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In the field of clinical training, entrustable professional activities (EPAs) generally deal with those activities that health-care professionals will be encountering in their routine practice, and thus exposure to these activities prepares them for their future clinical practice. Workplace-based assessment tools have been used to assess the progress of medical students across these defined EPAs. The act of development of EPAs essentially requires the adoption of a systematic process to identify and define the core tasks and responsibilities that medical students must be able to perform independently in a specific specialty. The process of integration of EPAs into the medical school curriculum essentially requires systematic planning and implementation to ensure that students get an adequate number of opportunities to develop and demonstrate the desired competencies. In conclusion, EPAs provide an excellent framework for transforming medical education by preparing medical students to be ready for the complexities of health-care delivery.

The inclusion of precision medicine in medical education represents a paradigm shift, as it is expected to transform the way in which health care will be delivered to patients in future. This shift is predominantly reported as precision medicine strongly advocates for the delivery of personalized care to patients after giving due consideration to the genetic makeup, biomarker level, etc., of the individual patient. Medical professionals are expected to discharge a wide range of roles since the introduction of precision medicine in the health-care industry. Training of medical students and health professionals in the domain of precision medicine is expected to significantly influence patient outcomes and enhance the efficiency of the health-care sector. In conclusion, precision medicine is expected to have a huge impact on medical professionals and the health sector, it is the need of the hour to strengthen its implementation process across medical colleges and health-care facilities.

Competency-based medical education plays a crucial role in empowering medical students to deliver quality-assured patient-centered care in their future clinical practice. The purpose of the current article is to explore the benefits of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in medical education delivery, devise a step-wise plan to integrate EPAs in undergraduate medical education, and identify the potential challenges and the potential solutions to overcome them. The use of EPAs in medical education has been linked with merits specific to students, teachers, and the health-care delivery system. The act of implementing EPAs in undergraduate medical education essentially requires the adoption of a systematic and well-planned process to integrate them into the existing curriculum and overall educational framework. In conclusion, the integration of EPAs into undergraduate medical education can redefine the future of education and health-care delivery. However, we have to be proactive in addressing the identified challenges, and we must adopt a comprehensive and collaborative approach involving different stakeholders to empower medical students to the challenges of the health sector.

Medical education plays a pivotal role in ameliorating health-related outcomes by preparing health-care professionals with the desired knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to deliver effective patient-centered care. The purpose of the current review is to explore the role of medical education in rural areas, identify the potential challenges in the implementation, and propose suitable measures to overcome these challenges. The delivery of medical education in rural areas is expected to address the disparities in health-care delivery by serving people in underserved areas, thereby reducing the urban–rural divide. This is accomplished by ensuring timely access to medical services, resulting in the promotion of early diagnosis and better management of the disease. The process of delivery of medical education in rural settings has been associated with multiple challenges that must be systematically dealt with to improve the overall outcomes. In conclusion, promoting access to medical education in rural areas is a crucial step to establishing a robust and equitable health-care system that will aid in the attainment of universal health coverage. However, the need of the hour is to overcome the existing challenges to empower aspiring health-care professionals from rural backgrounds and also contribute to the overall health and well-being of underserved communities.

The domain of cultural competency in medical education deals with the varied cultural backgrounds and specific needs of different patients who are accessing health-care delivery services. The training in cultural competency imparted to medical students augments their knowledge and makes them aware of the presence and role of cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity in heterogeneous population groups. It is quite essential that training of medical students to become culturally competent must be conducted across all professional years of training in a longitudinal manner. Even though there are multiple benefits of training medical students in the domain of cultural competency, once we plan and implement such training, there can be multiple challenges. In conclusion, as medical education continues to evolve to meet the health-related needs of diverse population groups, cultural competency has to be acknowledged as one of the foundational pillars in empowering future cohorts of health-care professionals to deliver inclusive and culturally sensitive patient-centered medical care. The need of the hour is to identify the potential challenges in its successful implementation and then adopt a multipronged approach to effectively respond to them.

In competency-based education, entrustable professional activities (EPAs) play a defining role in developing the competence of students by providing contextual relevance. EPAs aid in the assessment of both cognitive and noncognitive (namely teamwork, leadership, communication skills, professionalism, etc.) attributes of the student. In fact, the inclusion of EPAs targeting interprofessional education (IPE) in the curriculum strengthens collaborative learning. The process of integration of EPAs related to IPE in the medical curriculum requires systematic planning and implementation to encourage collaborative learning and prepare students for medical practice. Assessment of IPE-related competencies using EPAs can be carried out with the help of different methods. In conclusion, EPAs can significantly strengthen the delivery of IPE by promoting collaboration and teamwork. There is an immense need to integrate IPE-related EPAs into the medical curriculum to improve the quality of care and patient-related outcomes.

