The members of the Academy of Health Professions Education (AHPE) are extremely distressed to learn about the demise of Dr Rita Sood on 8 April 2021. Dr Sood was the Founder-President of AHPE. One of India’s foremost medical educationists, she paved the way for the future of the country’s health professions education activities along with her colleagues, and mentored a whole generation of medical teachers.
Dr Rita Sood was Professor of Medicine and Professor In-charge of the Centre for Medical Education and Technology (CMET) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. She was trained in medical education at Dundee, UK in 1990 and involved in the faculty development activities of the Centre for Medical Education and Technology (CMET) at AIIMS since its inception in 1990. She was actively involved in the various educational projects including the WHO sponsored consortium project ‘Inquiry driven strategies for innovations in medical education. Dr Sood was the chief editor of two books on medical education: Assessment in Medical Education – Trends and Tools (1995) and Postgraduate Training in Medicine- Key Issues (2002, for the Indian College of Physicians). She has also published extensively in peer reviewed journal and written chapters on medical education. She served as short-term consultant to UNICEF and temporary advisor to WHO for issues related to medical education. She was a Fellow of the FAIMER institute, Philadelphia, USA and course faculty for all the three regional FAIMER institutes in India. She represented India and was President of the South-East Asian Regional Association for Medical Education (SEARAME).
For us at AHPE, Dr Rita leaves behind a legacy of erudite work, and fond memories. She was the pioneer who had organized the first National Conference on Medical Education in 2007, and now the national conferences have been held for more than a decade, expanding each year. She was the epitome of grace, and in her own soft spoken style, she had supported and mentored many a Fellow who was venturing into medical education. She will be missed immensely for her leadership, wisdom, humility, counsel, grace and elegance.
On behalf of AHPE, we offer our deepest condolences to her bereaved family and wish them strength to bear this loss.
