Strides in Development of Medical Education Journal
Year:2008 | Volume:4 | Issue:2|Papers Count:12

Background & Objective: Expensive medical educational cost, long term education and difficult lessons, all support this evidence that with unemployment of medical graduates in professional activities, much national stock will be used vainly. Due to lack of enough knowledge and documents about medical graduates’ career activities, this study was conducted in order to evaluate their career status.Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, all 528 medical graduates who were graduated between 2001and 2007 from Kerman University of Medical Sciences were studied. Necessary data, latest career and educational status of medical graduates were collected by direct or indirect phone interviews. In order to determine the impact of effective factors on career status and residency exam acceptance, Logistic Regression and Survival analyses were applied.Results: The access rate to graduates was 86%.at least three years after graduation, 62% of medical graduates were engaged in medical careers which were mostly in clinics, military or social services, personal offices and clinical specialties. Among all subjects, 40 persons (7.6%) were unemployed and almost the same rate was doing non medical jobs. Eighteen percent were engaged in working or studying in clinical specialties and others had left Iran. Survival analysis showed that female physicians were employed faster and more in medical professions (median for female and male were 3.8 & 4.5 years respectively, p=0.009). Women were more successful than men in professional careers (12%) and residency exam acceptance (17%) which were not statically significant. Mean score during education and pre internship exam score were effective factors on residency exam acceptance.Conclusion: It seems that almost 20% of medical graduates in Kerman City were not employed in careers related to their education in long term prospect (more than three years after graduation) and/or left the country.

Background & Objective: Human resources and their education is the core of development in different fields and motivation is the driving engine of learning. Since changing in learner's behavior needs to assess motivation related factors and their efficacy. This research was aimed to study some factors affecting on students motivation in Golestan University of medical sciences.Methods: In 2006 this descriptive-analytic study was carried out on the students (n=535) who have at least passed one semester of clinical training course. Data were collected by the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) and a researcher made questionnaire dealing with the related factors (the students' welfare office, college education, educational and therapeutic center and career prospects) which its validity and reliability was approved.Results: Among 474 participated subjects (responpons rate 88.6%), 73.2% are females, no one was totally unmotivated and most of them (52.5%) are motivated. There were direct, weak and significant relationships between educational motivation and four related factors is significant (p=0.001) but it is not true for gender and field of study. The least correlation factor (R=0.14) is related to educational and therapeutic center and the most to college education (R=0.24).Conclusion: In spite of the significant correlation between motivation and four related factors and below moderate motivation in 46.9% of the students, we suggest universities' educational authorities to pay enough attention to these points. Although, the career prospect is out of universities areas of responsibility and it seeks a great national attempt.

Background & Objective: Internship is an important and basic element in each field especially health care management. A great deal of students' knowledge is put into practice during this period.Evaluation of internship status is necessary for improving its quality. This study was performed to evaluate the health care management internship status in several aspects based on students and teachers' point of view.Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study 102 health care management teachers and students from Isfahan University participated. The data was collected using a researcher made questionnaire, in which the general internship lessons status, learning process, learners, teachers, internship fields were included.Results: The mean given scores after evaluation by teachers and students were 39.36 (considered as good) and 28.06 (considered as moderate) respectively. The result of analysis showed that the weakest aspect of internship according to the students' point of view was internship fields (hospital and health centers) with a mean score of 22.6 and the weakest point according to the teachers' point of view was about the learners (33.4). Teachers believed that the biggest problem was due to the transportation system (`c=19.63) whereas students believed it to be due to lack of information by health care personnel about educational needs (`c=18.43).Conclusion: Internship lessons esp. in internship fields which were given the least score by attendants need more attention .In order to improve the situation of internship, it is recommended to provide more facilities during internship period and focus on familiarizing, briefing and attracting health care personnel.

