By Special Correspondent
A detailed study visit to the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, is expected to provide valuable inputs for strengthening medical education, clinical training and institutional quality systems in medical colleges across Purvanchal in Uttar Pradesh.
Dr Kumar, Medical Adviser to the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, visited AFMC Pune to study its academic and clinical training systems and understand institutional practices that could be adapted to the requirements of medical colleges in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
During the visit, Dr Kumar held discussions with AFMC Director Lieutenant General Pankaj P. Rao on various aspects of medical education and training. The discussions covered clinical training, faculty development, skill-based learning, academic mentoring, research and institutional quality improvement.
Lieutenant General Rao also took Dr Kumar through various departments and facilities of AFMC, explaining the systems and processes followed by the institution. The visit provided an opportunity to examine how academic education and clinical training are integrated with institutional quality systems and professional development.
The study is particularly relevant to Purvanchal, where the number of medical colleges and healthcare institutions has expanded significantly in recent years. With this expansion, the focus is increasingly shifting towards ensuring quality education, stronger clinical exposure and competency-based training for medical students.
Speaking about the visit, Dr Kumar said the objective was not to replicate the AFMC model in its entirety, but to identify effective practices that could be adapted according to the requirements and circumstances of medical colleges in Purvanchal.
The learnings from the visit will be examined for possible implementation across medical colleges in the region, particularly in areas such as clinical skills training, faculty capacity building, simulation-based learning, academic mentoring, assessment systems and institutional quality management.
The initiative aims to strengthen clinical exposure and competency-based training for medical students while helping institutions develop systems for continuous quality improvement.
Dr Kumar’s visit comes against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to strengthen medical education infrastructure in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The proposed adaptation of effective institutional practices from AFMC Pune is expected to focus on practical implementation at the college level, with emphasis on improving both educational outcomes and the quality of clinical training.
The visit also included discussions on how institutional systems and training practices followed at AFMC could be contextualised for medical colleges in Purvanchal, with the broader objective of developing a stronger, more effective and quality-focused medical education ecosystem across the region.
