Knowledge and practice of medical faculties regarding alignment and integration in medical education: a cross-sectional study

Mrunalini Kalikar; Swanand Pathak; Vishakha Sinha; Neha Meshram; Purvastha Dhargawe

doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20261778

Authors

Mrunalini Kalikar Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Swanand Pathak Department of Pharmacology, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Sawangi, Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Vishakha Sinha Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Neha Meshram Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Purvastha Dhargawe Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20261778

Keywords:

Alignment, Integration, Knowledge, Medical faculties, Practice

Abstract

Background: The term integration has gained importance in medical education over the last two decades. Integration is one of the major changes incorporated in the new competency-based curriculum for the undergraduate medical program. However, the concept of integration/integrated curriculum lacks significant clarity as, how to implement it in medical institutions. Many medical faculties are not clear about the concept. Therefore, the present study was planned to assess the knowledge and practice of medical faculties regarding various methods of Integration.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital after approval from the institutional ethics committee. Respondents were around 100 medical faculties specialties who have consented to participate in the study. The study instrument was a self-developed, pre-validated semi-structured questionnaire consisting of both open and closed items. Two focus group discussions were conducted with faculties and medical students.

Results: Data was expressed as percentages. The majority of the faculties were aware of the term integration; however, they had poor knowledge regarding the types of integration and the difference between alignment and integration. Practice regarding integration was poor.

Conclusions: Knowledge and practice among medical faculties regarding alignment and integration were poor. There is a need to have training of medical faculties for better implementation of this concept in the CBME curriculum.

References

Husain M, Khan S, Badyal D. Integration in medical education. Indian Pediatr. 2020;57:842-7.

Medical Council of India. Alignment and integration module for undergraduate medical education program. New Delhi: Medical Council of India; 2019:1-34.

Medical Council of India. e-Gazette. New Delhi: MCI. Available from: https://www.mciindia.org/CMS/e-gazette. Accessed on 26 February 2026.

Patel M, Shah HD. Alignment and integration in competency-based medical education curriculum: an overview. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2020;64(Suppl 1):S13-5.

Srivastava TK, Waghmare A, Waghmare LBS. Revisiting integration: a proposed framework in the light of competency-based medical education. J Clin Diagn Res. 2020;14(9):JI01-4.

Rehan M, Shaheen N, Sad N. Challenges faced by senior faculty in the implementation of integrated curriculum in developing countries. JIIMC. 2022;17(3):214-8.

Kayani ZA, Gilani I, Mahboob U. Perceptions of medical teachers about integrated curriculum: a qualitative study. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2018;30(3):381-5.

Dashputra A, Kulkarni M, Chari S, Manohar T. Perception of medical teachers toward present day medical education. Int J Educ Sci. 2012;4(2):91-5.

Mahmood Cheema K. Faculty perspective about difficulties in implementation of newly introduced integrated curriculum for basic sciences in King Edward Medical University. Pak Armed Forces Med J. 2021;71(3):1075-9.

Sundberg K, Josephson A, Reeves S, Nordquist J. Power and resistance: leading change in medical education. Stud High Educ. 2015;40(1):1-18.

Rehan M, Shaheen N, Sadiq N. Challenges faced by senior faculty in the implementation of integrated curriculum in developing countries. JIIMC. 2022;17(3).

Kadirvelu A, Gurtu S. Integrated learning in medical education: are our students ready? Med Sci Educ. 2015;25(4):549-51.