Journal of Medical Education for Future Demands
Year:2019 | Volume:18 | Issue:2|Papers Count:7

To the editor Accreditation of medical education in Iran is currently carried out in four levels: institutional accreditation, educational centers accreditation, programs accreditation and continuing medical education accreditation. These accreditations are carried out periodically by representatives of the country’ s medical schools selected by the Ministry of Health and medical education (MoHME). In all of these accreditations, from the evaluation of the educational courses to the quality of education in different educational settings from faculties to hospitals are examined...

During the recent years, many changes have been made in the curriculum of medicine worldwide, but most of these changes rarely emphasize on the effects, processes, structures, and most importantly the management of hidden curriculum as well as how to collect the experiences of students. In this study, the thematic content analysis was used in order to explain the perspectives of key informant in the field of hidden curriculum management in medical education. The study participant were 11 interviewees with five themes obtained after interview analysis, including managing some components like human resources, learning, organizational behavior, formal curriculum, and organization. It was revealed that managing these components (themes) will be resulted in managing the hidden curriculum, and it is possible to plan the students’ education based on the required and desirable performance.

Background: Because of an increased demand for clinical faculty members in medical departments and no comprehensive model, identifying the affecting factors could be effective in planning in this area. So in this study we aimed to identify the key variables (and their weight) influencing the number of medical faculty members required in Iranian medical sciences universities. Methods: This study was an applied analytical descriptive one. It was a cross-sectional survey and done in Iran using the exploratory factor analysis. The main data collection instrument was a questionnaire and SPSS software version 20 was used for statistical analysis. We used expert opinions to assess the questionnaire’ s validity and Cronbach’ s coefficient alpha to confirm its reliability. The statistical population consisted of faculty members and directors of medical departments of Iranian medical sciences universities and experts of medical education. The sample size was determined to be 320. Results: Exploratory factor analysis indicated that in an optimal system, nine factors (consisted of 40 variables) titled “ research/scholarship services” (14. 3%), “ specialty training” (12. 9%), “ clinical services” (9. 5%), “ features of faculty members” (7. 5%), “ undergraduate training” (6. 8%), “ university development level” (6. 1%), “ other characteristics of the university or the region” (5. 1%), “ desertion rate among faculty members” (4. 5%), and “ the nature and scope of the specialty” (2. 9%) could explain 69. 623% of total variance of the rrequired number for medical faculty members. Conclusion: Some of the factors like the volume of “ research services” and “ undergraduate training” should be considered in estimating the staffing requirements of medical faculty members.

Background: To characterize the educational needs of different sectors and to improve educational quality, investigating learners’ attitudes is of utmost importance. Thus, the present study was designed and implemented to assess the educational needs of general medicine from the viewpoints of medical trainees, interns, orthopedic assistants, and professors. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 154 medical trainees, interns, orthopedic assistants, and professors at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2018 were investigated. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire, comprised demographic characteristics information and 44 common symptoms of orthopedic disorders. The validity and the reliability of this research instrument was further reviewed and verified in a pilot study. Results: The findings of this study revealed top 10 priorities of educational needs in the groups included low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, ankle sprain, General Principals of Fracture and Dislocation, lower limb fractures, diabetic foot problems, upper limb fractures, osteoporosis, and spinal discopathy, as well as complications of fractures and dislocations. Besides, a significant difference was among the study groups in the cases of low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetic foot problems, and spinal discopathy. Conclusion: The study results led to identify top 10 priorities of educational needs in general practitioners associated with orthopedic symptoms and disorders. It is recommended to carry out further investigations to ascertain appropriate contexts for teaching such priorities and organizing the relevant educational contents.

Background: This study aimed to assess the use of game software on the clinical performance of speech therapy students during their internship. Methods: This study was a clinical trial. The population of the study comprised 69 students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 who passed the voice disorder internship unit in the sixth semester. The first group consisted of 32 students of 2012 and 2013 who passed the voice disorder unit in traditional way, and the second group consisted of 37 students of 2014 and 2015 who passed the voice disorder unit in traditional way along with using game software (combined method). At the end of the sixth semester, students’ internship score was recorded and internship coaches were surveyed about students’ clinical performance. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (22). Results: The age range of the first group was 20-22 years (20. 11± 3. 02) and that of the second group was 20-22 years (20. 25± 2. 12). The mean and standard deviation of the internship score of the students, who learned the unit by software, were 19. 36± 0. 36 and for students who learned the unit by traditional way were 14. 12± 0. 36. Independent t test showed significance difference between the two groups (P≤ 0. 001). 80% of the coaches rated the performance of the students who used the game software to be very good and good in comparison with the traditional educational group. Conclusion: Using educational games in class has led to an increase in students’ clinical performance in dealing with patients with voice impairments and increased satisfaction of their internship coaches from students’ performance.

Background: The comparison between customers’ expectations and real provided services is defined as the quality of service. In medical education system, the negative quality gap can threaten the lives as graduates are probably not capable of managing the health condition of their patients. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a whole picture for educational quality of services in medical universities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Methods: Persian databases (SID, Elmnet, Magiran, and IranMedex) and English electronic databases including Scopus and PubMed were searched (from 2005 to 2017). Our main search terms include medical university, SERVQUAL, and quality of education. The methodological quality was assessed by a modified Newcastle– Ottawa Scale (NOS). Information was gathered for the following terms: author, publication year, keywords, and main conclusion. The main outcome measurement was the measured gap for tangibles, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy dimensions along with the total educational services quality gap. Pooled difference in means (95 CI%) were evaluated. All analyzes were performed using comprehensive meta-analysis software. Result: For this study, 143 cross-sectional studies were found for review. Based on the random effect models, total weighted mean difference (WMD) was-1. 23 (95 CI%:-1. 35 to-1. 11), WMD of assurance was-1. 24 (95 CI%:-1. 41 to-1. 08), WMD of reliability was-1. 04 (95 CI%:-1. 28 to-0. 80), WMD of responsiveness was-1. 38 (95 CI%:-1. 52 to-1. 24), WMD of tangible was-1. 25 (95 CI%:-1. 41 to-1. 10), and WMD of empathy dimension was-1. 18 (95 CI%:-1. 34 to-1. 03). Stratified analysis revealed that if universities types and quality of studies decreases, all dimensions of the quality gap would be deteriorated. Conclusion: Negative gap was reported for all faculties/universities. Students are the main customers of universities; hence items that are requested by students should be offered. Determining where gaps lie in different dimensions can guide the allocation of financial resources in education systems, in addition to improving decision-making and strategic planning.

While passive lecture-based learning practices remain popular among medical educators, their retention rates are generally poor. Current movements in medical education encourage alternative teaching methods designed to maximize knowledge retention, reduce lapses in attention and uncover the learner’ s intrinsic motivations. Kahoot is a web-based program where the user can easily construct games, nicknames “ kahoots” free of charge. By harnessing the benefits of the “ fun theory” and “ gamification” , Kahoot can serve as a useful tool for radiology resident training. In this manuscript we describe how to use the game-based learning platform, Kahoot, in radiology trainee education. This manuscript illustrates how to design interactive question sets and demonstrates the advantages of Kahoot over traditional approaches to teaching.