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) refer to the key activities that medical students should be in a position to perform on their own by the time of completion of their training. The process of implementation of EPAs in medical training is a complex and challenging one. In medical colleges, faculty members have been identified as the change agents who will eventually determine the success and effectiveness of planning and implementation. From the faculty perspective, multiple challenges have been identified, including the reluctance to adopt EPAs and preference for traditional assessment methods. In conclusion, the success of EPAs integration into the medical curriculum, as evidenced by improvement in the learning outcomes essentially requires active support from faculty members. Thus, there is an immense need to strengthen faculty development activities to enhance their competency and confidence to implement EPAs.

Competency-based medical education aims to produce competent medical graduates who are well-equipped to deal with the challenges of the health-care delivery system. In the field of medical education, milestones act as a marker to provide insights to both students and teachers regarding the progress of students regarding the attainment of the learning competencies. Milestones-based assessment tends to make the assessment process structured and holistic by giving a clear roadmap for medical students and helping them understand the significance and the expected progression across the different stages of training. In conclusion, milestone-based assessments in medical education possess immense potential in assessing and guiding learning progression among medical students. The need of the hour is to do capacity-building activities and adopt a comprehensive approach to streamline the process of development and implementation of milestones in the delivery of competency-based medical education.

A health-care professional is expected to hone multiple skills that are not limited to possessing medical knowledge and clinical skills. Game-based assessments are an innovative type of assessment method that combines the features of gamification and simulation to revolutionize the delivery of medical education. These assessments have the potential to promote active engagement of students by ensuring sustained interest, which is not possible to accomplish with conventional assessments. Even though game-based assessments have immense scope in medical education delivery and have been linked with multiple merits, there are potential concerns with regard to their implementation in medical institutions. In conclusion, game-based assessments offer an immersive approach to assessing the performance of medical students, especially in the domain of critical thinking and decision-making. However, the process of planning and implementation of game-based assessment has its own share of challenges, and we must adopt a systematic approach to overcome the challenges and benefit students.

Hearing loss and deafness have been globally recognized as one of the major public health concerns that need immediate attention. Noise mapping refers to the systematic process of measuring and visualizing the noise level distribution in a well-defined location, preferably in urban settings or industrial areas. This exercise of noise mapping is generally done with the intention of identifying the noise hotspots and measuring the extent of exposure to noise levels in different areas. The process of noise mapping at the community level is expected to have some challenges and these must be identified to effectively deal with them. In conclusion, we cannot undermine the fact that there is an immense need to implement effective noise management strategies to reduce the development of health-related implications. In dealing with this global concern, noise mapping is a crucial tool to provide comprehensive insights about noise levels in different areas, which in turn can be utilized to take specific actions for building a healthier and sustainable environment.

Workplace-based learning refers to a learning experience that enables medical students to acquire knowledge and skills via supervised application of their professional roles in authentic workplace settings. The learning triad in workplace learning comprises patients, medical students, and doctor–teacher. The success and effectiveness of workplace-based learning will eventually be determined by the kind of interaction and relationship between these stakeholders. There are three components of workplace learning, namely task, context, and learner. Learning theories occupy a special place in not only determining how people learn but also laying down the platform for medical educators to facilitate learning among medical students. To conclude, workplace-based learning is a crucial and indispensable component of medical undergraduate training. Acknowledging the merits of the same, it is crucial that it needs to be strengthened in each of the medical colleges. Further, awareness about learning theories and the application of the same for facilitating learning among medical students in workplace settings can prove to be instrumental, and thus medical educators should always work on the similar lines.

In the field of medical education, we have employed the closed-book test format as the standard approach for carrying out assessments for many decades. An open-book test in medical education is an assessment method wherein medical students are permitted to refer to learning resources during the examination. Thus, students do not rely primarily on their memory and understanding of the subject rather can access external resources to supplement their problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Even though multiple merits have been attributed to open-book tests, we must give attention to the time duration and the kind of references students can access during such tests. At this juncture, we must reiterate that we are not advocating that open-book tests should be introduced and they should replace the conventional closed-book tests. However, there is immense scope for open-book tests in medical education, and every medical institution must explore the scope and feasibility to introduce open-book tests within their settings.

