Medical students in India favor reforms in teaching-learning, clinical training, and evaluation methods

BackgroundDespite the implementation of Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) in India, there is limited data on the perspectives of students regarding prevailing educational methodologies. MethodsAn observational cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the perception and satisfaction of Indian medical students towards current teaching-learning and assessment methods. Data were collected via an electronic questionnaire, stratified by academic year, and analysed using SPSS. Results(N=413) 45% students expressed a neutral response to the curriculum, with greater satisfaction in the clinical years (44.9%) than pre/para-clinical years (30.7%). Lectures were rated neutral by 53%. Tools like clinical demonstration videos (68.8%) and animated videos (56.7%) were favoured over traditional methods. Outpatient and bedside learning were the preferred practical instruction modes (58.9%), though poor departmental coordination was cited as a significant barrier to clinical learning by 42.5%. Students favoured MCQ-based assessments, complemented by viva-cum-practical (78% in clinical years, 68.8% in pre/para-clinical years), while written long essay-type questions were less preferred. ConclusionsStudents prefer interactive, clinically integrated teaching and MCQ-based assessments. However, as of now, preferences of students seem to differ from reality, especially in developing countries like India. Addressing these concerns and feedback from students can guide in-depth discussions for medical education curriculum reforms in resource-limited settings.