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Medical education in India

Guest Editors:
Anne D. Souza, MD: Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
Olwyn Westwood, PhD: King’s College London, UK
 

BMC Medical Education called for submissions to a Collection on the dynamic landscape of medical education in India. This Collection focuses on recent developments in curriculum design and the development and implementation of innovative teaching methods in classrooms and medical professional training courses across the country. By bringing together diverse perspectives, this Collection seeks to foster a comprehensive discussion on the current state and the future of Indian medical education.

New Content ItemThis collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 4: Learning and Education.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Anne D. Souza, MD: Kasturba Medical College of Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India

Dr Anne D. Souza is an accomplished medical educator passionate about clinical anatomy and educational research. With over a decade of teaching experience, she has been actively involved in designing and planning undergraduate medical education, emphasizing ethics and excellence. She is skilled in human anatomy, medical education, and medical ethics. Anne’s dedication to the field is evident through her role as an editorial board member for BMC Medical Education and her contributions as a reviewer for various international anatomy and medical education journals. Notably, she is a fellow of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) and a valued member of the Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE). Recognizing her outstanding contributions, she was honored with an Associate Fellowship from AMEE in 2023. 

Olwyn Westwood, PhD: King's College London, UK

Professor Olwyn Westwood is a recognized medical educator and alumnus of King's College London. Having academic and leadership roles within post-1992 and Russell Group institutions, she also mentors colleagues in pedagogic practice and research supervision. She has UK and international advisory roles across Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean, having a special interest in education and training in India. Her roles have included leading quality assurance audit teams for best practice in undergraduate and postgraduate clinical curricula. Capitalizing on her experience in the collaborative partnership for the development of UK primary medical awards, she has in-depth awareness of the cultural, social and political issues for curriculum development and delivery.

About the Collection

BMC Medical Education called for submissions to a Collection on the ever-evolving field of medical education in India, seeking to highlight novel approaches, best practices, and cutting-edge research in this country.

Medical education in India stands at a pivotal juncture, with the landscape witnessing rapid transformations driven by advancements in medical science, technology, and pedagogy. As this critical sector continues to grow and adapt, there is an increasing need to understand, analyze, and share the latest insights, experiences, and methodologies.

We invited scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners to submit original research articles, reviews, and case studies exploring a wide range of topics related to medical education in India, including but not limited to:

  •   Curriculum development and reforms: innovative approaches to medical curriculum design and alignment with evolving healthcare needs in India. Submissions concerning themselves with the introduction of the competency-based curriculum (CBME) and related concepts such as the learner doctor, family adoption program (FAP), and disability competencies will be of particular interest to this Collection.

  •   Teaching and learning methods: research on effective teaching methodologies, simulation-based training, online/blended learning opportunities, team-based learning, and strategies to address challenges faced in resource-constrained settings.

  •   Faculty development: studies on enhancing faculty competencies, fostering effective mentorship, promoting research culture, and faculty training for adapting to modern educational paradigms.

  •   Interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative learning: initiatives and outcomes related to interprofessional education, encouraging collaboration among healthcare disciplines to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.

  •   Assessment and evaluation: innovative assessment methods, program evaluation, and accreditation processes that align with the educational goals and ensure quality standards in medical education.

  •   Social accountability and community engagement: research exploring medical education's role in addressing local healthcare needs, promoting equitable access to healthcare services, and community-oriented teaching programs.

  •   Medical ethics and professionalism: investigations into the teaching and assessment of medical ethics, professionalism, and cultural sensitivity in the Indian context.

  •   Well-being and resilience: studies examining strategies to support the well-being of medical students and professionals, promoting resilience, and mitigating burnout in the challenging healthcare environment.

Image credit: Vadi Fuoco / Generated with AI / stock.adobe.com

  1. Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, which are prevalent in nearly 25–30% of the Indian population, pose a significant burden on public health. However, the field is often overlooked in undergraduate medica...

    Authors: Deepti Agarwal, Kavita Krishna, Srilakshmi Sathiyaseelan and Sandeep Kansurkar
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:355
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. The human bone anatomy is commonly taught using normal adult bones. However, students often face difficulties comprehending the clinical correlations related to fractures, as they only rely on text content or ...