Background & Objective: Faculty members are one of the most important parts of "Input" in the "Educational system", so fine determination of effective factors on their "Job satisfaction" is critically important. This study was designed to evaluate effective factors on faculty members' job satisfaction in Mazandaran University of Medical sciences, 2006.Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study, all faculty members (135 ones) of medical college who participated as the study samples completed a questionnaire (based on "Herzberg" theory) consisted demographic variables, 40 items in 11 domains for assessment of effective factors on job satisfaction according to 4 point Likert seal degree.Results: Among our sample, 106 faculty members participated in the study (87.5% response rate), majority of them were clinical specialists and sub specialists, and mostly were assistant professors (73.5%). The highest mean score (±SD) for effective domains on job satisfaction were as follow: salary 3.81(±0.61), condition of work environment 3.72(±0.75), job position 3.3(±0.81). The least important domains include: method of monitoring and supervising 1.91(±0.63), gratitude 2(±0.74), and communications 2.02(±0.85). Basic sciences faculties cared significantly more about salary; steady job, environment, career promotion and quality; while for assistant professors environment and responsibility were more significant.Conclusion: This study showed that external factors including salary and job environment were the most effective factor on job satisfaction of faculty members but factors related to organizational position of faculty members (communications and supervision) were less important. In Overall, this study indicated less importance of organizational and team spirit in faculty members and predominance of individual benefits, which should be modified by appropriate programs.

Background & Objective: Classrooms are suitable places for transferring teachers’ experiences to the students and a better understanding of educational contents. The students’ absence from theoretical classes has been one of the increasing and most important educational problems in medical universities in recent years. This study was performed to determine the effective factors on theoretical class attendance according to nursing and midwifery students’ point of view in Razi School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2003.Methods: In this descriptive – analytic study, 320 nursing and midwifery students were asked to fill in the researcher-made questionnaires using a census method. Totally 217 questionnaires were filled.Results: Among all 217 students, 87.9% were female and 75.7% were single. Students’ mean age (± SD) was 22.4 (±4). Native students were 56.7% and only 14.6% were employed. Among the effective factors on theoretical class attendance, the highest mean scores belong to “teachers’ scientific dominance and orientation” (4.7), “proper teaching method” (4.66), “importance of class attendance for better comprehension of the lesson” (4.58) and the lowest mean scores belong to “classrooms physical environment” (3.85), “not attending the class as a duty”, (3.88), using audiovisual aids (3.95).Conclusion: The findings showed that attending classes is affected by factors related to both teachers and students; but the teachers’ scientific dominance and orientation, teaching methodology and students’ involvement during class discussions are the main factors which determine students’ attendance in the classes.

Background & Objective: Writing dissertation is an opportunity for students to become familiar with methodology of a research process during their period of education. In recent years, there has been special emphasis on proper studies’ structure, similar and scientific process writing in research reports and dissertations. Attending methodology workshop for faculties and students, together with preparing booklets has helped a lot, but still there is a long way to meet the optimal standards. This study was conducted to evaluate methodological structure of medical dissertations in Golestan medical university from 1996 to 2005.Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic Study. For data collection all of the dissertations (257) were studied and scored with a check list that was designed for a national research on thesis .The maximum score for each thesis was 500.Results: The results showed that the mean score (±SD) of the dissertations have increased from 269.9(±78) in 1996 to 351.5(±33.1) in 2005. According to this study, 76.9 percent of dissertations had methodological consultants, and the most frequent design was cross-sectional .There was a significant relationship between final score of dissertations and grade of them (r=0.38, P=0.039).The worst parts of dissertations were methodology, then statement of problem and discussion, and the best part was writing the references.Conclusion: Although methodology structure of medical dissertations has improved considerably recently, but there is a long way to reach optimal status. Education of faculty members and student in research field, guiding students for finding best tactics of research and supporting them to performing researches helps to enhancement of dissertations quality. This needs a fundamental reform in long term planning for medical education.

Background & Objective: Passing through intrauterine phase to the extra uterine world is probably the most dangerous event in everybody’s life. About 1% of them need advanced cardiac life support to continue life. By implementing expert methods of resuscitation, the prognosis will improve more than one million neonatal deaths annually. This study was designed to assess the effect of education on midwifery students’ neonatal resuscitation knowledge and skill.Methods: In this interventional (pretest and posttest design) study, 81 midwifery students participated. The data was collected using a questionnaire for assessing knowledge and a check list for skill evaluation. The validity and reliability of questionnaire and check list were approved before data collection.Results: Our findings showed that all students’ level of knowledge was weak to moderate before education while it turned into good after education. Mean knowledge score before education was 24.46 which increased to 29.34 after education. Skill related mean score before and after education was 13.83 and 91.75, respectively. Comparison between knowledge and skill related scores showed significant difference before and after education (p=0.003 and p=0.0001 respectively).Conclusion: Midwifery students’ knowledge and skill in neonatal resuscitation was low before education and there was a significant difference in mentioned items before and after education.Considering the effect of resuscitation in decreasing neonatal death index, implementation of scientific and practical education using developed techniques and tools is necessary.

