Hybrid education to play key role in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education: AIIMS Delhi

New Delhi: The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi has conducted a study where they have found that hybrid education is going to play an important role in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

According to the statement issued by the AIIMS authorities, “The results of the study were published in a reputed international journal of medical education and also awarded the best research paper for the development of newer techniques (Dev Raj Bajaj Award) by the Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists in 2021. The innovation was a consequence of our published research on the perception of students regarding the effectiveness of virtual versus face-to-face teaching during COVID-19. The research was conducted by Dr. Simran Kaur, Dr. Dinu S Chandran, Dr. Megha Bir, and Prof. KK Deepak at the Physiology Department”.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the challenges faced in medical education was maintaining interactivity among the students. To overcome this challenge, an innovative approach of structured virtual group discussion (sVGD) was adopted in physiology postgraduate education for effective academic learning. It involved supervised and unsupervised interactions in a structured way leading to the active engagement of students. The students perceived sVGD as a more effective format compared to group discussion in a conventional virtual format.

Dr. Simran Kaur, the principal investigator said that the approach in medical education may act as a torchbearer to implement small-group teaching for undergraduate and postgraduate students across specialties. Prof. KP Kochhar, HOD, Physiology said that Hybrid education is going to promote inclusivity of different learning styles and enhance functional outcomes in postgraduate medical education. Prof. KK Deepak, former HOD said that the technology should be used in all its potential for advances in medical education.