The Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Asia Pacific Division and the Department of Education International Chair in Bioethics (UNESCO Chair), marking a significant step in advancing medical and bioethics education in the region. The collaboration aims to promote joint initiatives in the fields of medical ethics, health law, and bioethics by fostering teaching, training, curriculum development, and professional development for faculty, medical practitioners, students, and alumni.
As part of the agreement, the parties will jointly explore avenues for cooperation in areas including academic innovation, research, development of teaching and assessment methodologies, exchange of ideas and resources, and the integration of bioethics into undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programs in India. The MoU also outlines joint participation in seminars, workshops, conferences, and online courses, alongside the promotion of module-based and case-based teaching formats.
Following the MoU, the JK Medical Council in association with the global network for medical, health professions, and bioethics education, Melbourne, Australia, organized a one-day training program on April 16 at Government Medical College, Srinagar. Titled “Medical Faculty Training Program in Ethics and Medical Education,” the workshop brought together an esteemed panel of national and international experts in the field of bioethics.
The event commenced with an introductory address by Prof. S. Muhammad Salim Khan, President of JK Medical Council, while Prof. Sandeep Dogra, Registrar of the Council, delivered the vote of thanks.
Among the prominent faculty attending the workshop were Professor Russell Franco D’Souza, Dean and Professor of Organizational Psychological Medicine at the International Institute of Organizational Psychological Medicine, based in Melbourne, Doncaster, and Melbourne, Florida. He also serves as Chair and Head of the Asia Pacific Division of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the University of Haifa. Dr. Vedprakash Mishra, Secretary General of the International Council of the Global Network for Medical, Health Professions & Bioethics Education and President of the Association of Medical Educators of India (AMEI), also participated in the program. He is currently heading the medical and health professions schools of the Indian Program of the UNESCO Chair and chairs the National Task Force on Medical Education constituted by the National Academy of Medical Sciences, Government of India.
Dr. Mary Mathew, Secretary General of AMEI and Deputy Head of the Department of Education of the India Program of the International Chair in Bioethics, contributed her expertise to the session. She also serves as a Professor and Head of the Pathology Department at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. Dr. Princy Louis Palatty, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at Amrita Vishwapeeth and National Chair for Curriculum of the Indian Program of UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, was among the speakers. She also heads the South India Unit of the Bioethics Chair.
The faculty list also included Dr. Vivek Mady, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology with a background in consumer law, cyber forensics, and bioethics, and Dr. Surapaneni Krishna Mohan, Vice Principal and Professor of Biochemistry at Panimalar Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Chennai. Dr. Mohan leads the Association for Medical Education in Europe – International Networking Centre (AMEE-INC) Bioethics Unit and oversees Clinical Skills and Simulation initiatives at the institute.
The workshop featured focused sessions covering a wide range of topics, including the 3T Paradigm in Bioethics Education – mastering the approach to teach, train, and transfer bioethics in health professions; augmenting learning with active learning strategies to enhance engagement and understanding; multimodal assessment strategies for bioethics in health professions education; and the ethical frontiers of artificial intelligence in clinical training and research.
The training workshop was attended by members of the JK Medical Council, including Prof. Mehnaz Sultan and Prof. Asifa Nazir, who head the ethics and grievances committee and the CME and anti-quackery committee, respectively. Faculty members of medical education units and institutional ethics committees from various medical colleges across Jammu and Kashmir also took part in the day-long event.