Building Better Doctors, With Vital Search Skills

QMedCourses Turns 5 – Thanks to Your Support, We've Created Impact That Matters!

On June 14, 2020, right in the heart of the pandemic, we launched our ELearning platform – www.qmedcourses.in – built entirely through a “work-from-home” effort.

Today, we are proud to share that in just five years:

• We have had around 45 institutions - small to large and a total of around 10,000 individuals register with us.

• Our work was cited in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India (JAPI) – PMID: 39563131

• Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College made it mandatory for PG theses to include a documented search strategy.

• The Lancet Citizens’ Commission engaged us to coach researchers for guidance with search strategies for scoping reviews

• Institutions like SMIMS (Sikkim) and GIMSR (Visakhapatnam) ensured that the majority of their students and faculty completed our courses and submitted certificates.

• And six undergraduate students, after learning from QMedCourses, won a prize at a Rheumatology Conference for their systematic review poster!

This is just the beginning. We believe that the National Medical Commission (NMC) should mandate structured training in literature searching and referencing in every medical institution.

Do you agree? Would you like to be able to share ideas on how to take this to the NMC and beyond?

We’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for being part of our journey. You’ve helped us plant the seeds—together, let’s grow a nationwide movement.

Links:

• QMedCourses
• Article mentioning inclusion of QMedCourses in AIIMS Bhubaneswar

I recently came across a great post on LinkedIn by Ajit - a co founder of a not for profit organization. In this post he described what it is like to be a Founder of a not for profit organization in India. In approximately a dozen paras that he wrote, every line resonated with what I feel today.

People ask me why QMed is a not for profit. Next time I am asked this question, I am going to use Ajit's answer:

"My work isn't just charity. It's necessary. It's professional. It's the hard, unglamorous labor of building the India we keep saying we want." Something that no one else works on. But my terrific team and I do (for QMed's mission).

Correct Literature searching and correct referencing, using a reference manager are two skills that every health professional MUST learn. Whether they do research or not. BUT, somehow this has not sunk in. Neither the National Medical Commission nor the Directors, Deans, Principals or any Heads have yet felt this is a MUST. Many have felt it is something "nice to know" or "useful". But not yet critical and compulsory.

And that is what we are trying to change.

People also ask me - "Why can't your target audience pay?"

My answer - "Till they understand the importance, or till it is made mandatory, they choose not to

We are offering to make this change with an affordable solution - a platform www.qmedcourses.in - where people can learn at their own pace and also interact with us. Or even invite us to their institution to conduct workshops.

The day when the NMC and related boards take this seriously enough - good things will happen:

• Students will see additional reading and research in a new light
• Research standards will improve
• Medical writing standards will improve
• We will generate good quality publications and not the large quantity that is happening today - where quality is not certain
• We will generate Indian evidence
• And QMed can prove that low cost solutions CAN make a big difference!

Here is a link to Ajit Sivaram's excellent post. Highly recommended reading!

This quarter – Mid Apr to Mid- July we wish to raise $2400 for revamping our website and for various renewals we need to pay – video editing software, video hosting, website hosting and more. You could even give monthly recurring donations if that is easier for you. When you give, you join us in our mission towards developing a healthier society! Link to donate