key: cord-0054460-un9mvzqr
authors: Khamgaonkar, Mohan
title: Integration in Medical Education: Need to Address the Misconceptions
date: 2021-01-05
journal: Indian Pediatr
DOI: 10.1007/s13312-020-2084-3
sha: 7de33b2b6051277606ddfc3de59240e23243713e
doc_id: 54460
cord_uid: un9mvzqr

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The teachers from other departments may be consulted for planning of sessions and not for actual partici-pation in the sessions, unless deemed necessary. Integration of relevant concepts from other disciplines will help in enriching the routine teaching activity. The faculty from the parent discipline can perform this integration at their own level to make the learning experience for the student more meaningful and relevant.

Integration should be an integral part of routine teaching program of each department, rather than an independent activity. Integration should be used as an opportunity to enrich the departmental teaching activities without compromising the departmental learning objectives. Integrated teaching sessions should be short and brief, to be completed in the routine allotted time, avoiding too many objectives in one session. Multiple teaching methods such as case discussions, group activity and panel discussions can generate interest in students. Intensive coordinated action by teachers is required to make integrated teaching successful activity. I appreciate the efforts of the authors of the article on integration in medical education published recently in the journal [1] . Competency-based under graduate medical curriculum for Indian medical graduates has given elaborate guidelines on how integration can be achieved in various subjects [2] . Competency tables of this document have suggested for areas of integration according to subject-wise competencies.

Integrated teaching activity has not received expected success, though attempted widely. There are many misconceptions among the faculty about implementation of integrated teaching sessions. Integrated teaching has been organized as a series of lectures involving faculty from many departments. The extra efforts required for inter-departmental coordination has made the organization of activity irregular and episodic, lacking in sustainability. The lengthy structure of the resultant sessions has also not been able to arouse sufficient interest among the students.

Integrated teaching can be made more meaningful if these misconceptions are addressed. It has been rightly pointed out in the competency-based undergraduate curriculum document that there should be integration of concepts and not necessarily of teachers [2] . The faculty can identify the topics in their curriculum where integration with other disciplines can reduce redundancy, duplication and increase the relevance of learning for the students.

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