the personal and professional development ( ppd ) module was introduced as a part of the medical curriculum , in september 2006 , along with other curricular changes , to ensure that students not only grow professionally into good doctors , but also grow personally . in order to offer our students a humane and holistic experience in the medical curriculum , the personal and development module was introduced at the melaka manipal medical college ( mmmc ) , manipal , india . the module was designed with an objective to inculcate and impart in the students , a variety of fundamental skills to provide an environment that will extend their strengths , challenge their competencies , and work with their weaknesses . the module includes courses involving communication skills , ethics , working in groups and early patient contact through community visits . the course has a significant focus on the activities designed to foster collaborative practices , commitment to life - long learning , and aid understanding of ethical , scientific and philosophical principles underlying the practice of medicine . this study aimed at evaluating the ppd module that was introduced in the undergraduate medical curriculum . the mmmc is a private medical college that was flagged off in 1997 with classes commencing at manipal , india . the bachelor of medicine bachelor of surgery ( mbbs ) curriculum of the melaka manipal medical college is a 5-year academic program with the first two and half years in india and the next part of the program in malaysia . the first batch of students was admitted into the twin campus program at manipal , india , in september 1997 and the program grew in strength both in numbers as well as in academic quality and curricular innovations . feedback and suggestions from accrediting bodies led to mmmc adopting a new curriculum in september 2006 , 9 years after inception of the program . this curriculum called the  six - strand integrated curriculum  ( table 1 ) had horizontal strands including normal human body and its function , body s reaction to injury , and practice - based medicine and vertical strands including scientific basis of medicine , doctor , patient , health , community , and environmental module , and ppd module . this module was introduced to foster collaborative practices , inculcate life - long learning and enable students to understand the ethical and philosophical principles underlying the scientific practice of medicine . in the first year of the mbbs program , ppd classes are conducted in topics related to doctor patient relationship , professional ethics and humanities related topics . in the second year , students of the institution are required to pursue a project involving in - depth study of an area of interest and prepare a written , referenced report of scholarly substance . this helps the student to gain insight into research methodology and to encourage the development of critical thinking skills . in the first half of the third year , students are introduced to a few topics in palliative care . as a first step , 2 hours per week of ppd was incorporated in the time - table for the first year medical students . a group of faculty and a coordinator identified relevant topics such as medical humanities , leadership skills , communication skills , ethics , professional behavior and patient narratives ( table 2 ) that would be introduced to students . all faculty were requested to identify topics of their choice so that they could conduct the sessions in an engaging manner . there were also hours set aside for creative essay writing , role plays and theater by the students . in terms of students , the quality of the module such as content , presentations and engagement were evaluated by using a prevalidated module specific questionnaire with 10 items . a total of 528 students from three different batches from march 2011 to march 2013 were enrolled to give module feedback . the effectiveness of the module was studied by using a longitudinal survey using a modified course evaluation form . it was a 16-item questionnaire , with 16 closed and an option to write open comments , where students could explain about any personal / professional improvements they would attribute to the ppd experience . the same students responded to this questionnaire when they reached the clinical phase . in terms of faculty , personal interviews and focus group discussions were conducted by the coordinator , with eleven faculty members who conducted the ppd classes . continuous feedback is an important tool that helps to improve quality on an ongoing basis . the analysis of student responses showed that majority of them agreed that the module was useful and the results are as follows : a good percentage ( 67% ) of the students found the course to be relevant . they also found the teaching effective ( good , 27% ; and very good , 63% ) and well - paced ( 92% ) . the ppd workload was not a major issue and 97% of the students found that it was reasonable . the students strongly agreed that the course was well coordinated ( 65% ) , course materials were well prepared ( 55% ) , group discussions were effective ( 65% ) , and role plays helped in understanding the topics ( 85% ) . however , a few students wanted discussion on tourism in india , indian culture , art , and food . other useful tips from students included interactions with senior doctors from the hospital to share experiences and local community visits . students communicated that they were able to carry the content forward from what was taught and applied it in their day to day contexts . modules provided a range of opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge in different ways ( case studies , labs , interactive activities , and so forth ) . individual comments suggested that the courses challenged them to think about humane aspects of medicine , provided opportunities to develop self - directed learning skills , to develop skills and abilities to work as a team member , advanced skills of inquiry to pursue projects in second year and to develop professional attributes and behaviors in the clinical setting . however , they have made many positive comments about the perceptions of modules and its effectiveness . often , students have been able to share their learning with colleagues , either informally or through groups developed in ppd for collaborative / team work . students identified many benefits especially when they worked on their projects . in discussions on impact , students make comments such as enhancing study skills , empathy , team spirit , helping to change classroom practice , and participating proactively in clinical discussions . faculty found the topics new and interdisciplinary , handling such topics , and creating interest and engaging the students were a challenge . in the first year of the mbbs program , ppd classes are conducted in topics related to doctor patient relationship , professional ethics and humanities related topics . in the second year , students of the institution are required to pursue a project involving in - depth study of an area of interest and prepare a written , referenced report of scholarly substance . this