Competency-based Medical Education Curriculum Research Articles

Exploring Perceptions of Competency-Based Medical Education in Undergraduate Medical Students and Faculty: A Program Evaluation.

There is limited work exploring competency-based medical education (CBME) in undergraduate medical education. We aimed to assess medical students' and faculty's perception of CBME in the undergraduate medicine setting after its implementation at our institution through a Content, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) program evaluation model. We explored the rationale for the transition to a CBME curriculum (Content), the changes to the curriculum and the teams involved in the transition (Input), medical students' and faculty's perception of the current CBME curriculum (Process), and benefits and challenges of implementing undergraduate CBME (Product). A cross-sectional online survey was delivered over 8-weeks in October 2021 to medical students and faculty as part of the Process and Product evaluation. Medical students displayed greater optimism towards CBME, compared to faculty, in terms of its role in medical education (p<0.05). Faculty were less certain about how CBME was currently implemented (p<0.05), as well as how feedback to students should be delivered (p<0.05). Students and faculty agreed on perceived benefits to CBME implementation. Faculty time commitment to teaching and logistical concerns were reported as perceived challenges. Education leaders must prioritize faculty engagement and continued professional development of faculty to facilitate the transition. This program evaluation identified strategies to aid the transition to CBME in the undergraduate setting.

PERCEPTIONS ABOUT COMPETENCY-BASED MEDICAL EDUCATION IN POSTGRADUATE CURRICULUM AMONG POSTGRADUATES OF A GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE, KAKINADA, ANDHRA PRADESH

Competency-based Medical Education (CBME) has been introduced in Indian medical education by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 2019, for both Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) curricula. CBME curriculum is more learner-friendly and patient-oriented and enables students to acquire desired skills and competencies required to meet the health needs of society. This study is done with the objective to know the perceptions of postgraduates on the implementation of the CBME PG curriculum. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in November 2022 among 105 postgraduates of a Government Medical College. Permissions required were taken and data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire with basic information and a Structured Feedback Questionnaire (SFQ) for CBME PG curriculum containing curriculum, assessment, support, and perception components. Data was entered and analysed in MS Excel, 2016 using descriptive statistics. Results: Preliminary analysis suggests that nearly 45% of the postgraduates have heard about CBME in PG curriculum, and nearly 80% of them had an academic schedule but a majority of them were not competency-based. 100% responded that adequate opportunities were available for self-directed learning and 90.5% responded that faculty helped them in research activities. 79% agreed that internal assessment schedule in advance enabled them to prepare well and, having a good team to work with (86.7%) was of major support. Conclusion: Implementation of CBME in PG curriculum requires attention and focused effort

Impact of curriculum implementation support program workshop on faculty of a Medical College in Panipat district, Haryana, India

Abstract Background: Medical education has changed significantly in the last decades. There is a need for a medical education workshop, that is, Curriculum Implementation Support Program (CISP) at every medical college for every faculty to sensitize medical teachers toward the new curriculum. India’s Medical Council (MCI) introduced competency-based medical education (CBME) in 2019. Further, it has been made mandatory the CISP training of the medical faculty. The CISP workshop provides academic support to faculty members for a smooth transition from the existing curriculum to the CBME curriculum. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the CISP workshop on the participating faculty. Materials and Methods: Twenty-nine medical teachers from preclinical, paraclinical, medical and allied, and surgical and allied departments attended the workshop. The CISP-II workshop was a 2-day workshop mandated by the National Medical Commission (NMC). A prevalidated test comprising various components of CBME was administered to all participants before and after the workshop, and the test was then evaluated for gain in knowledge. At the end of each workshop day, all participants were provided a feedback form to fill out to assess different workshop sessions. At the end of the workshop, a focused group discussion (FGD) was conducted, and all participants’ reflections were obtained. Results: Significant increases in the knowledge (P &lt; 0.01) of the participants were observed through pre- and posttest analyses. All participants thought that workshop comprised interactive lectures as well as practical training. Approximately 90% of participants (n = 26) felt the seminar was informative, beneficial, interactive, and punctual; 76% of participants (n = 22) suggested that to avoid the repetition of the same concepts in several sessions, the duration of the session shall not be more than 60 min. Fifty-five percentage (n = 16) of participants felt it was challenging to implement the CBME curriculum. All the participants felt CISP training must be provided to all faculty members to implement the CBME curriculum effectively. Conclusion: Faculty members with CISP training can better implement the new curriculum with better knowledge and perception of CBME. Given this, MCI should increase the frequency of CISP workshops and include tutors and demonstrators as participants.

