Medical Education and Research

Microscope- Identifying parts.

2009-02-03T13:11:00.001+05:30

-MCI regulations change Medical education policy

2009-01-13T12:54:00.001+05:30

With the Indian Medical Council Act (1956) likely to be amended soon, medical education in India may soon witness some major changes,
including opening up of the sector for private firms as well as diluting the existing norms for a college with 100 MBBS seats.

Private firms and companies, registered under the Companies Act, will be allowed to start medical colleges according to a notification on the Medical Council of India (MCI) website posted on December 1, 2008.

The new regulations, which are a modification of the last amended act of 1999, is being termed as 'minimum requirements for 100 MBBS admissions annually regulations (amendment), 2008-Part II'. It clearly states that the MCI amended the act with the sanction of the union government.

Confusion has reigned in medical circles that the government has asked the MCI to withdraw the amendment. However, Dr P C Kesavankutty Nair, the acting MCI president, said, "The question of withdrawing does not arise at all as it was the government which had asked the MCI to make the amendments. Its executive committee members too were consulted. The government, however, is apparently not satisfied with the changes in toto. But we have requested it to reconsider the amendment."

KVS Rao, the deputy secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare and also the director of medical education, said it was true that the MCI had made the amendments on union government's direction. "But we are not fully satisfied with the changes as it has not incorporated all our suggestions," he said. "The government will be holding a meeting with the MCI soon and the issue will be resolved in about 2-3 weeks."

The teachers' community as well as medical students
in the state are objecting to these changes. They claim that the amendments will "dilute" the quality of medical education. However, Rao sees no harm in the changes. "The new changes are being made taking into consideration the Supreme Court's directives on misuse of these norms by private colleges or any institutions in their favour. Government is not easing the norms to suit the private colleges at all. The amendments are being made taking into consideration all the checks and balances as per the court's direction," he said.

Rao said that the regulations were being changed to create conditions for producing more and better doctors. "As of now there is a shortage of medical teachers. We already need to switch to modern technology like distance education or video lectures to keep the medical education going," Rao said.

SUGGESTED CHANGES

The amended IMC Act for 100 MBBS seats with additions/modifications/deletions/substitutions includes the following:

The existing act allows only the institutions registered with the charity commissioner or under the societies registration act to open medical colleges. But now firms registered under companies act can also start medical colleges

The earlier act includes 21 subjects including clinical and non clinical subjects with specified staff requirements along with norms for campus area, hospital structure and staff etc, library and other mandatory requirements for 100 MBBS seats. The new regulation has cut down the teaching and non teaching staff requirements for non clinical subjects to almost half

Under schedule I clause A 1.1 for campus area, the new amendment demands at least 25 acres of land for medical college housed in an unitary campus and this may be relaxed in cases of metros or cities with populations above 25 lakhs, hilly areas and notified tribal areas where land should not be in more than two pieces and the distance between the two should not exceed 10 kms.

The hospital, college building including library and hostels for students, interns, residents and nurses should be in one piece of land which should not be less than the 10 acres. However the new act comes with a rider that permission will be withdrawn if the colleges resort to commercialization.

-Medical education in Gujarat, India.

2009-01-10T13:49:00.001+05:30

AHMEDABAD: In the country, there is one doctor for every 1,538 persons, but Gujarat which boasts of one of best facilities has a doctor for every
2,346 people.

What's more, it is not just Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh that beat state when it comes to number of medical seats, but even a tiny union territory of Pondicherry has 1,175 seats, just a couple of hundred less than 1,505 seats of Gujarat!

This is reflected in infant and maternal mortality rates in Gujarat which are far higher than most states. In times of rapid industrial investment, on Saturday, as powerful and brilliant minds of medical fraternity meet to celebrate platinum jubilee celebrations of Medical Council of India amid participation from top politicians, including Narendra Modi, they would do well to mull upon this poor medical education infrastructure in state.

Annually, nearly 500 students from state pack their bags off to other states with rich medical education infrastructure draining a revenue of 300 crore to other states. Many students are reported to pay a donation upwards of Rs 25 lakh.

State's spending on a medical students - Rs 40 lakh

Fee charged by the government- Rs 30,000

No wonder, limited number of doctors do not want to work in rural areas and prefer practising in cities forcing government to launch schemes like Chiranjeevi where the government pays private doctors to do institutionalise deliveries and decrease Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).

Private Equity in Medical education

2009-01-06T00:43:00.001+05:30

PPP model may inject more funds into medical education- Education-Services-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

It seems that finally the Government has woken up and smelt the coffee.
Medical education is BIG business, and you cant keep big players out of this by allowing only Trusts and non-profits to start new medical colleges.( many of which are Sham)

Medical education may soon become a profit-making venture and private
players investing in it would have to pay tax on the profit they

make from it.
The government is considering a proposal to allow private sector investments in
medical education under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The idea is
to encourage investment in the sector to meet the shortage of medical
professionals in the country.

At present, only governments,
universities, trusts or charitable societies can set up medical colleges.
Private companies, which want to establish medical education centres, can do so
only through a not-for-profit organisation and are exempt from income
tax.

With the changed norms in place, private players are likely to
face lesser entry barriers while making big investments in the medical education
sector. “We have finalised the proposal to relax the norms for setting up
medical colleges. The new guidelines include private sector participation
through PPP model among other things. We have already submitted the proposal to
the Medical Council of India,” a health ministry official close to the
development told ET.

E&Y partner (risk advisory services) Kali
Prasad said: “The move will attract private sector participation including
private equity into medical education. This will help companies to make
investments and make reasonable returns over time while the government will also
benefit as companies will have to pay tax.”

The new guidelines
seek to relax other rigid regulations such as land area restrictions and the
teacher-to-student ratio. “The proposals also suggest that medical
colleges may be allowed to have minimum 25 acres in two locations within 12 km,
instead of the 25 acres of contiguous land required now,” the official
said.

The move came after the Planning Commission had recommended
opening of the medical education sector for private sector participation to
increase the supply of human resources at all levels while the country is facing
an acute shortage of professionals in the healthcare sector. According to a
Planning Commission report, for every 10,000 Indians, there is one doctor. India
is short by around six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and two lakh dental
surgeons.

