An innovative training programme for teachers of Government Medical Colleges in Andhra Pradesh was conducted by the Harvard Medical School, USA, for the first time in the country. The nine-month training programme will conclude with a workshop and presentation of certificates to the participants, here on September 15.
The objective of the training programme, conceived by NTR University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor T. Ravi Raju, was to expose medical teachers to international-level of teaching.
The participants were exposed to the latest findings in medical education literature and the practices at the Harvard Medical School, Andhra Medical College Principal P.V. Sudhakar and NRT UHS Registrar S. Appala Naidu told the media here on Monday.
The training programme commenced in January, 2017, with a four-day workshop, followed by a series of webinars, online interactive sessions and periodic assessments.
The trainees were evaluated by the trainers of Harvard Medical School, led by Director (International Training) Kenneth Christopher.
Dr. Sudhakar said that 100 medical teachers of rank of Assistant Professor and Associate Professor, with a minimum teaching of five years were selected for the training course, facilitated by Associate Dean of Harvard Medical School Ajay Jain.
It goes to the credit of the trainees that 44 % participants secured scores between 70 and 80, 46 % between 80 and 90 % and 10 % secured exceptionally high scores between 90 and 100 % in the evaluation done by the Harvard team.
“Unlike regular teachers, who undergo B. Ed training, we (medical teachers) have no such exposure on how to hold the attention span of students and creating an impression on them,” said Associate Professor of AMC I. Vani, who participated in the training programme.
The 100 trainees, including 22 from Visakhapatnam, and the rest from various medical colleges from all over Andhra Pradesh, will participate in the four-day final workshop to be held in the city from September 12.