Background Despite the implementation of Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) in India, there is limited data on the perspectives of students regarding prevailing educational methodologies.

Methods An observational cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the perception and satisfaction of Indian medical students towards current teaching-learning and assessment methods. Data were collected via an electronic questionnaire, stratified by academic year, and analysed using SPSS.

Results (N=413) 45% students expressed a neutral response to the curriculum, with greater satisfaction in the clinical years (44.9%) than pre/para-clinical years (30.7%). Lectures were rated neutral by 53%. Tools like clinical demonstration videos (68.8%) and animated videos (56.7%) were favoured over traditional methods. Outpatient and bedside learning were the preferred practical instruction modes (58.9%), though poor departmental coordination was cited as a significant barrier to clinical learning by 42.5%. Students favoured MCQ-based assessments, complemented by viva-cum-practical (78% in clinical years, 68.8% in pre/para-clinical years), while written long essay-type questions were less preferred.

Conclusions Students prefer interactive, clinically integrated teaching and MCQ-based assessments. However, as of now, preferences of students seem to differ from reality, especially in developing countries like India. Addressing these concerns and feedback from students can guide in-depth discussions for medical education curriculum reforms in resource-limited settings.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC)/IRB of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital gave ethical approval for this project.

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1. Abhinav Jha; Email id: jhaabhinav677gmail.com, 2. Paras Goyal; Email id: goyal10parasgmail.com, 3. Aryan Erry; Email id: aryanerry12gmail.com, 4. Prachi Renjhen; Email id: renjhengmail.com, 5. Ravi Prakash Jha; Email id: ravijha0292gmail.com, 6. Aparna Gupta; Email id: aparnagupta209gmail.com, 7. Utsav Rajvanshi; Email id: utsav.rajvanshigmail.com, 8. Saran Singh; Email id: saranjass6063gmail.com

All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors.