Strides in Development of Medical Education Journal
Year:2014 | Volume:11 | Issue:3|Papers Count:17

Background & Objective: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a systematic review process for evaluating and using results of the best clinical trials for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. It must comply with the values and specific circumstances of each patient in need of treatment. Since very few studies have examined the competence of different groups of medical professionals in this area, this study was conducted to assess the competence of residents in EBM.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 90 residents from 4 main clinical departments in Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2013. The data collection tool was the Berlin Standard Questionnaire. The samples were selected using census method and data were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Among the participants in the study 42.2% were male and 57.8% female with the mean age of 31.17±3.32 years. Based on the results of the study, residents had little competence in the field of evidence-based medicine their scores ranged from 0 to 8 and their mean score was 2.54±1.43 of a total of 15.Conclusion: Considering the mean score and low competence of residents in evidence-based medicine, short-term programs by the relevant departments seem essential to rapidly promote knowledge of evidence-based medicine.

Background & Objective: One of the most practical and most recognized methods of needs assessment and educational planning is the Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) model. Today, this model is employed, as a creative and effective method, in occupation or profession analysis.Methods: In the present study, during 3 workshops in 2 days and by using DACUM method educational needs assessment and occupation analysis was performed on the educational administrators (assistant dean for educational affairs in schools, heads of departments, and vice-chancellors for educational affairs in educational hospitals) of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Results of this process served as foundational elements to planning training programs for the educational administrators.Results: The workshop resulted in the identification of 6 duties and 51 tasks for vice-chancellors for educational affairs in educational hospitals, 9 duties and 81 tasks for assistant dean for educational affairs in schools, 16 duties and 98 tasks for heads of departments. Moreover, a list of associated knowledge, skills, tools, equipment, supplies, materials used, and desirable worker traits for this occupational category was provided. Then, using results of panels, a questionnaire was designed in order to identify the importance, learning difficulty, and frequency of performance of duties and tasks. In addition, lists of general knowledge, worker behaviors, tools, equipment and supplies, and future trends and concerns were verified by respondents and the DACUM committee.Conclusion: Finally, based on the verified results and review of the literature, a training program, based on goals, context, and method of performance and evaluation, was prepared in order to be used by educational administrators of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

Background & Objective: Today, using new educational strategies and methods is of great importance. Using a study guide is one of these new methods of teaching and learning. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the perception of lecturers and students of the School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, toward the use of a study guide.Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 25 students of the School of Dentistry of Tehran University of Medical Sciences who had chosen the community dentistry course were randomly selected. A study guide was given to students before their briefing session and 2 sessions in the school. A questionnaire was designed in order to collect data on the perception of students toward the study guide and was used after the completion of the course. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were verified. The questionnaire was also filled out by a professor of the Department of Oral Health. Data was analyzed by SPSS software.Results: The survey of the students' and lecturers' perception of the study guide showed that 76.5% and 86%, respectively, chose agree and completely agree with the use of the study guide options.Conclusion: Using the study guide was rated as a suitable method; thus, it can be used to help students in the efficient use of training time.

Background & Objective: The main purpose of medical researches is to answer a research question or to solve a problem to promote the health of a society. The first objective is to answer the research question correctly with minimal errors. The second objective is the publication of the results in order to generalize them to a population and use in a wider dimension. To achieve these objectives, using biostatistics is necessary. Despite the importance of biostatistics in medical research, researchers have limited understanding of it or due to its complications they refrain from its use. Statistics help the researcher in different levels of research including writing a proposal and interpretation of other papers. Moreover, biostatisticians and epidemiologists also play a very important role in the preparation of manuscripts for publication. The present article has eloquently described the most important statistical tests in medical research with applied examples.

Background & Objective: Understanding the characteristics and criteria that students use to select their teachers, is an indicator for evaluating teachers in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of education. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of a capable university lecturer from the viewpoints of health services management students in Iranian medical universities.Methods: In this descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study, 582 bachelor's degree students of health services management participated. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire, the content validity and reliability of which were confirmed. The questionnaire included six main domains, namely, teaching method, personal characteristics, evaluation skills, scholarly activities, interpersonal skills, and educational regulations. Data were analyzed using Student’s independent t-test and ANOVA in SPSS software.Results: Our findings suggest that teaching methods (4.34), interpersonal skills (4.17), and personal characteristics (4.11) were the most important domains from the students' perspectives. On the other hand, characteristic such as calling the roll (3.62), taking mid-term quizzes (3.66), and teacher's strictness (3.71) were the least important domains. There was a significant relationship between sex and the educational regulations domain (P=0.01). However; there was no significant relationship between mean score of domains based on students' term of education (P>0.05). In total, the correlation between all domains revealed 2 distinct categories in the form of personal characteristics and professional commitments.Conclusion: According to our results, favorable characteristics of academics, especially their individual characteristics and personality, are one of the determining factors in achieving educational goals and increasing the quality of education.

