90 Teachers from South India ideate at Sankara Eye Hospital to redefine Postgraduate Education

Bangalore, 26^th July 2018: Ophthalmology is one of the more advanced fields of medical care. However, the burden of blindness remains a challenge in our country. Training and motivating the next generation of students to combat this problem is, therefore, critical.

The ARC- All-India Ophthalmological Society, International Council of Ophthalmology, with Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore, hosted a day-long meet to redefine post-graduate education. 90 teachers from Kanyakumari to Bagalkot and Mangalore to Puducherry attended the meet.

“Today, teachers have multiple challenges. There is a need to keep updating themselves clinically to teach postgraduates to [the] changing spectrum of eye ailments, adapt advances in teaching methodologies and build capability to teach soft skills and empathy. The meet is a start towards this direction”, said Dr Kaushik Murali.

The meet focussed on training in the clinics and the operation theatre and incorporating technology and even story telling. Ophthalmologists, public health experts, storytellers and psychiatrists discussed on best practices in training and evaluation.

“India has been at the forefront of ophthalmology training. To look at ways of bringing together the best teachers from across South India and improve on how we inspire the next generation we from the All-India Ophthalmological Society looked to host this event.” shared Dr Krishna Prasad, Member South ARC- All-India Ophthalmological Society.

A panel discussion on ‘Exam Blues’, rounded off the day long workshop. To reduce exam fear, teachers were advised to conduct adequate mock exams to increase comfort, and examine skills and competency instead of memory. Students with situational anxiety require some counselling, and students taking courses that are not of their choice may not be motivated to score high grades. All in all, exams should not be treated as the end-all-be-all of education.