Journal of Medical Education and Development
Year:2014 | Volume:9 | Issue:2 (SERIAL NUMBER 15)|Papers Count:12

Introduction: Achieving meaningful learning is an important educational goal of medical students. Therefore, it is necessary to design and implement more effective methods and strategies to achieve the goal. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the meta-cognitive awareness of reading strategies in student and their achievement in Iran University of Medical Sciences.Methods: This cross sectional- analytic study was carried out on students of Iran University of Medical Science during the 2012-2013 academic years. Three hundred seventeen students were selected through stratified random sampling from all students studied in basic sciences, physiopathology and clerkship stages of the medical program. The tool used was meta-cognitive awareness of reading strategies Inventory (MARSI). Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software and Pearson correlation-coefficients, variance analysis tests and independent T-tests were administered.Results: In this study the mean score of medical students’ awareness of reading strategies showed optimal situation, the mean score of medical students’ awareness of reading strategies and its three categories showed a significant relationship with students’ score of academic achievement.Conclusion: Based on our findings it is concluded the medical students awareness of planning strategy and setting the purpose of reading have more influence on academic achievement than meta-cognition strategies, therefore medical education curriculum should be emphasized on these strategies to empower medical students to be independent in learning and to be self-regulating in their learning process.

Introduction: Following the “Integration Program” of general physician training curriculum recommended by the Department of Medical Education of Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, several concerns raised towards the effect of this program. This study aimed to assess students’ view towards integration of limb anatomy course to the pre-clerkship medical program in Iran.Method: The study was conducted on 80 medical students enrolled in the third semester of medical program of Shahed University. Changes in the program according to the syllabus approved by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. These changes include new content arrangement, integration of limb anatomy into preclerkship medical program, adding useful contents, methods of preparation prior to classroom theory and encouraging team learning. A questionnaire was used to collect students view about the integration program.Results: Students found the integration useful in terms of content of the course (%83), learning effectiveness, lasting of knowledge %78.2, improved clinical skills %66.4, positive attitude toward anatomy %86.4, active participation in a group lesson %70/4 and ability to recall %79.6 respectively. The differences in content course and positive attitude were significant.Conclusion: Medical students showed agreement with this new method and recommended it for other specific courses.

Introduction: Using modern methods of teaching can increase critical thinking skills and confidence of students. This study aims to assess ‘ team effectiveness design’ on critical thinking, confidence and learning of nursing students.Methods: In this study 52 students of the first two semesters of Nursing and Midwifery School of Khoramabad were studied over two semesters. Before and after implementation of teaching method a questionnaire was used to measure student’s confidence, performance and critical thinking.Results: In both groups, the mean score of critical thinking after the intervention increased. The score of critical thinking before and after lecture was significantly correlated (P=0.001). The confidence score after conduction of team performance was enhanced. There was no significant relationship between the scores before and after intervention in terms of performance (P=0.5). Test score increase after the intervention (P=0.001).Conclusion: Modern methods of teaching, learning and deepening it, is possible through ‘ ‘ team effectiveness design”. The method led to the development of critical thinking, increase confidence and satisfaction.

Introduction: Education as a main responsibility of universities may not be fulfilled without conduction of the relevant research. Considering that educational development is facilitated through educational research, study of related subjects is necessary. This study aimed to determine educational obstacles of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medicine Sciences’ (SSU) academics. Their ability to conduct educational research will be investigated too.Methods: This research is a analytic cross sectional study conducted on all academics of SSU who engaged in teaching during 2014. Data collection tool was Spreitzer empowerment questionnaire.Results: According to the SSU academics, score for educational obstacles was 65.9/100. The highest and lowest scores for professional and scientific obstacles were 78.93/100 and 56.4/100 respectively. Faculty members’ empowerment score was 78.15/100. There was a significant relationship between gender and administrative responsibility with scientific obstacles.Conclusion: According to SSU academics, educational research obstacles includes: professional, institutional, individual, financial, facilitative, and scientific. There was no significant relation with empowerment, therefore by changing academics’ viewpoints, there is a better possibility to conduct educational-based research.

Introduction: In universities of medical sciences, teachers are known as key elements in education and research. Therefore, evaluating performance is the best way to quality control academic members in a medical educational system. The current study aimed to investigate students’ attitudes towards current teaching characteristics of teachers in Birjand University of Medical Sciences.Method: Using a standard electronic questionnaire, the attitude of the students was assessed toward their teachers’ characteristics and teaching. Then, the final semester exams and the total average scores of the students was automatically called from the university database and loaded in learning management system’s database. The data was analyzed using T-test and analysis of covariance.Results: From seven different faculties, a total of 827 participants enrolled into this study. The average score of the students’ attitude towards teaching of their teachers was 4.16 out of 5, showing a high satisfaction of the students regarding instructional elements of their teachers’ characteristics. The faculty of emergency medicine had the highest mid and highest average of satisfaction based on the students’ attitude among other faculties. Also, there was a significant difference between male and females regarding their attitudes’ scores (P<0.05).Conclusions: Teachers’ evaluation provides a background for competition, selecting superior teachers from student perspective and also helping students for choosing their teachers in next years’ courses. Teacher evaluation should not be only restricted to students attitudes’ scores. It is expected to provide various protocols in order to bring teachers’ evaluation scores into reality.

Introduction: Shahnameh, Ferdowsi Tusi valuable work, is well-known and famous epic in Persian. A poem Shahnameh heroes in the history of Iran know that its name was enduring heroes of Iran and the Persian language was in decline, I was new. But something else is the purpose of writing this article. The Shahnameh is the only Iranian athletics history or include other issues as well?Methods: This was a qualitative- content analysis of summative type. Verses of Shahnameh which covered medical issues were classified and analyzed. Relevant indexes (Kashfolabyat) were used to address the verses for readers.Results: Medicine and health were regularly referred in Shahnameh. Various medical and surgical treatment were mentioned and healing effects of herbs were discussed.Conclusions: Medical and health references in Shahnameh, and the relevant terminology, may help academics and students in understanding old Persian writings about these subjects.

Introduction: Education quality improvement is one of the main goals of higher education. In this regard, has been provided various solutions such as holding educational Shahid Motahari annual festivals, in order to appreciate of educational process, development and innovation educational processes and procedures, preparation of calibration standards and processes of accrediting educational. The aim of this study was to comprehensive evaluating of educational Shahid Motahari festival during six periods (2008-2013) based on CIPP evaluation model.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the 473 faculty members include; deputies and administrators educational, administrators and faculty members of medical education development centers, members of the scientific committee and faculty member’s participants in Shahid Motahari festival from 42 universities medical sciences of Iran. Data collection based on self-report writing questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 at α=0.05 significant level.Results: The subjects reported 75.13%, 65.33%, 64.5%, and 59.21 % of receivable scores of process, context, input and product, respectively. In addition, there was a direct and significant correlation between all domains.Conclusion: According to the study findings, in the evaluation and correlation of domains models, we can explicitly how to holding festivals was appropriate and the main reason for the poor evaluation in product domain is related to the problems in input and product domains.