Performance appraisal of teaching faculty who are involved in the act of delivery of medical education to prepare future doctors plays a pivotal role in measuring their competency level to train students, assessing the effectiveness in discharging their other roles, and acts as a motivating factor to continuously improvise and augment their knowledge and skills. However, the ground reality is that in most settings, this task is not acknowledged as an action for motivating a faculty member, but rather just an act of faultfinding. Upon the identification of these challenges, we must look for remedial measures to overcome them to streamline and enhance the effectiveness of the performance appraisal process. In conclusion, the performance appraisal of teaching faculty is an essential and indispensable activity. However, the success of performance appraisal, in terms of promoting professional development and organizational success, will depend a lot on the effective redressal of the existing challenges.

Each of the global pandemics to date has left a permanent mark on the general population and significantly impacted the public health standards and human civilization. The purpose of the current review is to explore the significance of pandemic preparedness, identify the role of medical education in improving the same, enlist the potential challenges in the implementation of pandemic preparedness, and enlist the potential solutions to overcome the same. A search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 27 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include pandemic preparedness in the title alone only (namely, pandemic preparedness [ti] AND medical education [ti]; pandemic preparedness [ti] AND curricula [ti] OR curriculum [ti]; pandemic preparedness [ti] AND COVID-19 [ti]; pandemic preparedness [ti] AND health [ti]; and pandemic preparedness [ti]). Medical education plays an instrumental role in creating a team of skilled and competent health-care workforce, which becomes crucial to minimize the impact of pandemics on individuals, communities, and the health-care delivery system. As medical educators plan to deliver pandemic preparedness education in medical schools, we are expected to encounter different challenges. In conclusion, the training imparted to medical students on pandemic preparedness is crucial in the making of a resilient and adaptable health workforce. To reduce the magnitude of future pandemics, it is the need of the hour to identify the prevailing gaps/barriers and address them proactively to safeguard public health during pandemics.

Assessment in medical education has a special role as it ascertains the acquisition of desired knowledge, skills, and learning outcomes expected from a medical graduate who will be a part of the health-care team. Programmatic assessment has gained wide attention, as it maximizes assessment for learning and also aids in the development of a strong assessment system, which enables teachers to take a data-driven decision about each student during the high-stakes assessment. In the case of programmatic assessment, the quality of the assessment is judged with the help of elements such as coherence, continuous, comprehensive, feasibility, purpose-driven, acceptability, and transparency. In conclusion, programmatic assessment has been linked with multiple benefits for the student, the teachers, and the administrators. However, to optimize the process of attainment of learning outcomes, it is the need of the hour that educators should take specific measures to augment the quality of all the elements of the assessment framework in programmatic assessment.

In the process of producing competent and efficient medical graduates, clinical teaching is an integral component of undergraduate training. Even though clinical training has been linked with multiple benefits and plays a defining role in transforming a medical student into a competent doctor, it has some inherent challenges. The learner–doctor method emphasizes learning by doing and has the potential to counter the identified challenges in the traditional mode of clinical training. The learner–doctor method places emphasis on collaborative learning, wherein students learn by experiential learning and active participation in patient care. This method not only fosters the development of clinical skills but also cultivates critical thinking, teamwork, empathy, and effective communication. A number of activities or strategies must be planned and implemented to ensure that the set objectives of the learner–doctor method are accomplished by the medical institutions. In conclusion, as medical education continues to evolve, the learner–doctor method of clinical training is a dynamic approach to bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills. As this method enables medical students to actively engage in patient care and improve their critical thinking, it becomes the need of the hour that every medical institution should explore the opportunity to effectively implement the same in their settings.

Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methods have a special place in improving the health and well-being of the rural population. In the global vision to deliver contextual medical education to benefit the local population, exposure of medical students to participatory rural appraisal methods plays a vital role. However, all these benefits can only materialize, once we systematically plan and execute the training of medical students, and this essentially requires the adoption of an instructional design. Analyze-Design-Development-Implementation-Evaluation (ADDIE) is one of the most frequently used instructional designs in the field of medical education, owing to its simplicity. To conclude, participatory rural appraisal methods carry immense significance in the delivery of contextual medical education and in improving the health standards of the local population. The ADDIE instructional design is an effective approach to planning and conducting training of medical students on PRA methods.

