Faculty development and medical education units in India: a survey

Faculty development in medical education is gaining momentum in India. While planning a National Conference on Medical Education (NCME 2007), we did a survey of principals and faculty of medical colleges to understand the status of faculty development programmes and medical education units in medical colleges in India.

Questionnaires were sent to principals of medical colleges by surface mail and to faculty through a web-based programme to elicit information on various aspects of faculty development programmes and medical education units. The responses of both groups were analysed.

The number of medical education units has increased rapidly after regulations have been revised in 1997 by the Medical Council of India. The main activities of medical education units were to conduct workshops targeted at medical teachers. The frequently covered topics were teaching-learning, media and student assessment. Lectures dominated the methodology of imparting information. Evaluation was done mainly by feedback questionnaires and pre-test/post-test questionnaires. Projects and follow up were rarely used. The responses from both groups were strikingly similar. The major strengths of medical education units were perceived as availability of trained and motivated faculty, good infrastructure and supportive leadership. The shortcomings were lack of infrastructure, funding and full-time faculty, besides time constraints and resistance to change. The respondents suggested strengthening of infrastructure, appointment of full-time faculty and staff, incentives and recognition of contributions to faculty development, making participation a mandatory requirement, extending the scope of faculty development programmes to include research and networking at the national level. Conclusion. The study reveals the need for policy decisions that support functioning of medical education units in India besides active participation of the faculty.