Medical Education In the Year 2023

 Medical education in India has been undergoing tremendous changes in the past decade. The country boasts the largest number of medical colleges in the world with over 90,000 MBBS graduates in 595 medical colleges of Modern Medicine (Allopathy) and 53,000 graduates in another 733 AYUSH medical colleges produced every year. However, the demand-supply mismatch of healthcare resources and disparity in methods adopted to impart education in the country is leading to a dearth of affordable and quality healthcare education. 

Despite these challenges, India is leading the way for digital health transformation to create a resilient healthcare system. Certain radical changes have opened opportunities to improve the medical education system in the country to match up with the healthcare needs and global academic standards. 2023 is about strengthening the learning approaches with an emphasis on all-around development and a renewed focus on developing patient-centric competencies.  

New-age digital trends and their role in enhancing online medical education 

Digitalization in the healthcare industry is made possible by technological advancements like electronic health records, online appointments, telemedicine, SaMD (Software as a Medical Device), and AI-powered medical devices. Computer-aided instruction is aiding students in easily visualizing complex procedures for excellent accessibility. New trends in teaching and assessment methods including Google Forms to collect students’ answers, YouTube as a streaming platform in medical education, and choose your own adventure (CYOA) as a story-telling technique are turning out to be extremely useful for medical teachers to adopt in the education field. 

Augmented reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR) 

The healthcare industry is increasingly utilizing the potential of Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) to help practitioners gain practical experience to perform specific critical care procedures, anatomy learning, social skills learning, and medical training. The global market of gamified education, estimated at USD 840 billion in 2020 is growing at a CAGR of 36 per cent and is expected to reach USD 2,317 billion by 2026. Equipment called Hololens from Microsoft is actively providing a unique experience of seeing a real patient and acquiring related medical information, including images and charts.  

Health practitioners can virtually inspect highly realistic 3D models of bones, organs, blood vessels, and muscles. A wide range of medical procedures can now be simulated for nurses, surgeons, and ICU workers, which enables a risk-free and practical experience that results in reduced skill deficiency.   

Hybrid or blended learning is scaling the future of healthcare professionals  

Blended learning refers to the systematic integration of online and offline learning to facilitate critical, creative, and complex thinking skills. In this process, students study before class and then apply their knowledge in classroom discussion and through a practical operation 

According to research conducted by the award-winning educational designer and author Eric B Bauman, it was concluded that blended learning was significantly more effective for acquiring relevant knowledge, enhancing student-centered learning, and improving clinical practice. Blended learning may address deficiencies in clinical skills, make up for limited time and space, and ensure learning efficiency and quality. 

By adopting advanced tech solutions, healthcare institutions can significantly improve staff experience, enhance patient care, and allow better and faster diagnoses. In 2023, digital technologies will help understand the needs and behaviors of the industry and are poised to serve as a knowledge pool for future practitioners. 

Healthcare professionals referring to books & journals, and case studies  

Medical practitioners often require regular access to information to stay abreast with the latest pharmaceutical innovations, drug discoveries, and research. Surprisingly, there are about 6 million new articles published every year and students are always under the pressure to learn novel treatment guidelines to help enhance their medical practice.  

In 2023, there are novel methods that are being put to use to rapidly access a vast amount of valid information. Now, it is possible to access the world's best and most up-to-date health information for travelers by dialing a single number. A list of universally-renowned publishers are now providing healthcare professionals access to credible research books and journals covering specialties such as Cardiology, Critical Care, Endocrinology, Internal Medicine and other medical specialities.  

Empowerment in the medical fraternity via upskilling for a healthier India in 2023 

In the current times, education is no longer limited to four walls of a classroom and there are rapid advancements and breakthroughs in technology. There is a growing need to develop and provide leadership education and development experiences for equipping medical practitioners with the right knowledge to become clinical leaders and improve patient care. The health information infrastructure must enable providers to connect, combine, analyze, and share health and social data for highly personalized care.  

To create a future-ready workforce, the current biopharma, Medtech, and other healthcare stakeholders must be able to maximize the operational value of digital technologies in 2023. Upskilling will lead to better outcomes and will drive stakeholder awareness, adoption, engagement, and growth.  

Gerald Jaideep

Guest Author The author is a CEO, Medvarsity