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Book Review Indian Pediatrics 2001; 38: 213 |
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Principles of Medical Education. |
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The past decade has seen an increased interest in and rethinking of approaches to medical education in medical schools, both in the developed and in the developing coun-tries. Pressure and motivation for change has arisen intrinsically from the medical profession as well as from extrinsic needs of the community they serve. The process of change has been remarkably slow in India, where still through years at an authoritarian medical school, idealistic young doctors are moulded into rigid doctors who have lost much of their original ability to learn and communicate. The current treatise, published at this juncture is a timely effort on part of IAP Education Center to demystify the illusions in medical education in this country that have been haunting us for decades together. Hopefully, this carefully crafted self-instructional manual on the art and science of educational technology as related to education of health professionals will help resurrect the dwindling methodology and approach to medical education in India. The manual, in the first of its 23 chapters, explores the pedagogic shift from the tradi-tional teacher centered approach, in which the emphasis is on teachers and what they teach, to a student centered approach, in which the emphasis is on students and what they learn. Following chapters vividly capture the basic fundamentals of curriculum planning, teaching learning methodology, microteaching, acade-mic counselling, evaluation, etc. Self directed learning strategies involve the learner as an active participant resulting in shaping of a lifelong learner who is able to meet the changing needs of the people he or she serves. This particular facet of medical education has not been given its due share in their scheme of things by the authors. Devoting more than half of the book to evaluation techniques and methods put undue emphasis on examination reforms as compared to bringing about positive changes in the teaching learning methodology. This is toeing in line with advocates of traditional education for whom learning is not the primary objective; deriving pleasure out of evaluating is! Recent techno-logy and media in medical education also merited more footage. The language is simple and flowing. Each chapter begins with a list of objectives intended to facilitate clear and precise delineation of the learning needs related to that subject. The manual has been meticulously proof read and is devoid of printer’s devils. An avid reader would definitely welcome the coffee breaks punc-tuating the text; these serve to break the monotony of reading, and provide a time period to relax as well as to ponder over what has been read so far. Overall, a must read for all those concerned with planning, execution, and promotion of medical education in India. For the netizens, the full text electronic version of this manual is available at www.edu4med.com/education.htm and http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/principles. Piyush Gupta, |
