Students’ perception and feedback on Bioethics as a new subject in undergraduate Indian medical curriculum : How far can it help?

Abstract

Abstract Background:The National Medical Commission of India introduced Competency Based Curriculum in Medical Education for undergraduate medical students in 2019 with a new module namely Attitude, Ethics and Communication (AETCOM) across the country. This was first of its kind to implement Bioethics as a subject in medical curriculum. It is necessary to take feedback from the students which can serve as a communication and a tool for evaluation of implementation process. Objectives: This study was aimed to explore the perceptions and feedback of students and align the observation with implementation through inductive reasoning. Methods: It was a questionnaire based study on the medical students of India who underwent the introduction of AETCOM module for the first time. This was followed by analysis through inductive reasoning on the observed key areas of the feedback data. Results: There were mixed responses on perception as well as feedbacks. Majority of the students felt the necessity of teaching learning bioethics but not to be taught in closed classroom based teaching. They preferred more of bedside teaching on ethical issues instead of classroom teaching based on theories. A few students did not find interest in the theoretical deliberation of this subject. The identified key areas also could led to the conclusion that there is need of innovative teaching methods of Bioethics through more interactive sessions in small groups encouraging active learning strategy. Conclusion: The study draws the attention of all stakeholders for revision and efforts for further improvement in teaching and assessment process for setting a standard model in medical education in India.