3rd Scholarship Meeting at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre
The 3rd scholarship meeting of the Global Network for Medical Health Professions and Bioethics education in collaboration with the Association of Medical Educators of India [AMEI], The Association of Medical Schools in Europe (AMSE), The African Medical Schools Association (AMSA), The Academy of Medical Educators UK (AoME) & SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India focusing on the theme “Marching Towards a Unified Paradigm: Driving the shared vision for excellence in Bioethics and Medical Education” on 25th January 2025 at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST—Kattankulathur, Chennai, India via hybrid mode.
The session was moderated online by Dr. Sweta Kale, Registrar, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research (Deemed University), Nagpur, India. The total number of participants is over 361 including the speakers, faculty, and students of SRMIST.
International attendees took part in the session from the UK, The Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq, Dubai, Philippines, and Nigeria. A separate mention to the special guest: Dr. Geethalakshmi, Vice Chancellor, Dr. M. G. R. Educational & Research Institute University Deemed University
The session was chaired by Professor Ronald Harden [UK] in absentia, along with Co-chairs Professor Russell D’Souza [Australia] and Professor Ricardo Leon-Borquez [Mexico]. The Chair of the Scholarship meeting, Professor Nitin Madhusudan Nagarkar [India], Pro-chancellor (MHS) & Dean (Medical), SRMMCHRC commenced the session by welcoming the dignitaries and the participants.
The welcome address was delivered by Professor Vedprakash Mishra, Pro-Chancellor, Datta Megha Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University), Nagpur, and President, Association of Medical Educators of India (AMEI). Professor Russell Franco D’Souza, Co-Chair, the Global Network of Medical Health Professions and Bioethics Education, highlighted the purpose of this scholarship meeting and declared the meeting open.
The speakers included:
~ Professor Russell Franco D’Souza [Australia], Head, Asia Pacific Division, Chair, Department of Education, International Chair in Bioethics, Formerly UNESCO Chair in Bioethics Haifa, Directorate of The Asia Pacific Division and Education Department, Co-Chair, Global Network of Medical Health Professions and Bioethics Education
~ Professor Ricardo Leon-Borquez [Mexico], President, World Federation of Medical Education
~ Professor Vedprakash Mishra [India], Pro-Chancellor, Datta Megha Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University), Nagpur and President, Association of Medical Educators of India (AMEI)
~ Professor Harm Peters [Germany], President of the Association of Medical Schools of Europe
~ Professor Mary Mathew [India], Secretary General, AMEI & Head, India program of the International Chair in Bioethics (Porto)
~ Professor Madalena Patricio [Portugal], Past President of the Association of Medical Educators of Europe (AMEE) & Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Lisbon
~ Professor Nick Cooper [UK] – online, President, The Academy of Medical Educators
~ Professor Emiola Oluwabunmi Olapade – Olaopa [Nigeria] – online, President, The African Medical Schools Association (AMSA)
~ Professor Surapaneni Krishna Mohan [India], Vice Principal & Professor, Panimalar Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, IAMSE Ambassador
~ Professor Gaurav Mishra [India], Pro Vice Chancellor, Datta Megha Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University), Nagpur
The scholarship meeting commenced with an introductory lecture delivered by Professor Ved Prakash Mishra on – ‘Mind, Morals and Medicine- where are we now?’ Professor Mishra discussed identifying the gaps and misalignment between medical education and bioethics, highlighting areas where current practices fall short and the opportunities for better alignment. He also brought out the salient features of incorporation of Bioethics in the Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum in vogue in India for Undergraduate as well as Postgraduate students wherein the AETCOM Module that incorporates the entire depiction of Bioethics, Communication including the domains of professionalization, altruism, compassion, empathy, is well laid out across the curriculum and is also a part of the assessment. The said model can be a way forward for the purposes of mitigation of the gaps which are lit large in the interest of humanization and socialization of Global Medical Education and Global Health Profession.
Professor Surapaneni Krishna Mohan, on behalf of Professor Ronald Harden, set the tone of the meeting and elaborated on – ‘Ethics in the Shadows of Academic Medicine, and highlighted the need to examine how bioethics education is often marginalised or treated as a secondary component in medical education and the critical need to elevate bioethics to a central place in medical education.
Professor Ricardo Leon Borquez expounded on ‘Disrupting the Dichotomy – Medical Education and Bioethics as a unified discipline.’ He explained the challenges of the separation between bioethics and medical education and presented a cohesive vision for their integration.
Professor Russell Franco D’Souza gave an overview on ‘Designing a Global Humanistic Medical Education Framework’ where he spoke about focusing on the need for creating a universal model of medical education grounded in bioethical principles of equity and humanistic care and focused on the novel ‘Beyond Campus curriculum on Humanistic and Socialistic medicine for healthcare providers.’
Professor Nick Cooper spoke on ‘The Moral Architecture of Learning: Building Systems that Work.’ He elaborated on the Association of Medical Educators (AoME) and how medical education can be designed as a moral enterprise where every system curriculum and pedagogical approach integrates with the bioethical principles.
Professor Gaurav Mishra spoke on ‘When I say – “Unified Scholarship” – A Global Perspective,’ where he explored the concept of a unified scholarship as one that integrates and promotes scholarly activities for students and educators in medical education bioethics across global contexts.
Professor Mary Mathew emphasised ‘Barriers to Scholarship: Confronting the Status Quo,’ where she dealt with the structure cultural and institutional changes that inhibit the advancement of bioethics and the requirement for a focus scholarship in medical education. She elaborated on the difficulties faced by the Indian chair of the UNESCO chair in Bioethics in changing attitudes regarding the need for bioethics in the medical curriculum. She shared her experiential journey of 13 years with a success story of the integration of ethics into the Indian medical curriculum since 2019.
Professor Emiola Oluwabunmi described the “Global Insights, Local Actions: Building Opportunities for Contextual Scholarships,’ and the current scenario of brain drain in Africa and how global principles framework and best practices in medical education antibiotics can be adapted to address local challenges and contexts for scholarly engagement.
Professor Madalena Patricio spoke on ‘Mentorship for Scholarly Excellence,’ and the need for the transformative role of mentorship in advancing scholarship in medical education and bioethics.
Professor Harm Peters concluded the session by summarising the talks of the preceding speakers and spoke on ‘Passing the Torch: Cultivating Collaborative Scholarship across Institutions.’ He stressed the importance of multi-institutional and collaborative efforts in promoting scholarship in medical education and bioethics. He emphasised how cross-institutional partnerships can drive innovation, share resources, and address global and regional challenges collectively.
The floor was opened for discussion from the house and the online participants which was moderated by Dr. Sweta Kale. Following this, she thanked the audience and the speakers for a very fruitful and engaging scholarship meeting.
Professor Russell D’Souza delivered the final closing remarks, and the Scholarship meeting was declared closed.
