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| SHORT COMMUNICATION |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 12
| Issue : 2 | Page : 99-100 |
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Educational research by medical teachers: A neglected yet an important domain
Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava1, Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava2
1 Department of Community Medicine, Medical Education Unit Coordinator and Member of the Institute Research Council, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth – Deemed to be University, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District, Tamil Nadu, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth – Deemed to be University, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District, Tamil Nadu, India
| Date of Submission | 25-Oct-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 31-Jan-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 28-Feb-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava
Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) – Deemed to be University, Thiruporur - Guduvancherry Main Road, Ammapettai, Nellikuppam, Chengalpet District - 603108, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/mjmsr.mjmsr_46_20
The process of medical education in general is a complex and demanding one, which can significantly improve upon based on the findings of research activities. Educational research is a formal and systematic approach to get deeper insights of the educational process, and with an aim to study and resolve educational problems, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the medical training. The generated evidence is crucial to bring about curricular reforms and significantly plays an important role in the development of a professional. In conclusion, promotion of educational research should be looked upon as the way to ensure better health professions education and to improve the accountability of the medical colleges towards the needs of the community. In-fact, educational research is the approach to gain valuable insights into the complexities of medical teaching and assessment and improve the overall process through timely curricular reforms.
Keywords: Curricular reforms, educational research, medical teachers
How to cite this article:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Educational research by medical teachers: A neglected yet an important domain. Muller J Med Sci Res 2021;12:99-100 |
How to cite this URL:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Educational research by medical teachers: A neglected yet an important domain. Muller J Med Sci Res [serial online] 2021 [cited 2023 Feb 5];12:99-100. Available from: https://www.mjmsr.net/text.asp?2021/12/2/99/338504 |
| Introduction | |  |
The process of medical education in general is a complex and demanding one, which can significantly improve upon based on the findings of research activities. The scope and role of a medical teacher as an educational researcher cannot be ignored; nevertheless, we have to accept the fact that in most of the settings, teachers are not systematically trained to plan and conduct an educational research.[1],[2] Further, it won't be wrong to document that most of the research publications done by medical teachers are usually restricted to their specific specialty, without giving any emphasis toward research targeting the teaching-learning or assessment domains, which has to be their primary role.
Educational Research
In simple words, educational research is a formal and systematic approach to get deeper insights of the educational process, and with an aim to study and resolve educational problems, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the medical training.[1] The educational researchers attempt to describe, clarify or control the different aspects of education, so that eventually the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and professionalism of the medical students can be ameliorated.[2] Acknowledging the scope of educational research, it becomes a must to strengthen it across all the medical institutions with an intention to constantly improve the medical education and thus prepare medical students to the diversified and changing health care needs of the community.[1],[3] The conduction of educational research eliminates the component of opinions and helps the administrators to take evidence based decisions. The generated evidence is crucial to bring about curricular reforms and significantly plays an important role in the development of a professional.[2],[3]
Emerging areas
It is high time to carry out translational educational research and this will essentially require empowerment of the faculty members to carry out scientific educational research.[4] In that regard, the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research fellowship or the Advance Course in Medical Education (in India) are the positive moves and ensures that at least some proportion of teachers are involved in educational innovation projects. It also becomes important to disseminate the findings of the projects so that positive strategies can be adopted in other medical institutions. Moreover, it is the need of the hour for the regulatory body and the medical educators to introspect about the ongoing medical education process, identify the problems and then plan an appropriate study to get evidence which can bridge the existing lacunae and eventually also address the needs of the society in a better way.[2],[3],[4]
Potential barriers and Suggested solutions
However, there are some issues with regard to the conduction of educational research, such as lack of clarity about the study objectives, incomplete review about the research problem, involvement of students as study participants (namely issues pertaining to coerced participation or deviating the student from studies to only research, inability to withdraw from the study due to fear of penalty, the voluntariness of the consent, etc.), ethical dilemmas, etc., which do pose as a challenge.[3],[4],[5] Nevertheless, these issues can be easily tackled by sensitizing the medical teachers about the various aspects of educational research and also through the review process of the institutional human ethics committee.[5]
Lessons from the field
At Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, a constituent unit of the Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Deemed-to-be University, Puducherry, a number of steps have been taken to envisage educational research among the faculty members. In-fact, the Medical Education Unit and the Institution Research Council has played an important role in streamlining the issue and establishing a culture among faculty members to opt for educational research projects. Further, the administration has been encouraging faculty members to enroll in medical education courses to improve their understanding and thereby assume the role of being the change agent.
| Conclusion | | |
In conclusion, promotion of educational research should be looked upon as the way to ensure better health professions education and to improve the accountability of the medical colleges toward the needs of the community. In fact, educational research is the approach to gain valuable insights into the complexities of medical teaching and assessment and improve the overall process through timely curricular reforms.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
| 1. | Schuwirth LW, Durning SJ. Educational research: Current trends, evidence base and unanswered questions. Med J Aust 2018;208:161-3.  |
| 2. | Srivastava TK, Waghmare LS, Rawekar A, Mishra VP. Fostering educational research among medical teachers: Evaluation of a faculty development program in India. J Clin Diagn Res 2016;10:C09-11. |
| 3. | Mills DM, Teufel RJ 2 nd. Tools for medical education scholarship: From curricular development to educational research. Hosp Pediatr 2020;10:452-7. |
| 4. | McGaghie WC, Issenberg SB, Cohen ER, Barsuk JH, Wayne DB. Translational educational research: A necessity for effective health-care improvement. Chest 2012;142:1097-103. |
| 5. | Sarpel U, Hopkins MA, More F, Yavner S, Pusic M, Nick MW, et al. Medical students as human subjects in educational research. Med Educ Online 2013;18:1-6. |
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