“A group headed by the secretary of health has
examined and actively considered relaxing the norms for investing in medical
education. We are looking at an option to completely open up private sector
participation and also easing infrastructure norms. A notification to this
effect may be made soon by the health ministry,” a senior Planning
Commission official said.

The move is expected to boost corporate
chains, most of which have planned to set up medical education hubs to meet its
human resources need. Delhi-based Fortis Healthcare has plans of setting up 10
medical cities in the next 10 years with an investment of over Rs 5,000 crore.

-mLearning in Medical Education

2009-01-02T15:41:00.002+05:30

Image via Wikipedia

Smartphones helping Medical Students » Mobile Computing News

Personalization of the learning process makes learning that much more enjoyable and interesting. The "One size fits All" just doesn't work. AND Laptops are not the only way to deliver learning content.

Till now the smartphones were used to communicate effectively, browse the Internet, share data
and enjoy movies, music and photos. But for the first time these devices have been optimised to help medical students at the University of Louisville. This is all thanks to Sprint, which has signed the contract with the university and agreed to provide Windows Mobile smartphones, such as the Palm Treo 800w or the HTC Touch Diamond P3700, at discounted prices to university students. Using the wireless technology the students will be able to enhance their learning and improve their clinical treatments.

The special things about these smartphones is that they will come loaded with relevant medical applications like ePocrates and medical drug reference databases that can be used by the professors, medical practitioners and students to access the university e-mail programme and address.

Edward Halperin, dean of the School of Medicine said, “Sprint’s wireless technology will allow our students to access a virtual library of textbooks and medical references. We believe it is worth investigating whether or not giving medical students these tools and technology will enhance their knowledge and sharpen their decision making. Ultimately, our graduates will require these skills as outstanding physicians. It is important to assess the role of technology in the acquisition of clinical skills.”

According to Stephanie Ferguson, general manager of the Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft Corp, “The wireless industry is experiencing an incredible increase in smartphone adoption within specialized fields such as medicine. Students at the University of Louisville can get the most out of their medical education and professional careers through the use of our familiar, customizable Windows Mobile smartphones.”

Read my other posts on similar lines Here.

Help me win a similar device by clicking Here.

-iPod in Medical education

2008-12-23T13:32:00.002+05:30

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

At the Ohio State University Medical Center, the iPod Touch is literally what the doctor ordered. The university announced this week that all students in the College of Medicine would receive the devices, which the university plans to equip with medical software.

Justin Harper, a third-year medical student credited with the idea of distributing the wifi-enabled audio-and-video players, says the iPod Touch will allow him to listen to lectures during his commute to school and will put current medical information at his fingertips. He will be able to pull up graphics, watch videos of medical procedures, and search medical reference books. Perhaps more importantly, he says, he will be able to answer patients’ questions more quickly and without leaving their sides.

“It just makes [everything] faster,” he said. “We can have it there when we need it.”

Other medical schools have also incorporated iPods or other portable media players in their training. At Temple University, students use iPods to listen to recordings of heart murmurs. At the University of Michigan, students use “Dr. iPod,” a program that lets them review lectures and patient presentations on their iPods. Ohio State University, however, appears to be the first to give the devices away.

-COMED-K test on its way out?

2008-12-13T12:26:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Front Page : COMED-K test on its way out?

Bangalore: The State Government is exploring the possibility of combining the Common Entrance Test (CET) and Under-Graduate Entrance Test (UGET), conducted by the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMED-K). This was one of the major topics discussed at a preliminary meeting between CET officials and managements of private engineering colleges, here on Thursday.
Another meeting

Arvind Limbavali, Minister for Higher Education, who chaired the meeting, told presspersons that the Government had just initiated discussions. “The managements have asked for time as they cannot take decisions unilaterally. We have scheduled another meeting on January 13. We will see what they propose and take it forward,” he said.

He said the Government’s proposal stems from the intention to reduce the burden on students.

“The Government has decided to conduct CET over two days. Counselling will also be conducted in two places other than Bangalore. These initiatives have been taken for the benefit of the students,” he said.
Medical seats

The Minister said that the discussions with regard to medical seats were not held. “Minister for Medical Education Ramachandra Gowda has gone to the U.S. along with Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. We will discuss medical education during the January 13 meeting,” he added. The meeting did not discuss seat-sharing, he said.

On fee subsidy for engineering students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he said several of the students had received subsidy only for one year. Students had been urging the Government to provide the subsidy for the remaining three years. “The issue will be placed before the Cabinet,” he added.

Michel Taillet on medical e-learning with Dokeos

2008-12-08T00:53:00.001+05:30

Just a short 5 minute video on process of creating medical courseware for educating Doctors and Medical personnel.Though Michael is talking about education in Radiotherapy, the findings can be easily extended over most other medical subjects.

The initial reactions of students is very "promising" and he sees good profits in this sector.
Very sharp.

-New Jobs at MEdRC

2008-11-25T16:53:00.001+05:30

Professor in Anatomy , MEdRC EduTech Ltd , Hyderabad / Secunderabad

New Jobs at MEdRC Edutech Ltd.

Desired Candidate Profile

Postgraduates in Anatomy who can Review, Edit and Visualize creative Multimedia Enhancements for each Anatomy lesson. Working knowledge of computers is a must and exposure to multimedia software is preferred.

Company Profile

MEdRC EduTech Limited is a Company developing a large online Virtual Medical University program that involves the development of over 7500 medical lessons in the form of Video Lectures, Flash and 3D Animations and Web development.

Contact Details

Company Name:

MEdRC EduTech Ltd

Website:

http://www.medrcedutech.com

Email Address:

hr@medrcedutech.com

Telephone:

040-23316223

-Education center for medical students-

2008-11-09T14:15:00.001+05:30

Medical education centre to open next year (From South Wales Argus)

A NEW education centre for medical students will open at the Royal Gwent Hospital next spring, eight years after plans to boost training facilities were first revealed.

A new £800,000 facility is being built behind the main hospital complex, next to the administration and nursing blocks on Friars Field - and it is set to be well-used.