A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY TO ASSESS THE PERCEPTION AND CHALLENGES FACED BY THE FACULTY OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETENCY-BASED MEDICAL EDUCATION FOR UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM, MAHARASHTRA.

Introduction: Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) is a modern approach to medical education that is being adopted in medical colleges throughout India. The emphasis on outcome-based teaching, learning, and evaluation techniques has brought about a substantial change in the role of the teacher. In the framework of CBME, faculty development is crucial. The new CBME's implementation will be successful if faculty perceptions are factored into the equation, and problems are addressed. Aim &amp; objectives: To assess the perceptions of the Community Medicine faculty and the challenges they encounter in implementing Competency-Based Medical Education for undergraduate curriculum. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among Community Medicine faculty from all medical colleges of Mumbai between September and November 2022. Faculties were interviewed in person using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire on CBME and non-probability volunteer's opt-in sampling technique was adopted. Responses were entered and analyzed in Microsoft Excel. Results: 56 faculties responded to the questionnaire, majority have undergone at least one faculty development program mandatory for CBME implementation. The majority of the faculty accepted skill training and small group discussion as a useful approach for teaching &amp; learning. Many supported the implementation of family adoption program. Major challenges perceived were lack of uniformity in assessment, interdepartmental cooperation, lack of resources and insufcient training to implement the CBME curriculum. Conclusion: The faculty's perception of the various CBME elements and facets varied greatly, and they were broadly supportive of CBME enforcement. Yet, there are important obstacles in the form of resources and adequate faculty training that need to be addressed by the Medical Education Unit (MEU).

Perspectives of Teachers at Medical Colleges Across India regarding the Competency based Medical Education Curriculum – A Qualitative, Manual, Theoretical Thematic Content Analysis

Background: Competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum has been implemented in India since 2019 with a goal to create an “Indian Medical Graduate” (IMG) possessing requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and responsiveness. Objectives: To explore teachers’ perceptions across India at medical colleges on the newly implemented competency-based medical education curriculum. Methods: This was a qualitative cross?sectional study conducted among teachers working at medical colleges across India, between February and April 2022 (n = 192). The data collection was done using Google forms online survey platform on teachers’ perception regarding CBME, its specific components, and perceived bottlenecks. We analyzed this qualitative data using manual, theoretical thematic content analysis following the steps endorsed in Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework. Results: The majority of the teachers (64.1%) have positively responded to the CBME curriculum’s implementation. However, it came with a caution that the curriculum should continuously evolve and adapt to regional demands. The foundation course, early clinical exposure, and the family adoption program were the specific components of CBME curriculum over which the teachers raised concerns. The need for additional teachers in each department (department-specific teacher or faculty per hundred students ratio to be worked out) and the need for enabling faculty preparedness through adequate training was highlighted. Concerns were also raised regarding implementing CBME with teachers without a medical background (especially in preclinical departments). Conclusion: It is the need of the hour for the curriculum to incorporate a systematic feedback mechanism built into the system, though which such critical appraisals can be meaning collated and acted upon, to ultimately evolve, thereby creating an “Indian Medical Graduate” for the needs of todays’ society.

Novel Osteo Refurbishment Method and Choice of Colouring Materials for Anatomy Specimens.

