Perceptions of medical educational research activity among medical educators undergoing educational leadership programs.

Educational Research (ER) is yet to be well established in many Asian countries and its requirements, obligations, advantages on teaching-leaning methods are yet to be fully exploited and acknowledged. Creating awareness of ER and receiving opinions on the existing trends and gaps in ER and its subdivisions may invoke interest in participants on what can be done in future and provide wider prospective and outlook on the potentials of medical ER. Methodology: Cross-sectional study design was used to survey 36 fellows and faculty on the PSG – FAIMER list server. Results: Overall response was 58% (36 out of 62). All respondents were involved in ER and were looking forward to disseminate the benefits of it. While there was full consensus that teaching-methodologies were part of ER, all the participants were not aware of the existence of curriculum, assessment and attitudes of students under ER. 40% of respondents felt the need to incorporate ER in the curriculum and around 37% wanted to further train themselves through on-line sessions. Conclusion: This study has shown that regulatory and institutional supports are likely to motivate the medical faculty in accepting and pursuing ER.

A farce called the National Board of Examinations.

The National Board of Examinations is a body formed to enhance the standards of post graduate examinations in modern medicine in India. Unfortunately, the outdated mode of examinations and the arbitrarily set high cut-off marks for passing the examinations defeat the very purpose of its formation and functioning.

Basic medical science education must include medical informatics.

Medical Informatics is the science and art of processing medical information. In this age of "Information Explosion" choosing the useful one is rather difficult, and there lies the scope of electronic database management. However, still many outstanding personnel related to the healthcare sector take pride in being "computer illiterate". The onus of the best use lies on the end-user health care providers only. Another term tele-health encompasses all the e-health and telemedicine services. Computer aided or assisted learning (CAL) is a computer based tutorial method that uses the computer to pose questions, provide remedial information and chart a student through a course. Now the emphasis in medical education, is on problem based learning (PBL) and there CAL could be of utmost help if used judiciously. Basic Medical Education and Research lays the foundation for advancing and applying proper healthcare delivery systems. There is no doubt that deep knowledge of anatomy is mandatory for successful surgery. Also, comprehensive knowledge of physiology is essential for grasping the principles of pathology and pharmacology adequately, to avoid incorrect and inadequate practice of medicine. Similarly, medical informatics is not just a subject to be learnt and forgotten after the first professional MBBS examination. The final aim of every student should not only be to become a good user but also an expert for advancing medical knowledge base through medical informatics. In view of the fast changing world of medical informatics, it is of utmost necessity to formulate a flexible syllabus rather than a rigid one.