Background & Objective: Classrooms are suitable environment for transferring teachers’ experiences to students and gaining 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 factors effective on theoretical class attendance according to the point of view of dentistry students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2012.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 students of the School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, in 2012. Data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of 2 parts: demographic characteristics and effective factors on theoretical class attendance questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions scored based on a 5-point Likert scale, from very effective to ineffective, and scores ranging from 0 to 80. Higher scores indicated more effective factors. Data were analyzed by SPSS software through linear regression analysis. Values of P<0.05 were considered significant.Results: Of the 150 participants, 58.7% were female, 83.3% were single, and 61.3% were native students. The mean age of the participants was 20.7±1.7 years. The mean score of the students was 58.24±9.59. A significant statistical relationship was observed between area of residence, year of education, and sex of students and mean score of questionnaire. Among factors effective on theoretical class attendance, the highest score belonged to appropriate teaching method, teachers' scientific proficiency, students' interest in the related topic. However, taking part in the class as a duty and active involvement of students had the lowest scores.Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that attendance in classes is affected by factors related to both teachers and students. However, appropriate teaching method, teachers' scientific proficiency, and students' interest in the related topic are the main factors which determine students' attendance in the classes.

Background & Objective: All humans have various kinds of intelligences, only the amount and method of their combination differs. Thus, educational systems should provide the foundation for the development of these intelligences. The main purpose of this research was the analysis of the relationship between multiple intelligences and creative thinking among students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.Methods: The present research was a descriptive correlative study. The statistical population of the research included all students of the 2012-2013 academic years, from among which 129 were selected by random stratified sampling method. The data collection tools consisted of the Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire with 70 questions and the Creative Thinking Questionnaire with 20 questions based on a 5-point Likert scale. Content validities of the questionnaires were confirmed by experts. The reliability coefficients of the Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire and the Creative Thinking Questionnaire were obtained through Cronbach's alpha as 0.84 and 0.87, respectively. Collected data was analyzed through inferential statistics (correlation coefficient, Student's t-test, variance analysis, and regression analysis) using SPSS software.Results: Research findings revealed that mean of multiple intelligences and creative thinking components of the students were higher than average. The highest mean was related to the rational and mathematical intelligence. Moreover, there was a positive relationship between the components of multiple intelligences and creative thinking.Conclusion: Through the growth of multiple intelligences components, the grounds can be set for the growth of creative thinking in students, and thus, students can play their role as creative and innovative students in the development and growth of society.

Background & Objective: Assessment of perceptions of the students undertaking different examinations is useful in the determination of the efficacy of evaluation methods in medical education. The aim of this study is to assess the attitude of medical interns of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran, about objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in surgery during the years 2009-2013.Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic study. A researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among the students immediately after the final OSCE of the surgery course and their perception about the different aspects of this examination was assessed in the form of 5-point Likert scales. Data analysis was performed by Stata SE software. All values of P were considered significance if P<0.05.Results: In 164 medical students who filled out the questionnaires, the frequency of satisfaction of students were: 46% with the examination location; 35.8% with the type of questions at each station; 39.7% with fairness and rationality of questions; and 29.4% with suitability of time allocated to stations; 35.4% with standardized patients (SP); 47.8% with supervisors; 62.3% anxiety effect; and 35.3% overall satisfaction with the examination was reported at high or very high level. Overall satisfaction of students had a significant relationship with anxiety, examination location, type and fairness of the questions, time allocated to stations, functions of SPs and supervisors (P<0.05).Conclusion: Overall, these students perceived the OSCE as a suitable method to assess their clinical skills. Surgery is an important and critical course in the training of medical students and accurate evaluation of clinical competences of trainees in this course should be performed with appropriate examinations like OSCE. Therefore, continuous quality improvement of these exams, effective feedback to the students, and implementation of educational workshops for them during the course can be useful.

