Training of medical teachers in India: need for change.

India has the highest number of medical colleges in the world and consequently the highest number of medical teachers. The unprecedented growth of medical institutions in India in the past two decades has led to a shortage of teachers and created a quality challenge for medical education. In recent years, though medical advances have been understood and adopted by many institutions, the same is not true for educational planning and implementation. There is a need for well-trained faculty who will help improve programs to produce quality graduates. The existing teachers' training programs are insufficient, both in number and the aspects that they cover, to meet this demand. The globalization of education and India's potential as a destination for higher education have brought the issue into sharper focus. Medical educators must stand up to meet this challenge. This paper briefly describes the current status of training programs for medical teachers in India, outlines an approach for developing future programs and defines key content areas to focus on in order to enhance faculty development efforts.