SIG Clinical Communication

Advancing clinical communication in medical education.

Clinical communication develops through more than teaching alone. Learners need opportunities to practice, receive feedback and develop competency over time.

SIG Clinical Communication brings medical educators and institutions together to strengthen how this happens in practice.

Illustration of a medical educator facilitating clinical communication practice with medical students
Why this work matters

Communication is taught.
But is it practiced, assessed and developed?

Communication is an integral component of undergraduate medical education. Developing competency requires more than exposure to concepts or completion of prescribed teaching.

Students need repeated opportunities to practice, receive meaningful feedback and demonstrate development across different clinical contexts.

01Learn
02Practice
03Receive feedback
04Develop over time
Current initiative · National Consultation 2026

Listening before recommending.

Implementation of communication competency varies across medical colleges in relation to teaching time, repeated practice, faculty capacity, assessment, feedback, remediation and longitudinal documentation.

The national consultation is mapping these differences and identifying what support institutions believe is needed for more consistent implementation.

Explore the National Consultation
40+institutions participating
20 Sep2026 national consultation
Delhi + Onlinehybrid participation
Our work

From curriculum to clinical practice

01

Teaching & Learning

Longitudinal development of communication competency.

02

Practice, Assessment & Feedback

Making performance observable and improvement possible.

03

Faculty Development

Supporting educators to teach, observe and provide meaningful feedback.

04

Evidence & Implementation

Connecting research with approaches that can work in medical colleges.

The Special Interest Group

A community of educators working together.

Prof. Avinash Supe

Prof. Avinash Supe

Chairperson
Medical educator, surgeon and academic leader
Prof. Meenal Mohgaonkar

Prof. Meenal Mohgaonkar

Co-Convener
Dean & Director Academics, SMBT IMS & RC
Prof. Bidita Khandelwal

Prof. Bidita Khandelwal

Co-Convener
Professor & Head, Medicine, SMIMS
Prof. E. Venkata Rao

Prof. E. Venkata Rao

SIG Member
Professor, Community Medicine, IMS & SUM
LeadershipExpert NetworkSecretariat Meet the SIG →
CBME Update

Evidence and developments for medical educators.

A continuing SIG resource examining developments in competency-based medical education, clinical communication, assessment, faculty development and implementation.

What changed? What does the evidence show? How strong is it? What might it mean for educators and institutions?

Collaboration

Building the next phase together.

The SIG welcomes engagement from medical colleges, medical educators and researchers interested in advancing clinical communication education through collaborative research, faculty development, assessment work and institution-led academic initiatives.

Explore collaboration