance of basic graduates and Indias vision to serve the common man for basic health will be lost if necessary corrective steps are not executed. The Goal of Medical Education, and the ultimate aim of the MBBS program is not only to enable medical graduates acquire competencies related to knowledge, skill and attitude required of a medical graduate on completion of undergraduate medical education but also to provide sufficient opportunity to them to become familiar with the knowhow of medical informatics that would ultimately help them work efficiently. E-learning has the potential to enhance both the students and teachers educational experience. In addition, students have the ability to review the material to the degree they feel necessary. Collaboration In its effort to create the most desired medical education network, it seeks to collaborate with various partners universities, professional bodies, pharmaceutical companies. We teachers cannot escape from computers and emerging trends in technology for long time, if we wish to survive in profession with competence and dignity.

Dr.T.V.Rao MD Professor of Microbiology, Travancore Medical College, Kollam Kerala Email doctortvrao@gmail.com