Background & Objective: Evaluation of faculty members' teaching activities by student is one of the commonly used methods the use of which has increased accordingly over time. Therefore, dynamic and meaningful participation of the students in the process is imperative. The purpose of this study is to understand the knowledge of students of the evaluation process and its challenges, and their solutions.Methods: This qualitative study was performed in 3 schools of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2012. The opinions of student were collected during 3 focus group discussions with the participation of 19 students. Participants were selected based on purposive sampling from among the student advisory committee. All group discussions were recorded, and then, transcribed. Data were analyzed by content analysis. For credibility and authentication of data, the peer monitoring and review method was used.Results: Major themes include the input challenges with 2 subthemes (barriers to participation, and factors affecting evaluation), the process challenges with 2 subthemes (the evaluation time, and students preferred format for evaluation) and the impact challenges with 2 subthemes (publication of results, and reward and punishment evaluation systems).Conclusion: The perceptions and awareness of students about the evaluation process and its application is important in the increasing of participation and their seriousness in answering questions. Thus, in order to reduce bias in the evaluation process, it is recommended that suitable and timely information be given to students and faculty members, courses be performed to familiarize them with the concept and application of evaluation, and the evaluation questionnaires be revised.

Background & Objective: Pediatric dentistry is one of the basic sciences related to oral health. The aim of the present study is to assess the opinion of dental students of Kerman, Iran, concerning education in preclinical and clinical pediatrics in order to determined shortcomings and deficiencies.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on students who choose practical pediatric dentistry courses. Data collection was performed by a questionnaire which includes two parts; demographic characteristics and educational aims of pediatric dentistry courses. Student’s independent t-test, ANOVA, and chi-square were applied to analyze the data by SPSS software.Results: Results showed that 38.9% of students in the Pediatric-1 course evaluated their satisfaction with achieving educational aims as quite satisfactory, 47.2% as satisfactory, and 13.9% as unsatisfactory.The Pediatric 2 and 3 courses were evaluated as quite satisfactory by 54.3% and 35.5% of students, satisfactory by 25.7% and 58.1%, and unsatisfactory by 20% and 6.5%, respectively.Conclusion: In the Pediatric 3 course, more than 90% of students evaluated their achievement of educational aims as quite satisfactory or satisfactory. It seems that with increase in the number of courses passed, the level of achievement of educational aims also increases.

Background & Objective: Critical thinking skills are among the skills that have been recognized for the 21st century human being by UNESCO. On the other hand, stress plays an important role in success, and excessive stress can decrease students' ability to learn and progress. This study was performed to evaluate critical thinking skills and their association with stress coping strategies in the students of Arak University of Medical Sciences, Iran.Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 100 medical students were selected through stratified sampling. SPSS software was used to analyze the data collected via a demographic checklist, Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Lazarus and Folkman).Results: The mean total score of critical thinking skills was 37.32±5.71, which was categorized as weak. Moreover, the mean score of stress coping strategies was 90.95±18.8. There was no significant correlation between the two mean scores. There was only a weak significant correlation between avoidance with interpretation and responsibility with rationalization (P<0.05).Conclusion: The mean score of critical thinking skills of our participants did not differ significantly from that of other similar domestic studies, but was unsatisfactory when compared to foreign studies. This shows the necessity of the education of the critical thinking skills in the national education system. The insignificant correlation between critical thinking and stress coping strategies could be the result of the questionnaire used and students' wrong estimation of their critical thinking skills and coping strategies.

Background & Objective: Interns are one of the most important groups among medical student, and thus, must learn to use evidence-based medicine (EBM). The present study was performed with the aim of evaluating the knowledge of medical interns of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), Iran, on evidence-based medicine in 2013.Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 70 medical interns were selected using convenience sampling method. Data were gathered using a standard questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics and SPSS software.Results: The information source for clinical decision making in 65.7% of interns were their textbooks among which 62.9% used textbooks because of their accessibility. In addition, 95.7% of interns believed EBM to be useful in improving patient care. However, only 37.1% of them knew the meaning of EBM and 95.7% were not familiar with EBM internet sites.Conclusion: Integrated planning is necessary in order to include EBM courses in medical curriculum and to teach the use of internet and correct forms of searching.