The introduction of competency-based medical education curriculum and a shifted focus towards self-directed learning (SDL) in medical schools across the world has necessitated a reduction of didactic teaching hours. Museum specimens are an indispensable tool in anatomy teaching and can play a pivotal role in fostering and reinforcing SDL. Coloring of specimens makes it attractive and facilitates understanding anatomy. The aims of this study were: (1) weigh up the two commonly used coloring materials in anatomy viz. acrylic paint and nail polish; and (2) to assess the perception of anatomy students towards a Novel Osteo Refurbishment Method (NORM) for restoration of partially damaged osteology specimens. Undergraduate and postgraduate students of anatomy were recruited in the study. Participants responded to a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. Obtained data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel version 2019. For a comparison of the two coloring agents Mann-Whitney U test was applied to the responses toward the Likert scale-based questionnaire. P-value <0.05 was considered significant. Out of 318 study participants, 63.7% and 36.3% of the respondents were male and female, respectively. 90.5 % were new entrants to university and the remainder 9.5% had a prior university degree. Students found the acrylic paint to be a better coloring agent and they also opined that NORM generated refurbished osteology specimens could serve as a useful self-learning tool. Acrylic paint was found to be more suitable as compared to nail polish with significant p-value in most of the parameters tested. Acrylic colour holds a good place in coloring both specimens and models in anatomy. Nail polish can be an alternative but with some noted disadvantages. The initial experience with NORM yielded encouraging results with potential practical utility.

Assessing the Capability of ChatGPT in Answering First- and Second-Order Knowledge Questions on Microbiology as per Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum.

Background and objective ChatGPT is anartificial intelligence (AI) language model that has been trained to process and respond to questions across a wide range of topics. It is also capable of solving problems in medical educational topics. However, the capability of ChatGPT to accurately answer first- and second-order knowledge questions in the field of microbiology has not been explored so far. Hence, in this study, we aimed to analyze the capability of ChatGPT in answering first- and second-order questions on the subject of microbiology. Materials and methods Based on the competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum of the subject of microbiology, we prepared a set of first-order and second-order questions. For the total of eight modules in the CBME curriculum for microbiology, we prepared six first-order and six second-order knowledge questions according to the National Medical Commission-recommended CBME curriculum, amounting to a total of (8 x 12) 96 questions. The questions were checked for content validity by three expert microbiologists. These questions were used to converse with ChatGPT by a single user and responses were recorded for further analysis. The answers were scored by three microbiologists on a rating scale of 0-5. The average of three scores was taken as the final score for analysis. As the data were not normally distributed, we used a non-parametric statistical test. The overall scores were tested by a one-sample median test withhypothetical values of 4 and 5. The scores of answers to first-order and second-order questions were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test. Module-wise responses were tested by the Kruskall-Wallis test followed by the post hoc test for pairwise comparisons. Results The overall score of 96 answers was 4.04 ±0.37 (median: 4.17, Q1-Q3: 3.88-4.33) with the mean score ofanswers to first-order knowledge questions being 4.07 ±0.32 (median: 4.17, Q1-Q3: 4-4.33) and that of answers to second-order knowledge questions being 3.99 ±0.43 (median: 4, Q1-Q3: 3.67-4.33) (Mann-Whitney p=0.4). The score was significantly below the score of 5 (one-sample median test p<0.0001) and similar to 4 (one-sample median test p=0.09). Overall, there was a variation in median scores obtained in eight categories of topics in microbiology, indicating inconsistent performance in different topics. Conclusion The results of the study indicate that ChatGPT is capable of answering both first- and second-order knowledge questions related to the subject of microbiology. The model achieved an accuracy of approximately 80% and there was no difference between the model's capability of answering first-order questions and second-order knowledge questions. The findings of this study suggest that ChatGPT has the potential to be an effective tool for automated question-answering in the field of microbiology. However, continued improvement in the training and development of language models is necessary to enhance their performance and make them suitable for academic use.

The Reliability of the Resuscitation Assessment Tool (RAT) in Assessing Emergency Medicine Resident Competence in Pediatric Resuscitation Scenarios: A Prospective Observational Pilot Study.

