Educational Research and Scholarship in India: The Way Forward

Medical education research (MER) aims to improve the practice of medical education by applying the theory of educational research. Internationally, medical education research has grown exponentially and has established itself as a distinct field. In contrast, in India, the medical faculty is either bogged down by clinical responsibilities, or is busy with biomedical research. The recent initiatives such as implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME) for medical undergraduates, and push coming from regulatory agencies besides National Education Policy have become game changers. The emerging concept of scholarship, takes in to account all scholarly activities in a fair manner. The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is helpful in connecting teaching with better patient care outcomes through evidence based approach. It also promotes a community of practice to boost research and publication activities. Finally, there is a need to enlarge the scope of research from treating sick children to promoting total wellbeing, which requires interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach to research.

Teaching professional values in medical education.

One of the foremost concerns of the medical profession today is ‘lack of professionalism’. Professionalism deals with professional conduct. It is defined as ‘the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served.’1 The medical profession, which enjoyed a large amount of trust and goodwill in the past, has, to an extent, lost its credibility. There is growing mistrust between physicians and patients. Many factors have contributed to this and include market forces, which have led to the commercialization of medical education; the emergence of high-end technologies; a nexus between the medical industry and practitioners for earning money; growing consumer awareness; increasing litigation; the proneness to error that is inherent in medicine; and the stiff competition among members of the profession.2,3 Medical schools in different parts of the world have addressed this issue as part of curriculum reform. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the USA has listed ‘professionalism’ as one of the core competencies. While there is abundant international literature on professionalism,4–11 there have been few deliberations in the context of Indian medical education.12,13 An article on ‘Teaching and assessing professionalism in the Indian context’ is perhaps one of the most comprehensive discussions, besides the proceedings of a National Consultation at Karamsad, Gujarat in April 2013 and a meeting of Global Indian Doctors at Kolkata, West Bengal in January 2014.14 In this article, I propose that the Bhagavad Gita (in brief, Gita), an ancient Indian epic, provides some insights on the teaching of professional values in medical education. Keeping in view the challenges involved in teaching professionalism, I suggest that we can draw relevant lessons from the Gita and the practice of yoga as these are the source of a holistic model for inculcating professional values among the medical faculty and students. It is increasingly being recognized that the Gita does not belong to a particular religion, but is the repository of a universal wisdom that belongs to the entire humanity.