Mentoring is a word thrown around much in today’s educational context. Questions which frequently crop up are: Why should I mentor? What aspects constitute mentoring? How should institutions support mentoring? Here is a brief overview of these themes. Why should I mentor? Each one of us would have been mentored by another individual(s) and much of our personal/professional growth would be due to the guidance of the mentor. The mentor-mentee relationship is at the heart of the

Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) is a teaching-learning methodology, which fosters exposure of medical students to patients as early as in the first year of medical college. The goals of ECE are to provide social relevance and a context for application of the basic science teaching. The outcomes are: gain in medical knowledge, achieving few basic clinical skills, and internalizing a wide range of attitudes. The learning experiences offered in the preclinical phase play an import

The ultimate g oal of medical colleges in India or anywhere else in the world is to improve the health of people, be it physical, mental or social. This is invariably attempted by juggling the three-pronged approach of educating the future health professionals; conducting relevant clinical research; and delivering comprehensive patient care. To make this possible, amalgamation of the social determinants such as behaviour, environment and social conditions and the values assoc

One oft-heard complaint from teachers in medical schools in India is that students don’t attend lectures. The woes of low attendance in theory classes are a repeated refrain from administrators. And this isn’t a problem just restricted to India. Worldwide, schools are beginning to realize that even the best lecturers are not always successful in attracting students to lectures. Clearly, the traditional lecture isn’t doing too much to engage students. Teachers need to think of

Innovations pave the way for most of the progress that has occurred in the field of medicine. This holds equally true for medical education. Various innovative approaches in the field of education have significantly increased student’s engagement and improved understanding, leading to improved outcomes of education. While innovation is motivated by teachers’ expectations that a new approach will benefit students, the reality is that not all innovations will result in improved

Health humanities use subjects traditionally known as the humanities for specific purposes in health professions education. Various subjects like literature, philosophy, drama, music, and fine arts are used to explore various topics in the health humanities. Different teaching-learning activities like book readings, role-plays, critical analysis, musical performances, painting, and photography are used. Paintings have been used in several countries. Using paintings in health

Simulations are being used in the airline industry for training, re-training and certification. For the airline industry, safety is of paramount importance. Medical services also look at safety as a very important parameter. Risk reduction strategies are being used in these two areas. Medical education curricula have been trying to use simulation-based learning (SBL) for years. Simulations are presently being used for skill acquisition and assessment. However, the following d