Introduction Emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate medical education in Canada has transitioned from traditional time-based training to competency-based medical education (CBME). In order to promote residents through stages of training, simulated assessments are needed to evaluate residents in high-stakes but low-frequency medical emergencies. There remains a gap in the literature pertaining to the use of evaluative tools in simulation, such as the Resuscitation Assessment Tool (RAT) in the new CBME curriculum design. Methods We completed a pilot study of resident physicians in one Canadian EM training program to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of a simulation-based RAT for pediatric resuscitation. We recorded 10 EM trainees completing simulated scenarios and had nine EM physicians use the RAT tool to evaluate their performances. Generalizability theory was used to evaluate the reliability of the RAT tool. Results The mean RAT score for the management of pediatric myocarditis, cardiac arrest, and septic shock (appendicitis) across raters was 3.70, 3.73, and 4.50, respectively. The overall generalizability coefficient for testing simulated pediatric performance competency was 0.77 for internal consistency and 0.75 for absolute agreement. The performance of senior participants was superior to that of junior participants in the management of pediatric myocarditis (p = 0.01) but not statistically significant in the management of pediatric septic shock (p=0.77) or cardiac arrest (p =0.61). Conclusion Overall, our findings suggest that with an appropriately chosen simulated scenario, the RAT tool can be used effectively for the simulation of high-stakes and low-frequency scenarios for practice to enhance the new CBME curriculum in emergency medicine training programs.

Assessment of students’ perception on self-directed learning, alignment and integration in competency-based medical education curriculum among first year medical undergraduate students

Background: The introduction of competency-based medical education curriculum in India has endorsed many new concepts, like foundation course, self-directed learning, early clinical exposure, etc. There has been paradigm shift from teacher centered to student centered learning. Integration of the curriculum has been evolved as an important strategy in the current system of Competency based medical education and SDL is essential to enable medical students to develop independent learning skills, increased responsibility, assertiveness and accountability which are key attributes to a medical professional’s career. Literature search could not retrieve many studies in Indian context, hence this study was conducted to determine the perception of students’ on self-directed learning, alignment and integration in CBME curriculum among first year medical undergraduate students. Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted among first year medical students. After obtaining informed consent, data was collected using a pre-validated questionnaire having SDL instrument and proforma to assess the students’ perception on alignment and integration. Students were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 174 students completed the questionnaire. The data is expressed as means and percentages. Results: In the present study students opined that SDL helped them to establish their learning goals. Students also opined that alignment and integration is beneficial for in depth understanding of the subject and also to prepare for exams. Conclusions: Incorporation of SDL and aligning and integrated curriculum has helped students in better understanding and correlation of subjects across the phase. The joint efforts by the facilitators and students themselves may be helpful to make students independent and lifelong learners.

Teaching faculty experiences on CBME curriculum in pharmacology – A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study

Background: Many studies were conducted in India among the teaching faculties to understand the challenges before the implementation of new competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum. Studies assessing the experiences and the challenges faced after its implementation are limited. Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the experiences and the challenges faced by the teaching faculties in different medical colleges across India while implementing the new CBME curriculum in pharmacology for the MBBS batch 2019–20 students. Materials and Methods: A 19 item pre-validated questionnaire was shared to faculties through Google Forms with most of the questions having three options for answers, namely, “Agree,” “Disagree,” and “Not sure.” The time-period provided for answering the questions was 2 weeks. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel sheet using descriptive statistics. Results: Majority of the faculties 56 (61.5%) do not agree with national medical commission in terms of number of teaching faculty and infrastructure to implement the CBME curriculum in pharmacology. About 56 (61.5%) of the faculties felt that the number of teaching hours recommended in the CBME curriculum for pharmacology are inadequate to cover all the competencies. Seventy-eight (85.7%) felt that the implementation of CBME curriculum for the 2019–20 batch MBBS students was impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Although faculty development programs played a crucial role in sensitizing faculties to implement CBME curriculum, subject specific problems do persist and the faculties need to motivate themselves to suggest ways to resolve them.

Effect of Self-Directed Learning Module and Assessment on Learning of National Health Programme by Medical Undergraduates - A Mixed Methods Evaluation.

Competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum in India has introduced many new concepts like a foundation course, early clinical exposure, and self-directed learning (SDL). Sometimes SDL simply means self-study. Self-directed learning as defined by Knowles is a process in which individuals take the initiative with or without the help of others in diagnosing their learning needs, setting their own learning goals, identifying appropriate learning resources, and selecting appropriate learning strategies. SDL is seen as a prerequisite for life-long learners, especially medical graduates. We found poor uptake of SDL sessions in terms of learning and attendance by students. To develop and assess the effect of the SDL module in Community Medicine for Phase -3 MBBS students. The study design was a program development and evaluation design. The program development consists of free listing and Nominal Group Technique (NGT). The evaluation design consists of a formative assessment, an end-of-module assessment, and feedback from undergraduate students, postgraduates, and faculties. Data collection procedure: SDL module was developed, agreed and implemented among undergraduates of Phase - 3 MBBS students. Free listing was conducted among undergraduate students who had completed the phase 3 MBBS examination and Nominal Group Technique was conducted among the faculties (n = 7) and Postgraduates of the Department of Community Medicine (n = 2) to explore the appropriate topics for SDL in Community Medicine. The topic with the highest ranking and which was finalized for preparation of the SDL module was "National Health Programme". Three fourth 118 (75%) of the students scored ≥50% at the end of the module assessment. Manual content analysis for the feedback was categorized into three themes such as facilitating factors, challenges, and solutions. Effective implementation and assessment of SDL sessions are one of the new concepts in the CBME curriculum.

Nternal Assessment in Phase I of Medical Undergraduates as per the New Competency-based Medical Education Curriculum

The new Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) curriculum was introduced in August 2019. Phase-I of the CBME curriculum encompasses preclinical subjects, each with its own set of competencies to be assessed according to the new CBME guidelines. Internal Assessment (IA) serves as the foundation of the CBME curriculum and is an essential component of medical education. It is included in Module three of the CBME curriculum and aids in the assessment of various competencies. IA consists of both formative and summative assessments, and employing multiple methods can enhance its effectiveness. The incorporation of regular feedback and remedial measures is crucial within the IA framework. The purpose of present review is to provide a review of the IA in Phase I based on CBME and previous research papers.

A study to assess students’ performance in theory and practical components of final summative pharmacology examination in Non-CBME and CBME curriculum

Background: Competency-based medical education (CBME) has transformed the MBBS curriculum and aims to emphasize the five roles of an Indian medical graduates: clinician, leader, communicator, life-long learner, and professional. Accordingly, various changes have been made in the curriculum and assessment of Phase II students in pharmacology since 2019. The scores in the theory component have changed from 110 to 200, and those in the practical component have changed from 40 to 100. Aims and Objectives: To assess performance of students in the theory and practical components of the final summative pharmacology examination under the CBME curriculum (Batch 2019–20) with the earlier non-CBME curriculum (Batch 2018–19). Materials and Methods: A record-based observational study was conducted at a medical college in Kolkata. The percentage of marks obtained by students in theory and practical components in the CBME batch and in the non-CBME batch (inter-batch comparison) were compared by using an unpaired Student’s t-test. Further scores in theory and practical components were also compared for each batch (intra-batch comparison). Results: Average marks obtained by the students of the non-CBME batch (n = 250) and CBME batch (n = 242) in the theory exam were 64.36% ± 6.14 and 63.69% ± 6.77, and in the practical exam they were 71.51% ± 8.58 and 71.04% ± 6.54, respectively. There is no statistically significant difference in the theory and practical components between non-CBME and CBME batches. The performance in the practical examination compared to the theory examination was significantly better in both the non-CBME and CBME batches (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Major changes and modifications have been made in the curriculum due to the incorporation of CBME. Over the years, more data can be generated on students’ ability to adapt to the CBME curriculum and improve their learning.

A study of teaching module on subcutaneous drug administration and communication skills in pharmacology according to competency-based medical education curriculum

Background: Theory lectures in pharmacology are covering various oral and parenteral routes of drug administration, mainly focusing on knowledge domain, but soft and psychomotor skills were less taught in undergraduate students. Demonstrating correct method of subcutaneous route of drug administration and communication skills as introduced by competency-based medical education (CBME) competency-based curriculum will help in early acquisition of the skills and minimize the errors in administration in insulin, heparin, and vaccines. Aim and Objectives: The aims of this study were to teach the subcutaneous drug administration (S/C) and communication skills to undergraduate students in pharmacology and to evaluate the perception of students and teachers toward new CBME curriculum. Materials and Methods: Correct technique of subcutaneous drug administration was demonstrated on mannequins after browsing through the videos of S/C route. Students were told to perform it independently on mannequins. Perception of students and staff members were collected with pre-validated questionnaire provided after the practical teaching hours. Results: In our study, majority of students (94%) felt that learning S/C route of drug administration correctly will help in managing various patients like administration of insulin in diabetic patients in their near future days. They were well advanced in communicating with patients regarding usage of medications and were (90%) also in favor of introduction of this experiment in UG curriculum. Conclusions: Our study concluded that subcutaneous teaching technique introduced by CBME curriculum in practical classes was well accepted by students and were more confident in soft skills and psychomotor skills at the end of the study.

