Learning is no longer scheduled for or measured by “Butt in the seat time"

In 1979 when I entered the Osmania Medical College as a greenhorn medical student, I found  the  teaching to be  no different  than what I was taught  by my teachers  in high school.

The only difference was instead of thin light text books there were massive tomes which used to give good exercise to our arms and backs. The same old time tested “Practicals” which had absolutely no relevance to the actual practice of medicine were conducted by the tutors of the preclinical subjects.I still cannot fathom, why I had to find out the side and muscle attachments of a scaphoid bone or the humerus, thrown like dice on the table by the Anatomy “external” even today.

Main emphasis was on studying retaining facts and regurgitating them without any modification on the asking of the examiner. There was no logic or rationale to anything which was taught. After coming to clinicals, at least few of my teachers taught me some rudiments of, what real doctoring is like. People  knew all about esoteric syndrome found only in the Ashkenazim Jews  but had no clue to treat a child with fever or relieve an old man’s urinary obstruction. In fact at the end  of the  final year if  I was faced with someone having a medical emergency probably I would have either fainted then and there or ran away.

People  who  were  savvy with the  way  world works  and  had  natural inborn  people’s skills  were no where in the  top of the  graduating  class. But  20 years later  quite a few  of the  toppers  were  real failures  or remained  mediocre  where as theses  guys  with the  soft  skills  rose to the  top.

With the  advent  of the   digital revolution, Internet and ready use of Google by many patients,  we in the  medical world are facing a different  world now.  Which is going to become even more complex and challenging in the future .

There is an urgent  need for a paradigm  shift in  teaching of Medicine 

1.     Learning is no longer scheduled for or measured by “Butt in the seat time"

2.      Educators need to be mindful of evaluating students on learning outcomes and assessing the impact of e-learning.

3.     Understanding and learning the essentials of E-Learning is necessary for both new and experienced educators. They must learn how to use e-leaning tools to facilitate learning and integrate them into courses and programs.

4.     To meet the needs of these learners, educational institutions have to make significant investments in learning infrastructure such as classrooms equipped with videoconferencing and learner response systems, simulation centers with high-fidelity human patient simulators, as well as ubiquitous wireless access and online learning course management systems.

5.     As increasing numbers of the “net-generation” enter Medical schools and the Health workforce, faculty and staff educators are challenged to provide educational experiences for learners who are savvy users of e-learning technologies.

6.     E-learning requires systems level planning for acquiring resources such as hardware and software, identifying stakeholders, developing the support team, and orienting learners and educators.

7.     today’s medical educators are likely to find themselves teaching in these “high-tech” classrooms and having clinical experiences in agencies where using e-learning is the norm, not all are prepared to do so.

8.     Define e-learning, explain the theoretical underpinnings of learning with technology a design process to create an optimal learning environment. (39)

9.     Learners may retrieve reading materials from electronic book readers and access information from smartphones, and often choose to enroll in online educational programs because they are accessible and convenient.

10.  Strategic planning will be required for all administrators and e-learning coordinators charged with leading the planning, implementing, and evaluating of the e-learning enterprise.

11.  Learners relate to educators and each other through social networking Web sites and text messaging.

12.  How to teach in Web-supported courses, use technology in the curriculum, and develop and manage clinical simulations.

13.   Concepts of continuous quality improvement are  to be threaded throughout the learning  experience