Future of Medical Education

Abstract

The last few decades have seen tremendous progress in the field of medical education that includes several innovations in curricular design, instructional designs, delivery and assessment. The theme chosen for our recent International Medical Education Conference (IMEC), “Future of Medical Education”, is essentially to explore how innovations in medical education would influence and impact the way health professionals are trained in the future. The factors that influence the need for a change in medical education has been different at different times; linking clinical education with teaching hospitals in the early part of the century and approaches to learning in the 60’s and 70’s were influential in brining about the earlier changes. In the current scenario, changing societal needs and expectations, the role of regulatory bodies in setting and adhering to global standards, advancements in information technology and technological advances in patient management and health care delivery have necessitated a change in our approach. For medical education to keep pace with these changing expectations is a major challenge. All of the above factors have influenced medical education in a major way and have redefined the roles of the teachers and students. Concomitant to these changes in medical education were the development and progress in medical education research. Research in medical education has contributed substantially to the understanding of the learning process. Educators and institutions today prefer to use evidence to guide educational decision making. Gone are the days when such decisions were largely adopted by personal preferences. Measuring the progress and outcome of medical education has now become a necessity.