Massive Enrollment: Over 42,000 Doctors Sign Up for NBEMS's Pioneering AI Course
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has launched a landmark six-month training course on artificial intelligence in healthcare, witnessing an overwhelming response with registrations from more than 42,000 doctors across India. This initiative represents the first formal AI training program organized by a central agency specifically for medical professionals, marking a significant step towards integrating technology into mainstream medical education.
Course Structure and Global Faculty
The comprehensive program is designed to provide doctors with a foundational understanding of AI and its expanding role in medical practice. Dr. Abhijat Sheth, President of NBEMS, emphasized that the course aims to familiarize doctors with AI as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for clinical judgment. "This programme is meant to equip doctors with basic knowledge of artificial intelligence so that they can use these rapidly expanding tools responsibly and effectively," Dr. Sheth stated.
The curriculum covers multiple dimensions of AI in healthcare, including:
- Clinical applications and decision-making
- Hospital operations and healthcare administration
- Future innovations in genomics and data-driven medicine
- Ethical guidelines and professional responsibility
A distinguished faculty comprising 20 lecturers will deliver the course over six months. The faculty includes international experts from prestigious institutions such as Harvard University, Mayo Clinic, University of London, and Arizona State University, alongside leading Indian academic institutions including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The inaugural lecture was delivered by renowned gastroenterologist Dr. D Nageshwar Reddy, who will also present the program's tenth lecture.
Ethical Focus and Practical Applications
A key emphasis of the program is maintaining ethical standards and professional responsibility in AI adoption. Dr. Sheth highlighted that while AI can enhance efficiency and accuracy, it should never replace the human elements of medicine. "Empathy, compassion, and human touch remain central to patient care. Doctors must also understand ethical guidelines and avoid becoming overly dependent on AI tools," he noted.
Dr. Suvrankar Datta, an AI researcher and radiologist formerly associated with AIIMS Delhi, welcomed the initiative, stating that such training is crucial to prevent overreliance on technology. "We risk creating a generation of clinicians who overtrust technology without understanding its limitations. Courses like this are essential to build safe, ethical, and clinically grounded adoption of AI in Indian healthcare," he explained.
Dr. Datta further elaborated on current challenges: "What we are increasingly witnessing today is residents, interns, and even young doctors using AI tools without adequate awareness of their limitations. Models such as ChatGPT or Gemini often provide answers with very high confidence, but doctors need to learn how to question, verify, and understand AI's failure modes."
Participant Perspectives and Long-Term Vision
Dr. Rohan Krishnan, an orthopedic surgeon from Delhi who participated in the inaugural session, shared his perspective: "As a medical educator, it is essential to understand and engage with emerging technologies that will shape the future of healthcare. AI literacy is no longer optional in medical education." He highlighted practical benefits including early disease detection, risk prediction, personalized treatment planning, and automation of routine tasks like documentation and scheduling.
Upon completion of the program, participating doctors will receive certificates after successfully finishing assessments and providing feedback. NBEMS plans to use this feedback to refine the course further and potentially develop specialty-specific AI training modules in the future.
Dr. Sheth outlined the long-term vision: "A doctor enabled with artificial intelligence training will ultimately be better positioned than one who is not, while still preserving the core values of medical practice." The course is currently open to medical professionals across all specialties on a voluntary basis, with registrations coming from across India and a small number of overseas participants of Indian origin. Notably, the course has not yet been opened for MBBS students.
This initiative represents one of the largest organized efforts in India to formally introduce AI education into medical training, signaling a strategic shift toward technology-enabled yet ethically grounded healthcare delivery.