This year, more than 1,000 medical students will spend time in Gwent hospitals, which take more students for part of their training than any other part of Wales except Cardiff and the Vale. Many of them are based at the Royal Gwent.

That represents a 16 per cent increase in just four years, and with work experience programmes set to start up again later this month, training space is at a premium.

Plans for a multi-million pound, state-of-the-art medical education centre on the site of 64 Cardiff Road, on the corner of the Clytha Square, were dashed in May 2007 by opposition from residents and city councillors after years on the drawing board.

But some sort of facility is needed at the Royal Gwent to bridge the gap before the new Specialist and Critical Care Centre - proposed for the Llanfrechfa Grange Hospital site - is built. That could be four or five years away.

The centre being built at the Royal Gwent includes a multidisciplinary library service for the hospital, with 24-hour access to a large book, journal and study area, and an extensive computer suite.

There will also be a clinical skills lab, seminar room and a common room and locker area for undergraduate medical students, and a simulation and clinical skills suite for use by all professions in Gwent Healthcare Trust.

The two-storey building will also house the trust's medical photography and illustration centre. It will be completed next April.

-New jobs @ MEdRC-

2008-11-07T12:30:00.001+05:30

Sr.Network Administrator , MEdRC EduTech Ltd , Hyderabad / Secunderabad

Job description-

-Installation and administration of Windows Vista / NT / XP/ 98 servers
and clients, MS Office, E-Mail, Internet connections and hardware.

-Maintaining servers and clients as well as resolving all security problems.

-Designing and executing installation

Desired Candidate profile-

-Minimum 5 years of experience in system administration

-Having MCSE ( 2000 or 2003 ) / CCNA Certifications

-Having excellent organisational, communication, analytical and troubleshooting skills

-Having good working knowledge in Microsoft applications

Company Name:

MEdRC EduTech Ltd

Website:

http://www.medrcedutech.com

Email Address:

hr@medrcedutech.com

Telephone:

040-23316223

Reference ID:

Network Administrator with 5 yrs of Exp

- E.learning @ NTR university of health sciences.

2008-11-05T21:24:00.002+05:30

MedRC provides e-Learning opportunities in health sciences

MedRC provides e-Learning opportunities in health sciences

The recent launch of e-Learning programs at the Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences Digital Library at Vijayawada should prove to be a blessing for many health sciences graduate and post graduate aspirants.

NRTUHS provides various graduate and post-graduate courses in Health Sciences to more than 60,000 students through its 300 affiliated colleges.

The First Year Basic Sciences syllabus mapped to the MCI prescribed curriculum for MBBS subjects of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry are being provided at the NTRUHS Digital Library now. Since these subjects cover Basic Sciences concepts, they are also useful for students of BDS and could be useful for students of Nursing and Paramedical courses too.

The Medical Education Research Centre for Education technologies (MEdRC EduTech) is converting the entire MBBS curriculum (as prescribed by the M.C.I.) into a series of over 7500 multimedia enhanced digital lectures.

The lectures are delivered by Professors who are invited from various medical colleges across India, captured on video and subsequently enhanced by a team of doctors and multimedia professionals by adding multimedia elements in the form of slides, graphics, illustrations, 2D and 3D animation , etc.

In addition MEdRC is developing e-Learning courses for Pharmacy, Dental, Nursing, Paramedical, Hospital Staff Training, and for Village Health Workers (in various Indian languages). MEdRC also captures and delivers modules for Continuing Medical Education through tie ups with various medical teaching organizations

The lecture-on-demand system also allows weaker students who are currently unable to cope up to catch up and learn at their own pace, place and time using a simple interactive interface. The program is interactive – it allows a student to choose any subject and take any lecture – students can even search for a topic and see the related lecture.

While taking the lesson, students can visualize the concepts through related animations. MEdRC has started offering these SmarTeach e-learning courses in truly interactive mode at the Digital Library at its own centers in Hyderabad.

The University's vision to provide Digitized Medical Education method of teaching to all the NTRUHS affiliated colleges will facilitate the Faculty with rich media tools and will allow 70% of the teachers' time to be released from giving repetitive didactic lectures delivering factual information and rather involve students to apply facts and learn more of required skills.

Students and the faculty will save their precious time through these Programs which can be available 24/7 within the convenience of one's own college.

- Podcasting from Yale medical library-

2008-10-30T00:03:00.001+05:30

Yale medical library published an interesting study-cum-project-cum-guide for use of screencasts and podcasts by medical learners.

The study finds many more off-campus users of the medical podcasts and videos than on-campus users. Not surprisingly, the cost benefits were very obvious. What i found particularly arresting was the suggestion of using only 1 to 3 minute long videos for teaching purposes. I would have thought that Ten minute videos would prove very effective. But apparently, yale students have difficulty viewing high quality content for more than a couple of minutes!!

See this slideshow for the complete report.

Screencasting and Podcasting: Experience of the Yale Medical Library

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: cla yale)

-iPhone for Anatomy -

2008-10-27T23:14:00.001+05:30

The uses of iphone in Medical education are endless. Heres another iphone app for Nettler"s anatomy. Very useful.

-A radio channel for Medical education-

2008-10-24T12:43:00.002+05:30

ReachMD(TM) Launches First Ever Continuing Medical Education (CME) iPhone Application for Doctors - International Business Times -

CHICAGO,

Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ReachMD XM satellite radio channel 157 has
launched the first ever-continuing medical education (CME) application
for the Apple iPhone and iTouch. This application will allow users to
listen to fully accredited CME programs, get exclusive updates on new
CME content each week, and take CME tests for credit with one click on
their iPhone or iTouch.

In announcing this new application, Gary Epstein, CEO of ReachMD,

said,"Busy physicians are seeking convenient and high quality medical
education to stay current and to fulfill requirements. It is our mission
to deliver the best medical information and education available today in
a multi-channel platform. This new iPhone application adds to all of our
other innovative ways to reach medical professionals and provides access
to the latest medical news and information in their car, online at home
or the office, and now with their iPhone."

This application offers quick and easy access to medical education,
CME fulfillment, and specialty topics. Features of the one-of-a-kind
application include:

* CME exams directly on the iPhone
* Historical reference of past and ongoing CME exams
* Keyword search for specific programs
*Automatic updates of new CME programs
* New program and content alerts

For more information on the new CME application for the Apple iPhone
andiTouch, visit http://www.reachmd.com/iphone.aspx.

ReachMD broadcasts 24/7 over the XM
satellite network as the first and only national radio station designed
specifically for medical professionals. Their original programming
includes interviews with world-renowned physicians covering
professional topics within clinical medicine,treatment, research,
executive management, government policies, technology and global health
issues, among others. Visit ReachMD on XM Channel 157 or
at http://www.reachmd.com.

Cool.

-Hand devices in medical education-

2008-10-22T18:00:00.001+05:30

Life as a Healthcare CIO: The Kindle for Medical Education

Medicine is much identified by thick large books. There were numerous jokes on the sheer size of the books. Medical students were advised to use their books for their gyming and weight training.But all has changed.

Studying medicine has become less physically taxing during medical school and after wards.An encouraging use of hand held devices in Medical education is outlined here by use of Kindle.

Similar uses of handheld devices to view documents and more (word/powerpoints/pdfs/videos) is a very good innovation in medical education.

An iPhone (or an iPod)can be put to similar good use in medical education. The medical students should all be issued one pre-configured iphone on their admissions. Ensuring such individualized reach to every student would yield HUGE benefits in trainings and expenditure on medical books and journals. WiFi access via iphone/hand held devices is the clear way to go for medical colleges in India.

Another added benefit of using such devices is the accompanying swing towards use of evidence-based-medicine and confirming that one has the Numbers-needed-to-treat.

- Changing pattern of Medical entrance exam-

2008-10-21T11:24:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : National : Apex court nod for objective tests in medical exams

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday approved the Central Board of
Secondary Education’s proposal to have objective type tests in both the
preliminary and final examinations for filling the 15 per cent all
India quota for admissions to medical/dental courses in 2009.

A Bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P.
Sathasivam approved the modified scheme, evolved by the CBSE, after it
faced problems in the present system of examinations, viz preliminary
tests with objective type and final tests with non-objective type.

In its application the CBSE submitted that the non-objective type
evaluation was most time consuming after the conduct of preliminary
tests. Further due to paucity of time left for counselling after the
declaration of result, “it becomes very difficult to conduct both the
rounds of counselling within the stipulated time limit.” It further
said “due to the introduction of non-objective type pattern of
examination, not only are the candidates under tremendous stress, but
there is also inevitably a large element of subjectivity involved in
the evaluation.”

The CBSE said that in the light of the difficulties experienced
during the last five years, there was an urgent need to review the
examination system to remove the flaws of the existing system without
affecting the quality of the candidates selected. A high-level
committee had recommended that both the preliminary and final
examinations should be conducted with objective type questions.

The preliminary examination will have 200 questions and each
question will carry four marks for a right answer and a negative mark
for a wrong answer. The final examination will have 120 objective type
questions and will be assessed in the same manner as the preliminary
examination.

The application sought a direction to permit the CBSE to conduct
the all-India pre-medical and dental entrance examination for 2009 as
per the revised scheme.

-Gujarat Medical colleges to become "smart"-

2008-10-19T11:22:00.001+05:30

Lecture theatres at six medical colleges to become ‘smart’

Ahmedabad, October 18 : To make the students conversant with e-learning systems, the lecture theatres of six Government medical colleges of the state will now be equipped with LCD projectors, laptops, interactive board, interactive pads and air conditioners. The echo-proof room will be converted into ‘smart lecture theatres’ to facilitate a better learning process for the students

A provision for grants for the upgradation of these theatres was decided upon at a meeting called by the director of health services, recently.

A grant of Rs 10 lakh has been given to the Baroda Medical College for the same. Dean A T Lehua said, “At least one classroom each will have to be developed as per the set format in all the six colleges.”

An investment of around Rs 25 lakh is needed for the same, he added. At present, the classrooms do not have air conditioning. Moreover, the professors use their personal laptops to give lectures and there are no interactive pads or boards as well, he added.

The grants to equip them differ from college to college, depending on the strength of the college and the level of upgradation required.

The Director of Medical Education, Dr Vitlani said, “The completion of the process will depend on the quantum of the work required. The colleges will soon chart out plans to implement it

-India provides Medical education via Technology-

2008-10-17T12:19:00.001+05:30

PGI to impart medical education, treatment guidelines to hospital in Bhutan
October 16, 2008
The Telemedicine project of the Post Graduate Institute of
Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) was connected with the Jigme
Dorji Wangchuck National
Referral Hospital (JDWNRH), Thimphu in Bhutan, on Thursday as part of
its project to connect with the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) nations.

The PGI, through this programme, has been connected with Bhutan for
imparting medical education and assisting in the treatment of patients
by rendering medical advice. Sources at the PGI said it is the first
institute in the country, to be connected with another.

Professor K K Talwar, Director, PGIMER and Dr N Tenzin,
Medical Director, JDWNRH, held discussions regarding the new facility
on Thursday.

“The service will be provided by Telecommunication India
Ltd (TCIL), New Delhi by MPLS through BSNL. This is for the first time
that international connectivity will be used for the exchange of
medical advice on both sides on a regular basis,” said Dr Meenu Singh,
coordinator for SAARC Telemedicine Network, at PGI

The programme has been launched under the SAARC Telemedicine Network, an endeavour of the Ministry f External Affairs (MEA).

Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier announced that
international connectivity would be established at the PGI, a few
months ago.

“Bhutan is the first SAARC country to be connected under the
project. The link with Sri Lanka will be established next.
Subsequently, all the SAARC nations will be covered through
telemedicine at the PGI,” Dr Singh added.

Original news item here.

-Distant rumblings against status quo in medical education-

2008-10-16T22:49:00.001+05:30

More in Medical Education Can Be Done, Experts Say

More in Medical Education Can Be Done, Experts Say
Medical education training needs to move into the 21st century by focusing more on clinical outcomes and other quality measures along with information technology adoption, representatives from the academic medical community told the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

The current system rates a “C” in terms of its proficiency in training physicians, said Thomas Nasca, CEO of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Standards on accreditation for these programs have primarily been driven by what happens in the field first, he said. Residents are accumulating medical knowledge instead of specific skills.