Implementation of Competency Based Medical Education Curriculum in Paediatrics for Phase 2 MBBS UndergraduatesA Descriptive Study

Introduction: Adoption of Competency Based Medical Education-Undergraduate (CBME-UG) curriculum is made mandatory in medical colleges by National Medical Commission (NMC). CBME-UG curriculum enumerates the expected knowledge and skills in detail and it focuses more on observable outcomes that are important in day-to day medical practice. This curriculum holds the teacher as well as learner equally responsible in running the educational programme. Aim: To put forth the approach adopted in implementation of CBME-UG curriculum for phase 2 MBBS students in paediatric subject. Materials and Methods: This article describes the steps applied in transforming the traditional structured teaching method to the CBME method for undergraduate phase 2 MBBS students in the Department of Paediatrics at Dr. B R Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, during January 2021 to December 2021. The duration of one year was divided into preimplementation phase (three months) and implementation phase (nine months). The faculty of the department, a coordinator to overview the programmeme, the postgraduate residents, and the students of phase 2 MBBS were the stakeholders identified in order to run the CBME-UG educational programmeme. Results: Preimplementation phase consisted of designing the department module and sensitisation of involved stakeholders. The contents of the module were curriculum planner for three years, time-table plan for phase II MBBS students, structuring of teaching sessions, designing the assessment method, and designing the feedback method. Implementation phase during clinical postings for the phase II MBBS students incorporated the strategies designed in preimplementation phase. The teaching sessions, assessment, the feedback sessions, and student-doctor programmeme were implemented with realistic and feasible planning. Conclusion: The CBME curriculum was successfully implemented among undergraduate second year medical students in term of student feedback and performance. It was noted that appropriate planning and sensitisation of students as well as the teachers, helped in running the programme smoothly.

Perception of first MBBS students toward online formative assessment in biochemistry

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected all the educational activities including medical education and there is a substantial shift from direct classes to online platforms. Competency-based medical education (CBME), or otherwise refereed as formative assessment orchestrate a prominent role in increasing the students capacity of learning. This method of teaching guides the students to measure the performance over a period of time and also improves the students’ knowledge gap. Aim and Objectives: The present study was carried to evaluate the perception and attitude of students toward online assessment during the formative assessment in 1st year MBBS degree in biochemistry subject. The study also aimed to assess practical difficulty and feasibility of conducting online assessment as a part of formative assessment as per CBME curriculum. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 124 1st year MBBS students and the students were informed about the assessment in 15 days advance. The perception and attitude of the students toward online assessment was done using 20 items structured questionnaire administered through Google forms. The students’ response was measured using 5-point Likert scale. Results: Among the 124 students, 42 (39.6%) were aware about online assessment. About 57.5% of students preferred any type of gadgets such as desktops, laptops, and smart phones. Most of the students 84.5% obtained 50–75% for a total score of 25. Around, 51.9% of students responded that online teaching is more feasible, and 74.5% reported that there is connectivity problem during online platform. In this study, 46.2% online assessment is safe and 41.5% strongly disagree that distraction from home environment did not affect the online assessment. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the students are more interested in MCQ-based question assessment for the knowledge assessment. Further, they opined in favor of online education but with some demerits.

