The role a teacher has to play in shaping the next generation has been recognized by all cultures of all periods. While a teacher trains the minds of children and makes them responsible citizens, a medical teacher has a more challenging job. The students are to be trained not only as mature citizens but also as caretakers of the health of the next many generations. No doubt they are to be taught about the intricacies of the human body, the deviations from normal and the interventions needed at various stages; but more importantly the sense of responsibility, humane consideration and commitment to the society must be inculcated. It is not enough that our students become knowledgeable & compassionate caregivers; they should also be good teachers and managers. They should also uphold the traditions of this noble profession and ensure that the light is carried on to future generations as well.

However the majority of teachers entering the medical education service do not receive significant exposure to the scientific aspects of teaching. It is said that any knowledge skill can be learned at any stage of life. We should be aware of the various methodologies in teaching, learning, evaluation, certification and updating.

Aim: To improve the quality of medical education by training the teachers

Objectives:

• To sensitize teachers about new concepts in teaching and assessment methods,
• To develop knowledge and clinical skills required for performing the role of competent and effective teacher, administrator, researcher and mentor,
• To assist clinicians to acquire competency in communication, ethics and behavioral skills
• To update knowledge using modern information and research methodology tools.

The Medical Council of India, by the MCI Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, made it mandatory for all medical colleges to establish Medical Education Units / Departments of Medical Education in order to enable faculty members to avail modern education technology for teaching. In order to boost this activity, Basic Course Workshops in Medical Education Technologies are being conducted by the medical regulator since 2009 through selected Regional and Nodal Centres, (Nodal Centres are upgraded regional Centres) located at medical colleges with required infrastructural and trained manpower.

The 12 Regional Centres (tier I Centres) conduct Workshops in (1) Basic Course Workshop (BCW) in Medical Education Technologies, (2) Attitude, Ethics and Communication Module (AETCOM), and (3) Curriculum Implementation Support Program (CISP). The 10 Nodal Centres, in addition to these three types of Workshops, also conduct Advance Course in Medical Education (ACME).

TRAINING

This program has been ongoing since 2009 though the contents have undergone periodic revisions, keeping in mind the changing needs of faculty and advances in medical education.

In 2015, teaching of the AETCOM module was mandatorily introduced in the Faculty Development Program along with the 3-day revised Basic Course Workshop.The module was published in 2018 and is available on NMC Website.

The AETCOM module endeavors to strike a balance between the five identified roles of an ‘Indian Medical Graduate (IMG)’ viz; Clinician, Leader and Member of health care team, Communicator, Life-long learner and Professional, right from the first professional year of training. This module is based on the premise that changing a person's attitude can change his/her behavior. The proposed teaching-learning and assessment methods for implementation of this module are also given across the three professional years. It was envisaged that the successful implementation of the AETCOM module will be the forerunner of the transition to competency based undergraduate medical education program proposed by and implemented now by the Regulator.

The revision of the Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum to the competency based pattern in 2018 required focused training of faculty in the medical colleges on the content and nuances of the new competency based curriculum. Considerable logistical and educational handholding was provided in a well-planned CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT PROGRAMI. During the second year of implementation of the competency based UG curriculum, the program of CISP I was tweaked to include subjects which were part of the second year of the Competency based UG curriculum and CISP II is of two-days duration and is under implementation from 01-02-2020, mainly in the on-line mode due to COVID-19 pandemic.

At SNIMS

We have been conducting the Basic Course Workshops since 2014 & AETCOM since 2015. The latest was held in December 2021. We have also conducted CISP I & II.