Social accountability has been acknowledged as an important facet of medical education delivery as it envisages that healthcare professionals have the responsibility to be accountable for health-related community needs. The purpose of the current review is to identify the factors that determine the success of social accountability in medical education and explore different ways in which technology can aid in the implementation of social accountability initiatives in medical institutions. The successful implementation of socially accountable medical education depends on a broad gamut of factors, which can be associated with different stakeholders, including the role of technology in facilitating the implementation of the same. Owing to the fact that technology has reached every aspect of human life, it is our responsibility to explore its scope in promoting the attainment of competencies pertaining to social accountability among medical students. In conclusion, social accountability in medical education has multiple benefits and has emerged as the need of the hour. The integration of technology into socially accountable medical education plays a defining role in improving the effectiveness of educational activities, facilitating better community and student engagement, and eventually contributing to the production of socially responsible healthcare professionals.

The emergence of shared decision-making (SDM) in the field of medical education represents a significant shift in the way how health care is being taught to medical students and practiced by healthcare professionals. The purpose of the current review is to explore the merits of SDM to students and patients, identify the prevailing challenges in its successful implementation, and suggest appropriate solutions to overcome them. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was performed on the PubMed search engine, and a total of 20 articles were selected. The process of implementation of SDM in medical education can turn out to be extremely challenging due to a wide range of factors. In conclusion, training medical students in the domain of SDM is crucial to cultivate the skills and attitudes that are indispensable for future healthcare professionals. The need of the hour is to identify the prevailing challenges and address them by adopting a multifaceted approach.

In the field of medical education, moral case deliberations refer to a structured process, wherein health professionals together discuss and analyze moral issues or ethical dilemmas encountered in their clinical practice. The purpose of the current review is to explore the merits of moral case deliberations, identify the components, enumerate the strategies that can be used for implementation, and enlist the potential challenges and the remedial measures to overcome them. Moral case deliberations can be implemented in medical education in several ways that can be seamlessly integrated into the existing medical curriculum without stretching the overall duration of the training period. The path to successfully implement moral case deliberations in a medical school has its own share of challenges, and we must be aware of them to adopt countermeasures to overcome them. In conclusion, moral case deliberations play a vital role in augmenting ethical competence and establishing a culture of reflective practice among medical students. As medical students are bound to encounter multiple ethical dilemmas in their future clinical practice, it is our responsibility to incrementally expose them to such cases as a part of their undergraduate training to eventually prepare them for effective healthcare delivery.

In the field of delivery of medical education, social accountability envisages the responsibility of medical and healthcare institutions to meet the health-related needs of the communities in the catchment areas. The medical colleges that have integrated social accountability in their curriculum work with a goal to produce not only knowledgeable and skilled medical graduates but also those who are committed to the well-being of the entire community. The process of implementation of social accountability in medical education can have its own share of challenges. There is an immense need to plan and implement potential solutions for each of the identified challenges to ensure maximum benefit to the students, teachers, and community at large. In conclusion, social accountability in medical education has been associated with multiple benefits to all the involved stakeholders. This calls for the need to identify the challenges that can play their part in the successful implementation in medical schools and employment of appropriate measures to overcome them and move thereby bringing about a decline in health disparity.

Medical education is complex in nature, acknowledging the fact that the knowledge base is extremely vast and dynamic, and the number of skills that students must acquire during their period of training is also huge. The introduction of serious games in medical education delivery is actually a response to the ever-changing needs of medical education. In fact, the use of serious games in medical education has transformed the learning process and is an eye-catching illustration of a combination of technology and curriculum to strengthen the overall process of attainment of learning outcomes. Owing to the presence of the game factor, students remain motivated and highly engaged. Although medical educators engage themselves in the process of planning and implementation of such games, they are bound to face some challenges. To address these challenges, we must adopt a multipronged approach, including providing required infrastructure, strengthening faculty development programs, and measures to integrate these games into the existing curriculum. In conclusion, serious games are an effective and engaging addition to the teaching-learning methodologies in medical education. Acknowledging the merits of the same, there is an immense need to identify the potential challenges and then work strategically to overcome them and facilitate learning among medical students.

Background: In the domain of healthcare delivery, self medication (SM) is a widely prevalent form of health seeking behavior. Objectives: The current study has been planned with the objectives to estimate the prevalence of SM practices among medical students, and to assess the knowledge pertaining to SM among the study population. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study will be conducted among a representative population of medical students in a rural medical college for a period of two months among 205 students. The data collection tool will be a pilot tested semi-structured questionnaire and will be used after obtaining written informed consent. The statistical analysis will be done using SPSS version 16. Results: Results will be presented using descriptive (frequency, percentages, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (chi-square test) statistics. Conclusion: Considering the rising and alarming trends of antimicrobial resistance, it is our duty that we estimate the prevalence of SM among medical students and accordingly create awareness about not encouraging indiscriminate use of over the counter drugs.