Background & Objective: Nursing is a combination of knowledge and art and all aspects of theoretical and practical teaching of nursing must emphasize on these two points, but practically the gap between what is theoretically taught at university and what is practically experienced at work is very big. Therefore in this study it is aimed to evaluate the application of some academic nursing lessons in practical work from recruiting nurses' point of view.Methods: This research is an analytical- descriptive one. Some hospitals in Isfahan were selected using random sampling method. All recruiting nurses in mentioned hospitals were 78 and all of them were questioned by the research questionnaire which was in two sections: demographic information and a section about the application of between nursing lessons in clinical practice.Results: The findings indicate that most of the subjects were female (84.6%), graduated from Azad universities (64.1%) had a 6-12 months career experience (47.4%) and were working at emergency wards (20.5%). In addition, the highest mean (±SD) of the applied lessons at work was for medical- surgical nursing lessons 34.68 (±2.43) and the lowest one was for maternity child nursing lessons 11.58 (±4.34) there was no significant difference between the mean application of different lessons and it was the same regarding gender but the increase in career experiences showed the decrease in clinical application mean in community health nursing and psychiatric nursing (p=0.025 and p=0.04 respectively)According to Azad universities graduates' point of view, medical surgical nursing and, maternity child nursing lessons were more applicable in clinical practice (p=0.03 and p=0.016).Conclusion: According to the above findings and studies which were already conducted, it seems that there is a noticeable gap between nursing theoretical lessons and nursing clinical practice.Therefore this gap must be filled by changing the outlines of university lessons and nursing educational curriculums.

Background & Objective: Patients have the right to be informed about their own health condition including bad news and sometimes, medical staff has no choice but to give the patients such information that makes them feel bad in patients and therefore, evaluate as "bad news".Unfortunately such kind of news is enormously found in medical environment, for medical staff, patients and their companies. The responsibility of telling patients the bad news is one of the hardest tasks in medical career. Patients and their companies’ illogical expectation add to its difficulty while in this situation medical staff is also responsible for calming others.Conclusion: the difficult part of telling bad news is due to physicians’ previous lack of skill, even the ones with a proven track record, for facing the situation of transferring bad news and further management and consequences which may end in bringing it out of control and causes patients’ and their companies’ mistrust of staff or hospital environment. This ends in discontinue of future and useful necessary plans. This situation causes a faulty circle of unwanted events which are against the medical affairs. So a thoughtful bad news transfer to patients and their companies may cause them a relief and makes the control of present and future consequences easier. This important factor will be gained by practicing and applying the smart strategy of SPIKES by the professional physician.

Background & Objective: Continuing education is necessary for all health providers through out presenting developing knowledge, new technologies and making an advanced direction, but much attempt is to be done for promoting its performance and making it effective.This study was designed in order to evaluate continuing education status in Iran medical society according to review of articles.Methods: In this systematic review, all available previously conducted studies and references were evaluated; generally, the published articles comprised one of the following three subjects: 1- Motivational factors; 2- Factors related to the need assessment and educational priorities; 3- Factors related to the context and methodology.Results: Based on the reviewed articles, according to the participant's point of views, learning scientific updates was their first choice and then needed privilege achievement was located. Most of them believed that subjects should be presented according to the occupational needs and privileges should be omitted. On the other hand, some continuing educational experts have stated that there is no scientific need assessment for these programs. Findings of several studies have also shown that lecture was the prominent teaching method in these programs.Conclusion: In spite of positive points of the law, all participants evaluated the program performance method as moderate level.So, it is suggested that together with correct law application and executive instructions, periodical and continues need assessment, repeated evaluation by mechanisms like reaccrediting the licenses, developing e-Learning methods, expert lecturer training and measuring the effectiveness of programs should be done through investigation on health indices ,etc. in order to increase the effectiveness of these programs.