Nasca’s hope is that over the next five years accredited residency and fellowship programs will move toward a more proactive, innovative approach, where curricula will be driven by clinical-outcome measures, he said. An external accountability system for those outcomes should be developed to produce more-competent physicians, he said.

Surveys have shown that residents completing training and doctors entering the field don’t feel adequately prepared to care for common medical conditions—a situation that’s being aggravated in part by the growing number of chronically ill patients, said Michael Whitcomb, former senior vice president of medical education for the Association of American Medical Colleges.

At least part of Medicare’s graduate medical education payments could be contingent on developing training programs that place residents in environments that foster high-performance inpatient and outpatient care, suggested Benjamin Chu, president of Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California region.

Filed by Jennifer Lubell of Modern Healthcare, a sister publication of Workforce Management.

Original article here.

Examples of Medical Education systems

2008-10-15T01:52:00.003+05:30

Medical education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Presently, in England, a typical medicine course at university is 5 years or 4 years if the student already holds a degree. Amongst some institutions and for some students, it may be 6 years (including the selection of an intercalated BSc—taking one year—at some point after the pre-clinical studies). All programs culminate in the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree (abbreviated MB BChir, BM BCh, MB BCh, MB ChB, BM BS, MB BS etc.). This is followed by 2 clinical foundation years afterwards, namely F1 and F2 similar to internship training. Students register with the UK General Medical Council at the end of F1. At the end of F2, they may pursue further years of study.

In the US and Canada, a potential medical student must first complete an undergraduate degree in any subject before applying to a graduate medical school to pursue an (M.D. or D.O.) program. Some students opt for the research-focused MD/PhD dual degree, which is usually completed in 7-8 years. There are certain courses which are pre-requisite for being accepted to medical school, such as general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, English, labwork, etc. The specific requirements vary by school.

In Australia, there are two pathways to a medical degree. Students can choose to take a five or six year undergraduate medical degree Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS or BMed) straight from high school, or complete a bachelors degree (generally three years, usually in the medical sciences) and then apply for a four year graduate entry Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program.

In India, admission to a medical college is primarily through a national level entrance exam after finishing 10+2 years of schooling. The Course itself lasts for 4.5 years, followed by a compulsory one year internship rotation leading to a M.B.B.S degree. Three year specialization courses leading to a M.D / M.S is usually the next step for most young M.B.B.S graduates in India.

News from Karnataka.

2008-10-14T22:52:00.001+05:30

Star Of Mysore Online

Shimoga, Oct. 13 (KCU)- The State Government was seriously contemplating to come out of the clutches of the Medical Council of India (MCI), announced Ramachandregowda, Minister for Medical Education.

Speaking to the media here yesterday after paying a visit to the Government Medical College, he felt that the rules and regulations of MCI had become too stringent. Out of 53 Ayurveda Colleges in the State, 32 have not yet obtained recognition. A time had come to delink the medical colleges of the State from the stronghold of MCI. In that context, the Government was contemplating to constitute the Medical Council of Karnataka. It has to be verified whether such a move was constitutionally feasible, he said.

A wrong notion had erupted that students of Government medical and engineering colleges were terrorists. Actually few terrorists had got admitted in the guise of students. The Intelligence Wing had intensified the search for such elements, he said. The Government had instructed to scrap CET for admission to Government Nursing Colleges and admit eligible students based on personal interview.

The process would start shortly. The move was necessitated by too many vacancies in Government Nursing Colleges, he explained.

Referring to the misappropriation case of Dr. Chidanand, former Principal of Govt. Medical College, Shimoga, the Minister said that information had been received that the accused might be hiding in Chennai or Kerala. The investigation was on and all irregularities would be unearthed to see that the genuine eligible candidates were not let down, he assured.

SmarTeach by MEdRC

2008-10-13T07:27:00.001+05:30

MNR Education Trust in pact with MEdRC EduTech to launch MEdRC's SmarTeach UGMed program at its Digital Library in the campus

For the first time in the country, MedRC is rolling out SmarTeach UGMed program in a full fledged manner at MNR medical college, bringing pride and honor to the state of Andhra Pradesh. This path breaking initiative aims to facilitate teachers to impart skills teaching and problem based learning to students with MEdRC's products. SmarTeach® UGMed Program offers potentially universal access and the experience of "best-in-class" content, regardless of location, immortalizing the teachings of the eminent teachers in this domain. It transforms learning; training and teaching from a passive consumption experience to a more flexible and enriched learner-centric experience.

Read more about the company here.

--Virtual worlds in medical education--

2008-10-12T23:07:00.001+05:30

The Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London has developed a region in Second Life that aims to design game-based learning activities for delivery of virtual patients that can drive experiential, diagnostic, and role-play learning activities supporting patients' diagnoses, investigations and treatment.

Second life cries out to be used as a medical education tool !!

--The Future of Medical education--

2008-10-11T18:29:00.003+05:30

I found this video on a foreign language site and did not find any translation tool there. So i am unable to say much about its history.
But then, this whole video is about the future, so go ahead and view it.

Find more videos like this on Medical Education Evolution

-- Patient education in Type 2 Diabetes--

2008-10-11T16:33:00.001+05:30

Executive Summary of HTA journal title : NIHR HTA programme

Originaly distributed by National Institute for Health research

Diabetes is a chronic and progressive disorder that has an impact on almost every aspect of life. Type 2 diabetes is characterised by insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. It is commonly linked to being overweight or obese, and to physical inactivity. Type 2 diabetes primarily affects people over the age of 40 years and is becoming more common.

The basic targets in the treatment of diabetes are the normalisation of blood glucose levels, blood pressure control and lipid management, and studies have shown that good diabetic control is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of a number of complications. Control of diabetes is affected by both lifestyle factors and by pharmacological treatments and the management of diabetes is largely the responsibility of those affected. Supporting self-care is a crucial aspect of any diabetes service, and national guidance recommends structured education as fundamental to this.