The inclusion of cartoons in medical education can facilitate the learning process among medical students. This can be attributed to the active engagement, joyful learning experience, and encouragement of critical thinking among medical students. A number of factors must be given due attention to ensure that cartoons can facilitate the learning process among medical students. Thus, there is an immense need to identify the potential challenges that can impact the planning and implementation process and adopt a comprehensive approach to overcome them and thereby facilitate learning.

Noncommunicable diseases are universal and are being reported across the world, with many diseases being gradually reported in early age groups. Physical activity has been encouraged and advocated by all medical practitioners to prevent, arrest, and delay the onset and development of complications associated with noncommunicable diseases. The concept of “Ten Thousand Steps” in a day is predominantly a goal that people aim to attain either by walking or indulging themselves in some form of moderate physical activity. Since the inception of this concept, many health and fitness experts and public health agencies have recommended the same to achieve and maintain good health. Though there are numerous health-related benefits, people might encounter a wide range of challenges preventing them from attaining the goals consistently. In conclusion, the target of meeting ten thousand steps a day is much more than mere four-digit numbers, as a wide range of benefits have been attributed to the same. Although there are some challenges, the presence of technology and devices can help people continue with their active lifestyle, with fun and active engagement.

Theater of the oppressed has been regarded as a dynamic tool to bring about social change and empowerment of the audience. This theatrical exposure to medical students plays a significant role in the delivery of comprehensive training to medical students, which is not only restricted to clinical knowledge but extends to cultural and interpersonal skills to ensure the delivery of comprehensive patient care. In conclusion, the theater of the oppressed has the potential to prepare empathetic and compassionate medical practitioners. To augment the quality of healthcare delivery, this kind of exposure can help medical students in bridging the gap between theory and clinical practice.

Road safety has been acknowledged as a public health concern of global significance owing to its direct association with human lives and their well-being. Road safety is a much broader concept than measures that are aimed to just prevent accidents, but it extends to improving the quality of life of members of the community, safeguarding environmental health, and improving the economy of the nation. With the passage of time, several technologies in road safety have surfaced, and their collective employment can aid in the establishment of a smart, safe, and efficient transportation system in nations. In fact, these technologies will account for a significant reduction in the number of accidents, better management of traffic, and improved road safety. In conclusion, ensuring road safety can save lives, promote responsible behavior, and create secure transportation system. There is an immense need to create awareness, engage the community, and embrace technology to minimize the possibility of road accidents and ensure safe journeys for all.

Background: Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methods have been acknowledged as important tools to involve members of the community in the process of identification of their problems, the factors contributing to the development of these problems, and ways by which these problems can be resolved. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study will be conducted in two stages among first professional phase medical students. In the first stage, these students will be trained on PRA methods by the trained teachers, while in the second stage, these students will implement PRA methods in the local community. The entire training process and its different components will be evaluated using validated study tools (semi-structured questionnaire), which will be administered using Google Forms. The statistical analysis will be performed using frequency and percentages, and a paired t-test will be used to compare the change in knowledge before and after training. Conclusion: In conclusion, first professional phase medical students must be trained in PRA methods and subsequently supervised to monitor their change in behavior. However, as the success of the entire program will depend on the quality of training imparted to medical students, the training program must be evaluated from the perspective of students, community, and teachers.

The delivery of medical education is a complex process, considering the vast nature of the syllabus, and multiple competencies are needed to be attained by medical students. Escape rooms are an innovative approach to delivering medical education and provide an enriching learning experience for students. These rooms are designed to replicate clinical scenarios, and they provide a platform for students to apply their theoretical knowledge to clinical practice. The employment of escape rooms in medical education has been linked with multiple merits for the students and helps them to attain multiple competencies. The participants in escape rooms are generally from different disciplines, and as mentioned above, it gives a chance to students from varied disciplines to acknowledge the role of each specialty and understand the need that for successful healthcare delivery, all professionals have to work as a team. In other words, these room offers a wonderful opportunity for students to come out of discipline-level segregation and work together to ensure the delivery of comprehensive healthcare services. In conclusion, escape rooms have the potential to deliver experiential and contextual learning for students from different disciplines. As healthcare delivery is a multidisciplinary approach, there is an immense need to explore the possibility of running escape rooms along with students from other disciplines and together move forward across the complexities of clinical practice.