Perceptions of 1st-year MBBS students and 1st-year medical faculties toward AETCOM-based medical curriculum

Background: The field of medical education is constantly evolving to meet the demands of an ever-changing health-care landscape. To address the dynamic challenges faced by medical professionals, medical colleges across the globe are adopting innovative and comprehensive approaches to curriculum design. One such approach that has gained significant attention is the attitude, ethics, and communication (AETCOM) based medical curriculum, which emphasizes developing not only clinical knowledge and technical skills but also ethical values, empathetic communication, and a patient-centric approach among medical students. Aim and Objective: This study aims to record the perceptions of medical students and faculties regarding the effectiveness of AETCOM modules. Materials and Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study performed in October 2022 where a pre-validated questionnaire consisting of components of AETCOM was e-mailed to the 1st-year MBBS students of Jhalawar Medical College and teaching faculties of Jhalawar Medical College through Google Forms. The results were analyzed by statistics is a statistical software suite 23.0 (trail version) and the Chi-square test was used for data analysis and P &lt; 0.05 is considered significant. Results: About 95% of students have positive perceptions regarding the mandatory inclusion of AETCOM competencies. However, only 73.3% of faculties have positive perceptions regarding the mandatory inclusion of AETCOM competencies and 26.7% completely disagree with the beneficial role of mandatory inclusion of AETCOM competencies in competency-based medical education curriculum. Conclusions: A hybrid problem-oriented approach is one of the most effective ways for students to promote communication skills, in building doctor-patient relationships and understanding the professional qualities and roles of a physician.

Online teaching, learning, and health outcomes: Impact on medical undergraduate students.

Online education has become a norm since the pandemic and it was a complete change for the medical curriculum. Many students missed patient interaction, which was a crucial part of their learning. This study was designed to know the perceptions of online teaching of both the non-competency-based medical education (non-CBME) and competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, learning outcomes, and health-related problems due to online teaching-learning in medical undergraduates. It was an online survey done after ethics approval. The survey questionnaire was sent to all medical undergraduates via email or WhatsApp and responses were recorded after informed consent. The total number of students who completed the survey was 346. 66% of students found that online classes were not as enjoyable as offline. 66% found them time-saving with learning at their own pace. 85% felt they learned no clinical skills, and 80.6% said there was a lack of practical demonstrations. 71% experienced digital fatigue, 62% missed learning in a group, and 73% felt the poor motivation to study. Only 30% and 18.7% were confident enough to take a history or do an examination of the patient, respectively, after online clinics. 33% were confident to appear for university theory and only 11% for practical exams. The health problems faced due to online teaching included somatic complaints, sleep disturbances anxiety, and depressive symptoms in 40% of students. The students were dissatisfied with online teaching. Learning outcomes were affected, as they were not confident to appear for university exams. Hence, though teaching happened during the pandemic, the online education imparted revealed lacunae and health effects.

Family adoption program in medical education and role of community medicine in its implementation in India: An overview

Abstract The Family Adoption Program (FAP) is an innovative and crucial aspect of the latest competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum proposed by the National Medical Commission. This review article provides an in-depth analysis of the FAP’s incorporation into the CBME framework, highlighting its potential impact on medical education, and patient care. We explore the rationale behind its implementation, the core competencies it aims to develop, and the benefits it offers to both medical students and the community. Furthermore, we discuss the role of community medicine in its implementation. Lastly, we analyzed the challenges and future prospects of the FAP in shaping the healthcare landscape.

Flipped classrooms in teaching pharmacology for medical undergraduate students – A comparative study

Background: The new competency-based medical education curriculum envisages the need to adopt newer teaching-learning methods. There is a growing concern about the effective dissemination of knowledge to a large group of students through conventional didactic lectures. Flipped classroom teaching has evolved as an innovative method and is a systematic approach to improving the student learning experience. Aims and Objectives: The present study was undertaken (1) to compare the effectiveness of flipped classroom methods with that of the lecture as a teaching learning method in pharmacology for undergraduate medical students and (2) evaluate the students’ perception of the flipped method. Materials and Methods: This study was done in the Department of Pharmacology in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Kerala after ethics committee approval. Two groups of students enrolled using the convenient sampling method, received three flipped classes and three lectures on the topics after crossover. Feedback was collected using a validated structured questionnaire and a common evaluation after each topic was done with a pre-validated multiple choice questions questionnaire. Results: This study has examined the perceptions of students about flipped teaching method using various teaching materials on a Likert 5-point scale. The findings indicate that flipped classroom was a better teaching method. The mean scores of flipped classrooms were high and it was found to be significant (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that flipped classroom is more effective for students when compared to lectures. An implication of this is the possibility that it can be used as an adjunctive method in the new curriculum.