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In the field of medical education, mentoring is a form of dynamic relationship that is crucial to facilitating the learning process among medical students and helping them in their professional development. The utility of a portfolio in mentoring is not a mere collection of work samples, rather it is a dynamic tool to ensure the professional and personal growth of medical students, with the help of reflective insights. Portfolio can be used to set goals and track the progress of students over a period of time. Even though mentoring through portfolio has been linked with multiple benefits, there are multiple challenges that must be taken into consideration to enhance the overall utility. In conclusion, mentoring carried out through a portfolio has immense potential to facilitate learning and encourage professional growth. However, considering the presence of multiple challenges, there is an immense need to establish a structured framework for portfolio mentoring and support the same with training and technical support.

Author(s): Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava (corresponding author) [1]; Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava [2] INTRODUCTION Online assessments in medical education have brought about a considerable transformation in how medical students are assessed.[sup.[1]] Paper-based [...]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addictive learning represents a specific type of learning wherein medical students become highly motivated and engaged to continuously remain involved in the learning process. Considering the volume, depth, and complexity of information that a medical student must acquire, there is an immense need for sustained engagement to aid students in absorbing this information, and there lies the importance of addictive learning. Acknowledging the significance of addictive learning in medical education delivery and in facilitating the attainment of learning competencies among students, many teaching-learning strategies have been proposed and implemented globally. In conclusion, the concept of addictive learning in medical education can significantly enhance student engagement and thus play a crucial role in gaining knowledge and acquisition of skills. The need of the hour is to adopt different strategies to promote the implementation of addictive learning by creating a conducive learning environment for medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical students during their period of training are exposed to lots of stress owing to the pressure of academics, adaptation to new living conditions, and peer-related factors. Mindfulness refers to conscious efforts to encourage healthcare professionals, including medical students to live in the current moment, without being concerned about the events in the past or the future. Training of students in mindfulness methods is expected to play a defining role in reducing stress among them, which will in turn aid in promoting their overall well-being. Even though training of medical students in mindfulness has been recognized as the need of the hour and has multiple merits for the students, patients, and healthcare delivery services, there have been some challenges in its successful implementation in any medical institution. In conclusion, training medical students in mindfulness methods is expected to promote personal well-being and the development of vital professional attributes. However, as the process of implementation in medical institutions might be accompanied by different challenges, it is the need of the hour to integrate mindfulness initiatives within the existing curriculum and support the same with faculty training and administrative support. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Interpersonal and Communication Skills, and Professionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conclusion, effective mentoring is a key strategy to support the growth and development of future healthcare professionals. Mentors have a key role to play and we must prepare them for this role so that they prioritize mentorship in their work schedule, and accordingly help students to become competent healthcare professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root canal therapy (RCT) is an extremely safe, effective, and painless procedure that is crucial to save a tooth that would have been otherwise extracted. As patients with tooth infections present with severe pain and inability to carry out routine oral functions, RCT plays a vital role in improving the quality of life of the patients. The RCT procedure not only plays a crucial role in the relief of physical pain but also significantly contributes to mental well-being. After realizing the benefits of RCT in improving the quality of life and positive impact on the mental well-being of the patients, we anticipate that all patients must timely receive the therapy, but then that is not the case due to the presence of various challenges and factors. The presence of these barriers envisages the need for the formulation of comprehensive policies, expansion of community outreach activities, and education of patients to improve access to RCT. In conclusion, RCT has been associated with multiple benefits. There arises the need to overcome the identified barriers to ensure that RCT becomes more accessible for a wide range of patients needing essential dental services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment is an integral component in the delivery of medical education. The scope of online assessment in the field of medical education is extensive and varied, encompassing a wide range of types of assessments and purposes. The purpose of the review article is to explore the need and merits of online assessment in the cognitive domain in the field of medical education. As we all know, each one of these methods has its pros and cons, nevertheless, the choice of which type should be involved will eventually depend on the goal of the assessment, intended learning objectives, type of questions, domain to be assessed, number of students appearing for examination, and free or paid online application. There is an immense need for online assessment and we must look for ways to integrate them in the process of medical education delivery. In conclusion, online assessment has a wide range of applications and benefits in medical education, owing to the flexibility, ability to incorporate multimedia, and provision of immediate feedback. The need of the hour is to systematically explore the possibility of introduction of online assessments, and based on the results of the need assessment and availability of resources, introduce the same for the benefit of medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]