What worked in a national health professions conference in India? Insights from critical reflection

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Published: Mar 30, 2026
Keywords:
Health Professions Education, Faculty development, Conference, Professional networking, motivation

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Farzana Mahdi
PhD, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7955-7914
Sucheta Dandekar
PhD, MHPE, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5287-7160
Nirmala Rege
MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2860-3378
Amol Dongre
MD, MHPE, Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Pondicherry, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2316-5858

Abstract

Background: Health professions education (HPE) conferences aim to foster capacity building, interdisciplinary dialogue, and professional networking. Despite the increase in their frequency in India and globally, evidence of their effectiveness remains limited. In India, the National Conference on Health Professions Education (NCHPE), organized annually by the Academy of Health Professions Educators (AHPE), has become a key platform for faculty development. This paper evaluates the   NCHPE-2024, hosted by Era’s Lucknow Medical College under the aegis of AHPE.


What was done: An online survey was conducted with 280 participants, with 164 (58.5%) responding. The survey explored motivation, satisfaction, perceived value, and suggestions for improvement. Quantitative data were analyzed using factor analysis and qualitative data through content analysis.


Lessons Learned: Two key motivational domains emerged: intrinsic motivation for professional development and peer-influenced motivation, with intrinsic factors being more prominent. Workshops on patient safety, AI in education, interprofessional learning, and simulation were highly valued. Participants preferred interactive, hands-on sessions over traditional lectures and called for better-structured networking opportunities, such as peer-pairing and small group discussions. A lack of post-conference learning support such as session recordings and follow-up resources was a notable concern. Scheduling conflicts and underrepresentation of emerging themes like digital pedagogy and faculty well-being were also highlighted.


Based on these insights, a framework is proposed to guide future conferences: skill-oriented content design, intentional networking structures, post-conference learning support, and mechanisms to bridge learning into practice. These strategies can enhance the impact and relevance of HPE conferences in resource-constrained settings.


Key words: Health Professions Education, Faculty development, Conference, Professional networking, motivation

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How to Cite
Mahdi, F., Dandekar, S., Rege, N., & Dongre, A. (2026). What worked in a national health professions conference in India? Insights from critical reflection. Education for Health, 39(1). Retrieved from https://educationforhealthjournal.org/index.php/efh/article/view/552
Issue
Vol. 39 No. 1 (2026): Vol. 39 No. 1: January-March 2026
Section
Practical Advice Paper
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license

Author Biographies

Farzana Mahdi, PhD, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow, India

Dr. Farzana Mahdi, is currently the Pro- Vice Chancellor of Era University and the Director Academics of Era’s Lucknow Medical college. She has completed her FAIMER fellowship from GSMC, Mumbai in 2013. She has numerous presentations in various national and international conferences in the field of medical education. Her latest venture is to exploit molecular tools and techniques to establish a new healthcare approach based on personalised medicine for the betterment of the society.

Sucheta Dandekar, PhD, MHPE, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, India

Dr. Sucheta P. Dandekar is currently, Professor of Biochemistry and Medical Education at Era’s Lucknow Medical College. She is an adjunct faculty at the Manipal Academy of Health Education. Dr Dandekar is an active member of the IFI- FAIMER, as well as the GSMC-FAIMER and PSG - FAIMER regional institutes. She has been a keynote speaker at many conferences and has conducted numerous workshops in health professions education. She is presently  President of the Academy of Health Professions Educators. 

 

Nirmala Rege, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, India

Dr Nirmala Rege, is MD ( Pharmacology), DNB ( Clin Pharmacology), PhD Pharmacology, FAIMER ( Philadelphia) fellow. Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Era's Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow and Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India

Amol Dongre, MD, MHPE, Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Pondicherry, India

Dr. Amol Dongre is presently working as Professor of Community Medicine at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Pondicherry. He received an International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) in 2015 and received his Master’s in Health Professions Education through the FAIMER-Keele program. Dr. Dongre has conducted more than 30 national-level workshops on Qualitative and Mixed Methods. His areas of interest and work are research and evaluation in the field of community-based health programmes, and community-based medical education.