The telemedicine department of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh has developed 20 modules of online lectures and learning materials for government medical college students nationwide, providing good news to them. The free lessons will be initially offered to colleges in northern India, with plans to expand to private medical colleges across the country over time.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has designated PGIMER as RCC-North, one of the seven Regional Resource Centers in India. While the lectures offered by PGIMER’s telemedicine department will not be credit-based, students will receive certificates from PGIMER and other resource centres such as AIIMS Rishikesh, King Edward Memorial Mumbai, Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, Jipmer Puducherry, SGPGI Lucknow, BHU Varanasi, and North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences Shillong. Additionally, AIIMS Delhi is the NRC.

In 2013, the National Medical College Network project was announced by the Union Health Ministry, resulting in the establishment of seven RRCs and one national resource centre. The Union Health Ministry has now requested the development of a Learning Management Information system (LMIS) for MBBS students.

Prof. Biman Saikia, who is in charge of the telemedicine department at PGIMER, stated to the Times of India that the institute has developed 20 modules for providing free tutorials to MBBS students who wish to enhance their knowledge on various topics. These modules have been created by experts from PGIMER and other institutes and will be available for students to access at no cost.

In the previous year, the LMIS module began to take form and the colleges and institutes collaborating with the Health Ministry started recording lectures given to them. The esteemed faculties of the institute have been recording the lectures. As per the report, 124 modules have already been recorded and uploaded to the website. Access to these modules is granted to students with validated registration identity cards.

Dr Amit Agarwal from the PGI Department of Telemedicine explained that they have developed 22 modules for the initiative with the assistance of faculty members from various departments. He also highlighted that while there are several videos and online teaching materials available for other professionals, this is the only standardized platform that can be accessed by doctors enrolled in remote medical colleges.