The aim of patient education is to empower patients by improving knowledge, skills and confidence, enabling them to take increasing control of their condition. Structured educational programmes for diabetes self-management are often multifaceted interventions providing information and also management skills around diet, exercise, self-monitoring and medication use.

This review is an update of a previous systematic review which concluded that the diversity of the educational programmes for Type 2 diabetes did not yield consistent results. Some of the included trials reported significant improvements in metabolic control and/or quality of life or other psychological outcomes; however, many others did not report significant effects of educational interventions.

--The evolution of Medical education--

2008-10-11T16:17:00.001+05:30

Original article from BMJ by Dr.Kay Mohanna

The use of elearning in medical education -- Mohanna 83 (978): 211 -- Postgraduate Medical Journal
How many times today have you "Googled" for a quick answer to a query? The information explosion means that we all have rapid access to material that in the past needed the help of a friendly medical librarian and a week off work to browse. We are used to this supporting our clinical work so it is not surprising that we are increasingly turning to it to support our teaching and learning.

As Tony Choules, consultant paediatrician, points out in this issue, computers are good at storing information.1 The clever bit is how we as teachers can selectively use it in teaching and guide our learners to discriminate and make the best use of it. This article reminds us that we still need the traditional skills to align our teaching strategy with our teaching and learning objectives, but elearning—provision of instructional resources, activities, assessments and feedback online—is a valuable addition to the teaching tool box.

Blended learning is the "next big thing" in medical education. The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine is hosting the Second International Blended Learning Conference this summer (http://www.medev.ac.uk). Blended learning is an approach that combines traditional and electronic media to cater for the "net generation learner". This might include curriculum design, computer supported collaborative learning, computer aided assessment, learning materials and learning objects, content management systems, change management strategies, institutional policies, and patient education and involvement.

Read or Download a pdf copy of the original article here.

Facebook use by medical students

2008-10-07T17:33:00.001+05:30

Ferdig

This is a study on the use of Facebook and similar networking tools by Medical students and residents.

This study sought to determine if and how 501 medical students and 312 residents are using Facebook at a large university in the southeastern United States. Results reveal that medical students and residents are using Facebook and about two–thirds of users maintain public profiles. While there is variation in the types of information provide within profiles, many medical students seem unaware of or unconcerned with the possible ramifications of sharing personal information in publicly available online profiles even though such information could impact their professional lives. Thus, this study provides data based evidence that online tools such as social networking sites should become a part of the dialogue related to preparing future physicians to meet the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGE) professionalism competency
Read complete article here.

Games for patient education

2008-10-07T00:52:00.001+05:30

Re-Mission: a game & community for young people with cancer

Learning Objective: Understand cancer better and develop a positive attitude toward defeating it.
Comment: It’s a big download, but well worth the wait. The game from HopeLab is aimed at teaching young cancer patients about the disease and providing opportunities to enhance understanding in a positive environment. It offers the latest in educational videogame design, with backing from a well-funded sponsor. Also available in Spanish and French, and can be ordered for free on CD by mail.

Check it here

Games for medical education

2008-10-07T00:36:00.001+05:30

Games For Health: Announcing The First Experimental Health Game Jam at University of Baltimore October 18-19, 2008

Independent, professional and student game developers to build rapid prototypes in weekend marathon

(September 4, 2008) – On October 18 at the University of Baltimore, the Games for Health Project, together with its partners, kicks off an experimental Health Game Jam to encourage rapid prototype development of new games that people can play to learn about and improve their personal health.

The Jam is a marathon session that challenges teams of designers, programmers and artists to work round-the-clock to create small, playable games that demonstrate innovative ideas in short amounts of time. Competitors will then showcase their work, which will be critiqued and judged by a panel of professional game developers and educators.

“The goal of Games for Health is to use all the resources that exist in the greater game development field to provide solutions to health and health care challenges,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the Games for Health Project. “Experimental game jams, which owe their heritage to demo jams in Europe, have become popular events in the past five years. We want to tap into the incredible creativity these jams foster and put that to use in health domain.”

The Jam’s Grand Prize winner will receive $3,000 in prize money from the Games for Health Project. An additional prize of $1,000, sponsored by the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development, will be offered to the best student-built game. The Health Game Jam’s host partner is the University of Baltimore. Prize partners include the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development and Microsoft Corporation. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which supports innovative ideas that may lead to breakthroughs in the future of heath and health care, is a major supporter of the Games for Health Project and helps makethe Health Game Jam possible.

The theme for October’s Jam is personal health and wellness. Once participants are gathered, the Games for Health Project will unveil a simple challenge and set of goals for games to be developed over the course of a weekend. Beginning Friday evening, teams will incubate an idea, draw up basic supporting design and art, and then program it into a playable prototype. Winners will be judged not only on the originality, quality and playability of their resulting work, but also by how well the game potentially addresses the problem presented at the outset.

Game jams work best when led by a dedicated host and core group of teams. The Health Game Jam’s host partner is the University of Baltimore and its game development program, led by Stuart Moulthrop and Kathleen Harmeyer. While not limited to students in the program, student teams, many familiar with the jam concept, will form the core of groups expected to participate.

“We are honored to host this event for the Games for Health Project,” Harmeyer said. “Our Simulation & Digital Entertainment program at the University of Baltimore integrates the full range of concepts and skills needed to launch a career in game and simulation development. With its internships and capstone development seminar, the Bachelor of Science program provides an ideal entry point for aspiring professionals. We look forward as hosts to watching our students compete with other visiting independent game development teams from around the region.”