In the field of medical education, crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining views and inputs from a heterogeneous group of people using preferably digital platforms, with an aim to contribute to medical learning, creation of contents, and problem-solving and strengthen assessments. Considering the fact that medical knowledge continues to change with each day, this approach facilitates the process of continuous updation of the educational content based on recent developments. Regardless of the scope, application, and merits that can be attributed to crowdsourcing in medical education, there are some potential concerns that must be taken into account for optimizing the benefits. In summary, crowdsourcing has immense scope in medical education to create an inclusive and updated learning environment for medical students and healthcare professionals. The inputs generated through collective minds are expected to enrich the learning experience, and thus, we must look forward to exploring it for better utility.

In the field of medical education, geographic information system (GIS) can contribute in several ways to strengthen the process of delivery of education. As medical institutions plan to integrate GIS in the delivery of medical education, there can be some challenges that must be given due attention to optimize the benefits. In conclusion, the integration of GIS in medical education can expose medical students to enriching learning experiences. Acknowledging the importance and merits of GIS, there is an immense need to explore the possibility and introduce it in medical education to benefit medical students and widen their perspective on health care.

In the field of medical education, to understand how people learn, many learning theories have been proposed, and in the same context, learning styles also have attracted immense attention. Learning style refers to the wide range of approaches people prefer to adopt and process information to ensure learning. Furthermore, many studies have specified the importance of learning styles and the need that it must be given due consideration by teachers to facilitate and expedite learning among medical students. However, questions have even emerged with regard to the actual utility of learning styles in augmenting learning and making a call about learning outcomes. Considering that preference for learning style changes over a period of time, is often multimodal, and that learning results due to the interplay of a wide range of other internal and external factors and not only because of the learning style. In conclusion, even though learning style has its own scope and utility, the available scientific evidence indicates that preference for learning styles might not be able to ascertain learning outcomes.

The width and the depth of the information that medical students are expected to master in their undergraduate period of training is huge. Mind maps refer to the multi-sensory tools that aid medical students to integrate, organize, visualize, and subsequently retain and recall information for longer periods of time. Mind maps can be of different types in medical education, with each one having specific characteristics and plus points. Mind maps offer multiple benefits to students and have shown immense potential to expedite the learning process. Mind maps have their own share of limitations, and these must be taken into consideration to ensure that they are used in the right settings and do not interfere with the learning process. In conclusion, mind mapping is an effective and versatile tool for organizing and synthesizing information in medical education and thus has multiple applications. As mind maps have their share of utility and limitations, we must employ them based on the settings and use them as a supplementary tool to enable students to learn complex topics and thereby attain learning competencies.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health concern. The current study has been done with the objectives to assess the level of awareness about TB, GeneXpert, Nikshay, and 99-DOTS under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) among the representative population of medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted over a period of 2 months from October 2022 to November 2022 in a tertiary teaching medical college of Chengalpet district of Tamil Nadu among the medical students of the teaching medical college and hospital. Participants between the age of 18 and 28 years were included in the study with no serious illness. A stratified random sampling method was employed, wherein all the students were asked to fill out the online semi-structured questionnaire. Data entry was done in Microsoft Excel, and statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0. RESULTS: This cross-sectional descriptive study involved 176 undergraduate medical students with a mean age of 22.5 ± 3.5 years, where there are 95 (53.9%) females and 81 (46%) males as the participants of the study. Out of 176 participants, 140 (79.5%) participants had a fairly good awareness of first-line drugs, whereas 36 (20.5%) participants lacked awareness about NTEP, GeneXpert, 99-DOTS, and Nikshay. The majority of the participants reported following most of the TB preventive measures, with hand hygiene and using a handkerchief while coughing and sneezing are the most commonly reported prevention measures. CONCLUSION: The current study reported that, despite being aware of TB as a disease, medical students had low awareness of government-led interventions such as NTEP, Nikshay, 99-DOTS, and GeneXpert. This calls for the need to intensify awareness activities among medical students to strengthen our battle against TB.

Learning resources refer to the tools, materials, and approaches that are employed to support teaching and facilitate learning in terms of acquisition of knowledge and skills. The purpose of the current review is to explore the importance of learning resources, understand the role of teachers as a learning resource developer, and identify the challenges and propose potential solutions to overcome them. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 34 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include learning resources in the title alone only. Medical teachers play a key role in the development of learning resources for different cohorts of medical students. In today's era, as teachers are involved in the development of learning resources, technology plays a significant role in augmenting the quality, improving the accessibility, and effectiveness of learning materials by making them more engaging. In conclusion, the role of medical teachers as learning resource developers is crucial and has far-reaching implications for both educators and medical students. Teachers while designing learning resources can pay specific attention to their alignment with curriculum objectives, meet the needs of students with different learning styles, and also embrace technology. However, we must understand that this process is dynamic and continues to evolve in a rapidly changing world.

