There is an imminent need for all teachers, in particular medical professionals, to update themselves periodically on knowledge, skills and attitudes, S.P. Thyagarajan, Pro-Chancellor-Research, Sri Ramachandra University, said here on Saturday.
Pointing out the differences between continuing medical education (CME) and a train the trainers (TTT) programmes, Professor Thyagarajan said the latter must be modular and structured, interactive and participatory, and more of practice versus theory. He was speaking at the inaugural of the CME programmed organised jointly by the Indian Society for Gastroenterology Tamil Nadu chapter and the World Gastroenterology Organisation here. The CME was preceded by a TTT programme, the first such in India conducted by the WGO.
The TTT programme, which had the twin objectives of building knowledge, skills and practices, and additionally to achieve a cascade of skill dissemination, had gained prominence over the last decade, he added.
R. Veeramani, chairman, GEM Granites, said the field of diagnostics had improved rapidly, so much so, it could be said the diagnosis was the cure. However, in gastroenterology, some challenges remained — primarily conditions relating to the liver. He hoped the experts would focus on high-quality research, perhaps in association with the top medical institutions of the world, in coming up with innovative breakthroughs in the field of medicine. K.R. Palaniswamy, organising chairman, explained the key features of the TTT and CME programmes. Eamonn Quigley, past president, WGO; Ashok Chacko, president, India Society of Gastroenterology; and V. Balasubramanian, conference secretary, spoke.