“The Games for Health Conference has been a major event in Baltimore the past three years and is another example of the robust activity in games and serious games in the greater Baltimore region,” said Fronda Cohen, director of marketing and communications for the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development. “By bringing the Health Game Jam to the University of Baltimore, we can showcase the next generation of designers, programmers, and artists who will contribute to our local serious games industry.”
READ MORE

Web 2.0 tools in medical education

2008-10-06T20:17:00.001+05:30

BioMed Central | Full text | Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education
We have witnessed a rapid increase in the use of Web-based 'collaborationware' in recent years. These Web 2.0 applications, particularly wikis, blogs and podcasts, have been increasingly adopted by many online health-related professional and educational services. Because of their ease of use and rapidity of deployment, they offer the opportunity for powerful information sharing and ease of collaboration. Wikis are Web sites that can be edited by anyone who has access to them. The word 'blog' is a contraction of 'Web Log' – an online Web journal that can offer a resource rich multimedia environment. Podcasts are repositories of audio and video materials that can be "pushed" to subscribers, even without user intervention. These audio and video files can be downloaded to portable media players that can be taken anywhere, providing the potential for "anytime, anywhere" learning experiences (mobile learning).
Full Discussion--

Advances in medical education

2008-10-06T20:08:00.001+05:30

Collaborative e-Learning Using Streaming Video and Asynchronous Discussion Boards to Teach the Cognitive Foundation of Medical Interviewing: A Case Study | Wiecha | Journal of Medical Internet Research

Advances in electronic technology have created opportunities for new instructional designs of medical curricula. OBJECTIVE: We created and evaluated a 4-week online elective course for medical students to teach the cognitive basis for interviewing skills. METHODS: Ten students, from 2 medical schools, studied online modules on interviewing concepts and viewed videos illustrating the concepts. They then participated in asynchronous discussion groups designed to reinforce course concepts, stimulate reflective learning, and promote peer learning. RESULTS: In qualitative evaluations, learners reported improvements in self-awareness; increased understanding of interviewing concepts; and benefits of online learning vs face to face learning. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with online learning and with achievement of course objectives. Self-reported knowledge scores increased significantly from pre-course completion to post-course completion. CONCLUSIONS: Online education has significant potential to augment curriculum on the medical interview, particularly among students trained in community settings geographically distant from their academic medical center.

Read the full article here.

E-learning in Medical education

2008-10-06T19:40:00.001+05:30

The use of elearning in medical education: a review of the current situation -- Choules 83 (978): 212 -- Postgraduate Medical Journal

Computers are increasingly used in medical education. Electroniclearning (elearning) is moving from textbooks in electronicformat (that are increasingly enhanced by the use of multimediaadjuncts) to a truly interactive medium that can be deliveredto meet the educational needs of students and postgraduate learners.Computer technology can present reliable, reusable content ina format that is convenient to the learner. It can be used totranscend geographical boundaries and time zones. It is a valuabletool to add to the medical teacher’s toolkit, but likeall tools it must be used appropriately. This article endeavoursto review the current "state of the art2 in use of elearningand its role in medical education alongside non-electronic methods—acombination that is currently referred to as "blended" learning.

Read the full article on BMJ health intelligence.

Elearning in Pathology

2008-10-04T14:38:00.001+05:30

BioImagene Launches iLearn - eLearning Using Digital Pathology, in Partnership With i-Path Diagnostics - MarketWatch

BioImagene Launches iLearn - eLearning Using Digital Pathology, in Partnership With i-Path Diagnostics

Last update: 9:20 a.m. EDT Sept. 25, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Sep 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- BioImagene, the Silicon Valley based digital pathology solutions company, launched iLearn(TM) - a new online educational offering for pathologists, in partnership with i-Path Diagnostics -- a UK based biomedical software company. iLearn provides educational modules for Histopathology and Cytopathology for residents and experienced pathologists.
Developed by i-Path and eminent pathologists, iLearn brings internet technology and the convenience of online education into pathology training, supplementing the traditional learning methods of trainee pathologists. A combination of high quality digital images, sophisticated e-learning tools and streaming video are used to deliver virtual case material in pathology.
Dr. Peter Hamilton of i-Path Diagnostics, explains the key advantage of iLearn, "It allows residents to practice techniques independently, on-line, at anytime, anyplace using authenticated pathology cases. The streaming instructional video is almost like having the expert sitting beside you and teaching you."
BioImagene CEO Mohan Uttarwar commented, "iLearn is comprehensive, easy to use and has the potential to transform pathology education." The entire content has been validated by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA). Dr. Debra Graves, RCPA's CEO, says, "With the shortage of pathologists, these aids can be extremely helpful in assisting the trainees. These e-learning modules are an important training platform for pathologists as well as for proficiency testing and competency assessment."
iLearn also helps qualified pathologists by providing standardized assessments for ongoing professional development. In the UK, i-Path's modules have been approved by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) for Continuing Professional Development (CPD), the equivalent of CME in the US.
"The system's value lies in its explicit teaching of the vital steps that lead to good pathology practices," commented Professor Richard Williams, Director of Anatomical Pathology at Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital.
About i-Path Diagnostics
i-Path Diagnostics Ltd is a company specializing in software products for digital pathology, drug discovery and tissue research. Their products revolve around whole slide digital scans or virtual slides and provide unique tools and content for a wide range of applications.
About BioImagene
BioImagene is the leader in providing innovative and affordable digital pathology solutions for clinical diagnostics and drug discovery. BioImagene products are FDA - cleared for specific clinical applications, and are intended for research use for other applications. www.bioimagene.com.
SOURCE: BioImagene

Elearning in Cardiac care.

2008-10-04T14:29:00.001+05:30

American Heart Association Enhances eLearning for Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC)

American Heart Association Enhances eLearning for Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC)