The profession of medicine is a challenging one considering the pace with which medical knowledge continues to expand on a daily basis. The purpose of the current review was to explore the significance of workplace learning from the perspective of different stakeholders. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines, and a total of 26 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include workplace learning and medical education in the title alone only. The workplace offers an opportunity for medical students to apply their acquired knowledge and participate in the process of patient care. Workplace learning gives a platform for medical students to not only participate in patient care but also gradually move forward on the path to becoming an effective member of the health workforce. We must realize that it is not only the students who derive benefits from workplace learning but also the teachers who can optimize their teaching and facilitation skills. To conclude, acknowledging the scope and merits attributed to workplace learning for different stakeholders, there is a definitive need to strengthen the overall process. Medical teachers have a crucial role to play in the strengthening and reinforcement of workplace learning in different contexts, and thus, they should be supported in their task to eventually improve the quality of medical doctors that we are producing.

Mentoring in the field of medical education plays a defining role in ensuring the personal and professional growth of medical students by creating a nurturing environment for them to thrive and prosper. Portfolio mentoring is a relatively novel approach to mentor students, wherein a portfolio occupies the central stage to ensure interaction between the two stakeholders. The employment of a portfolio as a tool for mentoring gives precise, concrete details about the work and accomplishments of the student, which was missing in traditional mentoring. Whenever an institution takes a call to introduce mentoring through a portfolio, prerequisites should be met before the start of them. If we want mentoring through portfolio to work in our settings, the most essential factor will be the amount of trust and rapport between the mentors and the mentees. In conclusion, the use of portfolios for mentoring medical students can be acknowledged as a wonderful approach to augment their educational experience. Portfolio provides them an opportunity to showcase their work, achievements, and growth, and through effective mentoring, we can empower future doctors and shape their path to success in years to come.

The doctor–patient relationship is an extremely important and indispensable aspect of health-care delivery. Instructional design refers to a structured strategy that a teacher adopts to develop and deliver any educational program or a specific topic in a streamlined manner. Gagne’s model of instructional design has been employed to deliver a wide range of skills in different settings. The topic of the doctor–patient relationship can be explained to the 1st-year undergraduate medical students as a part of the attitude, ethics, and communication module training. The proposed time for the session is 1 h, and we intend to employ a wide range of teaching–learning methods (namely flipped classroom; interactive discussion using case vignettes; employment of movies depicting a doctor–patient relationship; and role play, use of pear deck) to promote interaction and active engagement, and reflective writing. To summarize, the doctor–patient relationship is an integral part of health-care delivery and we must train students in this regard. Gagne’s model of instructional design provides both teachers and students an opportunity to learn the knowledge in a comprehensive and student-centered manner.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious infectious disease accounting for a significant number of deaths due to the infectious nature of the disease on the global platform. Migrant workers need special attention as these population groups live in substandard and crowded environmental conditions with poor ventilation, which play a crucial role in augmenting the risk of acquisition of infection. The global vision to ensure the delivery of effective TB control-related services for migrant workers has been influenced by a wide range of barriers. This issue is further complicated by the limited knowledge of migrant workers about tuberculosis, their rights, the kind of services available in healthcare facilities, and the ways to prevent the acquisition and transmission of infectious disease. By acknowledging the role of predisposing factors and the potential barriers that impact accessing timely healthcare services, it can be seen that the need of the hour is to plan and implement a comprehensive package of services for the benefit of migrant workers.

As medical knowledge continues to advance each day and there are multiple competencies that need to be acquired by undergraduate students, it becomes quite challenging for them to become competent within the period of training. The purpose of the current review is to explore the process of peer observation, identify the benefits attributed to peer observation, and explore various strategies to measure the impact of peer observation in medical education. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines and a total of 25 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include peer observation in the title alone only (viz. peer observation [ti] AND teaching [ti]; peer observation [ti] AND feedback [ti]; peer observation [ti] AND faculty [ti]; peer observation [ti] AND evaluation [ti]; peer observation [ti]). The approach of peer observation by medical students has been acknowledged as one of the important tools to improve the teaching and learning experiences by making everyone accountable. The success of peer observation in any medical college depends on the groundwork that has been carried out prior to its introduction. To maximize the benefit of peer observation in medical education for both stakeholders, we must take specific measures to conduct effective observations. In conclusion, peer observation by medical students is an effective approach to empower students as educators and develop a culture of continuous improvement in the institution. Acknowledging the merits of peer observation, the need of the hour is to adopt a systematic approach to ensure its successful planning and implementation in medical colleges.

