Papers
Applying health care informatics to improve student learning.
Med Educ. 2008 , 42(11): 1117 - 1118.
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How to design an effective e-learning course for medical education
Review
Medical Education has been conventionally taught and learnt in an inductive way and has been considered as difficult to both impart and imbibe. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), mostly as e-learning, has made the process of education much easier to comprehend. However, the application of medical informatics tools to medical education has been quite delayed and inadequate, especially in India. The paper discusses the pros and cons of e-learning and tries to provide a step-by-step primer for setting up effective e-learning courses for medical education.
A Step-by-step Primer for using the Internet for Medical Education
South East Asian Journal of Medical Education, 2007, 1(1): 49-51
This article intends to handhold individuals
in exploring the Web judiciously, for
educational and / or research purposes, by
following some simple steps.
There are certain ways to tackle the
“information explosion” in the cyberspace.
There are lots of excellent tutorials
available on the Internet and just by going
to Google, adding “tutorial” at the end of
the query phrase retrieves very useful
resources.
A simple way of finding any definition (on
any subject) is to use the word “define:”
before the term in question, e.g., “define:
Internet” in the Google search bar. This
will retrieve all the definitions of “Internet”
available on the World Wide Web.
Another quick start is to go to Wikipedia
and in the page on the queried topic; all
the relevant terms are hyperlinked. Also,
there is a Section of “References” towards
the end, and also a host of useful
“External links” is listed at the end.
Next is to retrieve useful resources from
“Open Access” journals and repositories.
Finally, confident users can become
experts in interacting actively through
Wikis and Blogs.
However, there are certain areas of
concern in uploading materials in the wikis
and blogs – that is the Copyright of the
material. A cultural change in the mindset
is required to adopt the new technologies
usefully in our setup. Training and
awareness in “Netiquette” is of utmost
necessity to have fruitful social interactions
and useful learning. Access, training
(raising awareness) and support to
appropriate information and
communication technology (ICT) are
essential.
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Moderate exercise and chronic stress produce counteractive effects on different areas of the brain by acting through various neurotransmitter receptor subtypes: a hypothesis.
Co-authored with Asit K Saha
BACKGROUND: Regular, "moderate", physical exercise is an established non-pharmacological form of treatment for depressive disorders. Brain lateralization has a significant role in the progress of depression. External stimuli such as various stressors or exercise influence the higher functions of the brain (cognition and affect). These effects often do not follow a linear course. Therefore, nonlinear dynamics seem best suited for modeling many of the phenomena, and putative global pathways in the brain, attributable to such external influences. HYPOTHESIS: The general hypothesis presented here considers only the nonlinear aspects of the effects produced by "moderate" exercise and "chronic" stressors, but does not preclude the possibility of linear responses. In reality, both linear and nonlinear mechanisms may be involved in the final outcomes. The well-known neurotransmitters serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (D) and norepinephrine (NE) all have various receptor subtypes. The article hypothesizes that 'Stress' increases the activity/concentration of some particular subtypes of receptors (designated nts) for each of the known (and unknown) neurotransmitters in the right anterior (RA) and left posterior (LP) regions (cortical and subcortical) of the brain, and has the converse effects on a different set of receptor subtypes (designated nth). In contrast, 'Exercise' increases nth activity/concentration and/or reduces nts activity/concentration in the LA and RP areas of the brain. These effects may be initiated by the activation of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) (among others) in exercise and its suppression in stress. CONCLUSION: On the basis of this hypothesis, a better understanding of brain neurodynamics might be achieved by considering the oscillations caused by single neurotransmitters acting on their different receptor subtypes, and the temporal pattern of recruitment of these subtypes. Further, appropriately designed and planned experiments will not only corroborate such theoretical models, but also shed more light on the underlying brain dynamics.
The state of medical informatics in India: a roadmap for optimal organization.
J Med Syst. 2005 Apr;29(2):125-41.
In India, the healthcare delivery systems are based on manual record keeping despite a good telecommunication infrastructure. Unfortunately, Indian policy makers are yet to realize the importance of medical informatics (including tele-health, which comprises e-Health and Telemedicine) in delivering healthcare. In the medical curriculum also, nowhere is this treated as a subject or even as a tool for learning. The final aim of most of the medical and paramedical students should be to become good users, and if possible, also experts for advancing medical knowledge base through medical informatics. In view of the fast changing world of medical informatics, it is essential to formulate a flexible syllabus rather than a rigid one for incorporating into the regular curriculum of medical and paramedical education. Only after that one may expect all members of the healthcare delivery systems to adopt and apply medical informatics optimally as a routine tool for their services.
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