Online programs expand options, reduce costs for ECC training

DALLAS, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- For many years, American Heart
Association research has supported education and training programs for
Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) that save thousands of lives each year.
Now, healthcare providers have more ways to access the American Heart
Association's research-based ECC programs, as the organization introduces a
significantly expanded eLearning program. That means more people, taking
more courses, and saving more lives.
The expansion of the ECC Web-based eLearning offerings takes advantage
of advances in technology and instructional design to deliver certain
courses in a format that maximizes flexibility and consistency, while also
saving participants time and money. The new eLearning offerings include a
mix of online-only and "blended" courses -- which include basic online
instruction with required hands-on training and assessment -- depending on
the assessment and certification required. For example, courses involving
strictly cognitive learning can be completed as eLearning modules online.
Programs that rely heavily on effective CPR require skills practice and
testing, and will need to be scheduled with an authorized American Heart
Association Training Center.
Prior to this expansion, the American Heart Association's ECC program
provided training through traditional instructor-led classroom courses,
"micro-simulation" instruction using computerized manikins, and a limited
mix of stand-alone online modules and blended courses. The new eLearning
courses add to these offerings and help further the American Heart
Association's commitment to develop learning programs that cover the entire
educational spectrum through the most effective, research-based teaching
methodologies available, no matter the delivery format.
"Changes in technology and a greater general acceptance of eLearning
have made this the right time for the American Heart Association to enhance
its eLearning programs for emergency cardiovascular care training," said
William W. Hammill, M.D., Director of Cardiopulmonary and Vascular Services
for Martha Jefferson Hospital, and chair, American Heart Association ECC
First Aid Task Force. "Now, healthcare providers will not only have access
to traditional instructor-led classroom courses to complete their training
requirements, but they will also have a greater array of options to
complete certain courses when their schedules allow, without being tied to
a specific classroom at a specific time. The convenience and cost savings
associated with eLearning programs will make them an invaluable component
of a full spectrum of educational and training options."
The eLearning course lineup includes the following options:

Stand-alone online courses
* Basic ECG Rhythm Recognition, called Learn Rhythm - Adult, which covers
basic heart rhythms, arrhythmias and rhythm recognition, and which is
an excellent educational tool for healthcare workers holding Basic Life
Support certification who seek to take Advanced Life Support (course
available soon online)
* Stroke Prehospital Care Online, which will cover risk factors,
diagnosis, assessment and management of potential strokes

Blended courses
* The AHA Healthcare Provider Course, HeartCode(TM) BLS Anywhere (course
available soon online)
* BLS Healthcare Provider (HCP) Online Renewal
* Heartsaver(R) First Aid Online
* Heartsaver(R) First Aid Online With CPR and AED Renewal
The American Heart Association's ECC eLearning initiative corresponds
with research by the American Society for Training and Development that
shows the use of technology-based training delivery methods increased by
nearly five-fold between 1999 and 2005. In addition, research by the
healthcare compliance company HCPro, Inc. indicated that education and
human resource leaders at 34 of the nation's largest multi-facility
healthcare systems viewed online instruction as an extremely effective,
convenient and time-efficient training method. The reasons for such a
positive view are that eLearning helps overcome many barriers that prevent
people from completing required training, such as inflexible schedules,
difficulty in attending training sessions or unease in traditional
classroom environments.
The new ECC eLearning modules fulfill a wide range of learning needs,
including preparing for success in a traditional classroom course, updating
professional skills and preparing for a medical emergency, following
through on a commitment to ongoing training, and earning CE credit or
achieving certification. While the first eLearning courses are primarily
targeted to healthcare providers who need to keep their skills current,
ultimately there will be more courses directed toward the general public,
reflecting the American Heart Association's commitment to teach lifesaving
skills to a greater number of people.
"Being able to reach so many more people through these expanded
eLearning programs will be a critical factor in meeting the American Heart
Association's goal of training 20 million people in emergency
cardiovascular care by 2010," said Dr. Hammill. "Combining the
research-based nature of our courses with the convenience and flexibility
of eLearning can help improve outcomes for patients, which ultimately is
the goal of our emergency cardiovascular care training."
For more information about ECC eLearning, including specific courses
and pricing, visit http://www.onlineaha.org, or call 800-AHA-USA1.
About the American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association today is the nation's
oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to reducing
disability and death from diseases of the heart and stroke. These diseases,
America's No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and all other cardiovascular diseases
claim over 870,000 lives a year. In fiscal year 2005-06 the association
invested over $543 million in research, professional and public education,
advocacy and community service programs to help all Americans live longer,
healthier lives.

SOURCE American Heart Association

Education Today...

2008-10-01T15:34:00.002+05:30

There’s a lot of talk about moving to “Education 2.0″ –but, what would Education 3.0 look like?

Here’s a take on the Education 1.0 – 3.0 spectrum:

	Education 1.0	Education 2.0	Education 3.0
Meaning is…	Dictated	Socially constructed	Socially constructed and contextually reinvented
Technology is…	Confiscated at the classroom door (digital refugees)	Cautiously adopted (digital immigrants)	Everywhere (digital universe)
Teaching is done …	Teacher to student	Teacher to student and student to student (progressivism)	Teacher to student, student to student, student to teacher, people-technology-people (co-constructivism)
Schools are located…	In a building (brick)	In a building or online (brick and click)	Everywhere (thoroughly infused into society: cafes, bowling alleys, bars, workplaces, etc.)
Parents view schools as…	Daycare	Daycare	A place for them to learn, too
Teachers are…	Licensed professionals	Licensed professionals	Everybody, everywhere
Hardware and software in schools…	Are purchased at great cost and ignored	Are open source and available at lower cost	Are available at low cost and are used purposively
Industry views graduates as…	Assembly line workers	As ill-prepared assembly line workers in a knowledge economy	As co-workers or entrepreneurs

Lumbar Puncture training video

2008-10-01T12:04:00.001+05:30

Learning with an i-Phone or an iPod.

2008-09-29T10:41:00.002+05:30

About iTouch Learning

Both the iPod Touch and the iPhone use the same multi-touch interface
(shown in the picture to the left); you control everything with your fingers.

They both have the traditional iPod
functionality to listen to audio (music/podcasts/audiobooks/MP3 files) but also
to watch videos (MPEG-4 files) and view photos

But they are more than just an iPod as they now also have on-board Internet applications
which include:

Safari web browser
- to search the web using
the touchscreen QWERTY keyboard
Mail
reader
- to read HTML videos and Word, Excel and PDF
attachments
YouTube
player - to locate and view YouTube
videos
Maps
reader - to get directions and check
traffic with Google Maps

मेडिकल Dictionary

2008-09-20T04:21:00.002+05:30

MEdRC: Search engine world

2008-09-20T04:04:00.001+05:30

Free audio books

2008-09-08T19:37:00.001+05:30

[ Source:librivox.org ]

MEdRC Company profile

2008-09-08T15:09:00.002+05:30

MEdRC Profile - Upload a Document to Scribd