Background Peer teaching is a well-acknowledged method to facilitate teaching and learning among medical students. The objective of the study was to assess the merits and effectiveness of peer teaching in small groups using a student-centered approach through the employment of different learning media.

Learning huddles in medical education is a type of small group teaching–learning method to ensure the involvement of students in meaningful discussions and the acquisition of critical thinking skills. Unlike conventional teaching methods, which cater to a large group of students, who are more often than not passive in the learning process, learning huddles are being employed in small groups and there is an active engagement of the medical students. Active engagement means medical students actively involve themselves in class discussions, knowledge-sharing, and problem-solving activities related to real-life scenarios. As we indulge in the process of implementation of learning huddles, there are multiple essential considerations that must be kept in mind to augment the overall learning experience and attainment of the learning outcomes. In conclusion, learning huddles have the potential to equip medical students with the required skills to be effective practitioners. As this method has been associated with multiple merits and requires limited resources, all medical institutions must explore and look forward to implementing them in their curriculum.

Performance appraisal refers to a formal and systematic process carried out with the intention to assess the commitment, efficiency, and performance of the employees. Performance appraisal in health-care organizations can be regarded as our answer as well as a tool to ensure that we meet our quality as well as move forward toward the attainment of the institution's goals. This evaluation should not be looked upon as a method to find shortcomings; rather, it should be looked upon as an opportunity for the head of the departments to have a constructive dialog with their departmental faculty to bring about improvement in their performance. In conclusion, faculty members continue to be the change agents upon which the success of any curricular reform or existing activities will depend. To evaluate their efficiency and at the same time to support them in discharging their roles effectively, it is the need of the hour to employ the tool of performance appraisal in medical institutions.

The training imparted to medical students during their undergraduation period has to be multifaceted to ensure that upon the completion of the training, we succeed in producing competent medical graduates. The purpose of the current review was to explore the utility of WhatsApp in the delivery of medical education and clinical teaching. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out on the PubMed search engine, and a total of 14 articles were selected based on their suitability with the current review objectives. Keywords used in the search include social media, WhatsApp, and medical education in the title alone only. WhatsApp is the instant messaging applications, and with time, it has been observed that it has become an integral part of the community of medical students worldwide. Utilizing the medium of WhatsApp can prove to be an effective approach to bridge the existing gap between teachers and students predominantly because of the flexibility, instant messaging, and sharing additional information with the students for additional reading. To conclude, the delivery of medical education has shown significant transformation over the years to meet the needs of learners. Acknowledging the potential of WhatsApp, its user-friendly nature, and its popularity among medical students, it is very much necessary to utilize the medium for the delivery of the curriculum beyond college hours and at their time of convenience.

Social accountability in medical education deals with the responsibility of medical colleges and health-care facilities to effectively respond to the health-related needs of the communities they cater to. The incorporation of social accountability into the medical curriculum has been linked with multiple benefits for different stakeholders. Considering the utility of social accountability, there is an immense need to integrate the same into the medical curriculum and implement it for the benefit of medical students. The success of social accountability will essentially depend on the kind of partnership of medical colleges with the local community. Upon implementation of social accountability into the medical curriculum, the next step is to ascertain the impact of such initiatives. In conclusion, the adoption of social accountability into medical education can significantly aid in the process of producing compassionate and culturally competent medical graduates. The need of the hour is to adopt a concerted approach to integrate social accountability in the medical curriculum and regularly measure its impact for periodic betterment and reduction in health disparity.

Escape rooms in medical education are relatively a novel approach to facilitate critical thinking and decision-making in simulated realistic clinical scenarios among the medical students. The success of escape rooms in the attainment of specified competencies depends on several factors that must be given due consideration for optimizing the overall outcome. Further, there might be multiple ethical concerns that must be given due attention before, during, and after the conduct of such sessions. There is an immense need to integrate ethical considerations while designing and implementing escape rooms in medical schools, as it will aid in the creation of a respectful and encouraging learning atmosphere for the students. In conclusion, escape rooms provide a great learning opportunity for medical students to critically think, engage in teamwork, and learn the art of adaptation depending on the given clinical scenario. However, the successful conduct of such sessions is determined by a wide range of factors, including ethical considerations, and all of them need to be systematically analyzed and measures should be taken to reduce their impact on students.