Natl Med J India
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The Medical Council of India has recommended that the learning process should include a problem-oriented approach and case studies in addition to other teaching-learning methods. The medical education unit at our college planned a workshop to enable the faculty to acquire the role of a facilitator; a role different from that of a conventional teacher. ⋯ Two faculty development workshops created awareness and understanding of PBL and case writing for PBL among our faculty who were trained in the traditional system of teaching. However, responses from the faculty suggested that a workshop focused on developing facilitator skills would be essential to enable them to emerge as facilitators of group learning ratherthan providers of information.
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Cryptosporidium spp. are a major cause of diarrhoea in developing countries mainly affecting children and HIV-infected individuals with low CD4 counts. The infection is self-limiting in immunocompetent hosts, but can be severe and persistent in the immunocompromised and malnourished. Treatment is less than optimal and no vaccine is currently available. ⋯ Using these methods, the common cryptosporidial species reported to affect both HIV-infected adults and children in India are C. hominis and C. parvum. With easier access to antiretroviral therapy for Indian patients with HIV, the effect on the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis and aetiology of HIV-related diarrhoea remains to be seen. Therefore, data from different parts of India form a necessary baseline against which the effect of antiretroviral therapy can be evaluated.