helps the student to gain insight into research methodology and to encourage the development of critical thinking skills . in the first half of the third year , students are introduced to a few topics in palliative care . as a first step , 2 hours per week of ppd was incorporated in the time - table for the first year medical students . a group of faculty and a coordinator identified relevant topics such as medical humanities , leadership skills , communication skills , ethics , professional behavior and patient narratives ( table 2 ) that would be introduced to students . all faculty were requested to identify topics of their choice so that they could conduct the sessions in an engaging manner . there were also hours set aside for creative essay writing , role plays and theater by the students . in terms of students , the quality of the module such as content , presentations and engagement were evaluated by using a prevalidated module specific questionnaire with 10 items . a total of 528 students from three different batches from march 2011 to march 2013 were enrolled to give module feedback . the effectiveness of the module was studied by using a longitudinal survey using a modified course evaluation form . it was a 16-item questionnaire , with 16 closed and an option to write open comments , where students could explain about any personal / professional improvements they would attribute to the ppd experience . the same students responded to this questionnaire when they reached the clinical phase . in terms of faculty , personal interviews and focus group discussions were conducted by the coordinator , with eleven faculty members who conducted the ppd classes . in the first year of the mbbs program , ppd classes are conducted in topics related to doctor patient relationship , professional ethics and humanities related topics . in the second year , students of the institution are required to pursue a project involving in - depth study of an area of interest and prepare a written , referenced report of scholarly substance . this helps the student to gain insight into research methodology and to encourage the development of critical thinking skills . in the first half of the third year , students are introduced to a few topics in palliative care . as a first step , 2 hours per week of ppd was incorporated in the time - table for the first year medical students . a group of faculty and a coordinator identified relevant topics such as medical humanities , leadership skills , communication skills , ethics , professional behavior and patient narratives ( table 2 ) that would be introduced to students . all faculty were requested to identify topics of their choice so that they could conduct the sessions in an engaging manner . there were also hours set aside for creative essay writing , role plays and theater by the students . in terms of students , the quality of the module such as content , presentations and engagement were evaluated by using a prevalidated module specific questionnaire with 10 items . a total of 528 students from three different batches from march 2011 to march 2013 were enrolled to give module feedback . the effectiveness of the module was studied by using a longitudinal survey using a modified course evaluation form . it was a 16-item questionnaire , with 16 closed and an option to write open comments , where students could explain about any personal / professional improvements they would attribute to the ppd experience . the same students responded to this questionnaire when they reached the clinical phase . in terms of faculty , personal interviews and focus group discussions were conducted by the coordinator , with eleven faculty members who conducted the ppd classes . continuous feedback is an important tool that helps to improve quality on an ongoing basis . the analysis of student responses showed that majority of them agreed that the module was useful and the results are as follows : a good percentage ( 67% ) of the students found the course to be relevant . they also found the teaching effective ( good , 27% ; and very good , 63% ) and well - paced ( 92% ) . the ppd workload was not a major issue and 97% of the students found that it was reasonable . the students strongly agreed that the course was well coordinated ( 65% ) , course materials were well prepared ( 55% ) , group discussions were effective ( 65% ) , and role plays helped in understanding the topics ( 85% ) . however , a few students wanted discussion on tourism in india , indian culture , art , and food . other useful tips from students included interactions with senior doctors from the hospital to share experiences and local community visits . students communicated that they were able to carry the content forward from what was taught and applied it in their day to day contexts . modules provided a range of opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge in different ways ( case studies , labs , interactive activities , and so forth ) . individual comments suggested that the courses challenged them to think about humane aspects of medicine , provided opportunities to develop self - directed learning skills , to develop skills and abilities to work as a team member , advanced skills of inquiry to pursue projects in second year and to develop professional attributes and behaviors in the clinical setting . however , they have made many positive comments about the perceptions of modules and its effectiveness . often , students have been able to share their learning with colleagues , either informally or through groups developed in ppd for collaborative / team work . students identified many benefits especially when they worked on their projects . in discussions on impact , students make comments such as enhancing study skills , empathy , team spirit , helping to change classroom practice , and participating proactively in clinical discussions . faculty found the topics new and interdisciplinary , handling such topics , and creating interest and engaging the students were a challenge . with an objective to introspect and reflect upon the challenges and experiences of faculty and students with the ppd module that was introduced at the melaka manipal medical college , and identify key strategies to sustain and improve the module in the curriculum . students expression on the ppd sessions was similar to results obtained with the ppd module introduced in another indian university . systematic , future directed , continuous cycle of goal setting , planning , managing , and reviewing is essential for quality improvement of any program . analyzing student and faculty feedback is a simple , but rich and valuable source of information for quality enhancement . for any program to grow , stabilize , improve , be effective and sustainable the drawback of this module was that there was no formal assessment for each of the sessions . however , reflective summaries are now introduced and used to assess skills acquired through this module . in conclusion , implementation of ppd modules in the undergraduate medical curriculum in melaka manipal medical college , india was successful case since students could improve their affective skills .