    Authors: Abhishek Agarwal, Anne D Souza, B. Jyostna, Ashwija Shetty and Nandini Bhat
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:190
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. The doctor-patient relationship is essential for effective patient care, yet medical education often neglects to nurture the quality such as empathy during the initial years of training. Doctor-patient relatio...

    Authors: Sushma Prabhath, Uma Kulkarni, Vani Lakshmi R., Bikash Patra, Eshwari K., Divya Arvind Prabhu and Kirtana R. Nayak
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:145
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. In contemporary medical education, it is essential to raise student involvement and active participation in the learning process. By contrasting small-group peer learning modules with teacher-led conventional ...

    Authors: Vinay Arasappa Vishwanath, Sindhu Raghuramaiah and Kavita Rasalkar
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:101
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Surgical education necessitates hands-on training, which poses ethical challenges when practicing on real patients. Simulation training emerges as a pivotal solution, offering a safe and effective environment ...

    Authors: Mohanapriya Thyagarajan, Elilnambi Sundaramoorthy, Mahin Nallasivam, Maheshkumar Kuppuswamy, Radha Annamalai, Ravinder Thyagarajan and Padmavathi Ramaswamy
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1386
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Remedial teaching is a tailored educational approach dedicated to enhancing the academic performance of students facing challenges within the curriculum. By identifying and addressing specific learning difficu...

    Authors: Shreelaxmi V. Hegde, Prajna P. Shetty, Monikaa Senthilkumar, Ramesh Kandimalla, Grisilda Vidya Bernhardt, Janita R.T. Pinto, Renukadevi Mahadevan, Shashidhar M. Kotian and K.S. Rashmi
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1375
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Internship is a phase of training wherein medical graduates acquire the skills and competencies required to function independently. It has been reported that interns lack confidence in performing common proced...

    Authors: Rashmi Ramachandran, Ravneet Kaur, Ambuj Roy, Prabudh Goel and Ashok Kumar Deorari
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1357
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. The authors aim to evaluate the perception, strengths, and challenges in the implementation of “Clinical Laboratory Shadowing” as an elective module for third-year professional medical students.

    Authors: Vineetha K. Ramdas Nayak, Prajna P. Shetty, Vaideki Balamurugan, Vijetha Shenoy Belle, Ravindra Maradi and Kirtana R. Nayak
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1324
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Interactive teaching methods such as patient narratives and role plays are effective tools in medical education. Incorporating the patient's perspective of the disease and standardized treatment in the teachin...

    Authors: Caren D’souza, Animesh Jain, Tatiyana Mandal, Ciraj Ali Mohammed, Kishan Prasad HL and Supriya Pinto
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1320
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. The Indian National Medical Council has incorporated the Basic Life Support (BLS) course in the foundation course of the undergraduate (MBBS) medical curriculum. However, medical teachers raise concerns about ...

    Authors: Sonia Kochhar, Navneh Samagh, Jyoti Sharma, Amandeep Kaur and Madhur Verma
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:971
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Continuing Medical Education (CME) is crucial for physicians to stay current in the rapidly advancing field of medicine. A WhatsApp (WA) based community of physicians was initiated in 2016 ‘WhatsApp CME India ...

    Authors: Nagendra Kumar Singh, Akashkumar N Singh, Bijay Patni, Ajoy Tewari and Sanjeev Phatak
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:960
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. The authors had previously developed AnaVu, a low-resource 3D visualization tool for stereoscopic/monoscopic projection of 3D models generated from pre-segmented MRI neuroimaging data. However, its utility in neu...

    Authors: Doris George Yohannan, Aswathy Maria Oommen, Amruth S. Kumar, S. Devanand, Minha Resivi UT, Navya Sajan, Neha Elizabeth Thomas, Nasreen Anzer, Nithin Kadakampallil Raju, Bejoy Thomas, Jayadevan Enakshy Rajan, Umesan Kannanvilakom Govindapillai, Pawan Harish, Tirur Raman Kapilamoorthy, Chandrasekharan Kesavadas and Jayanthi Sivaswamy
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:932
    Content type: Research Published on:

  16. District Residency Programme (DRP) was introduced by National Medical Commission as mandatory three-months training program for postgraduate residents. The program was for the first time implemented in April 2...

    Authors: Ankit Raj, Shalini Singh and Monika Rathore
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:493
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Medical education in India" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.