Journal of Medical Education Development
Year:2019 | Volume:12 | Issue:33 |Papers Count:9

Background & Objective: Blended learning is the thoughtful integration of e-learning and face-to-face learning, which has been accepted in the field of medical education. Given the importance and complexity of this novel educational system, this study aimed to recognize and gain an in-depth understanding of the factors and dimensions affecting the effectiveness of blended learning based on the experiences of stakeholders in this area. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative research, content analysis approach was applied. Subjects included seven faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences with a history of teaching through virtual education systems for a minimum of two years and eight MSc students in medical disciplines, selected by convenience sampling. Data analysis was performed applying the seven-step Colaizzi method. Results: In this study, five categories, including student capabilities, teacher competencies, technical aspects, pedagogical field, and supportive environment, and 40 subcategories were obtained. Conclusion: The importance of teaching-learning and increasing demand for access to education from one hand and emphasis on the effectiveness of education from the other hand are among the major challenges of all educational systems. According to the results of the study, the desirable position of this type of training could be found by the fundamental review of acceptance of students and professors and providing the necessary technical facilities.

Background and Objective: Nursing students' experiences in the field of internship require intelligent attention and management. The plan was designed and implemented in order to settle the senior undergraduate nursing students at the Educational and Treatment Center. Materials and Methods: In order to implement this single-group interventional study, undergraduate nursing students were attending full-time work in medical and surgical wards of Educational and Treatment Center under the supervision of a teaching assistant (TA) and a senior instructor in their last year of the course. The program started from the first semester of the 2016-2017 academic year and continued until the second semester of the 2017-2018. The planning and implementation team of the program at the faculty and its corresponding team at the educational and treatment center was responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the program. Students' satisfaction with the program and their feedback was reviewed by the planning and implementation team. In this study, the first level of a Kirkpatrick model was used to evaluate the program. Results: Most of the participating students acknowledged that the program had a positive impact on professional preparation, accountability, self-esteem, and job independence in comparison to the conventional program. They also had criticisms of the program, that the most important of them was mentioned in the article. Also, the head nurses and TAs believed that the program, in addition to reaching the educational goals, was able to moderate the care burden of the nursing staff of the departments. Conclusion: Appraisal of the program illustrates the success of the program in achieving educational goals. It seems that the implementation of similar programs at this stage of the student's curriculum will not only facilitate the transition of the student's professional role but if implemented effectively, it can also help to mitigate the shortage of nursing. It is recommended to study the possibility of implementing such programs in the final year of the midwifery and other paramedical courses.

Background & Objective: Since one of the common methods of medical sciences teaching is teaching by several lecturers, the present study aimed to evaluate the viewpoints of medical science professors on this type of teaching. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical research was performed on professors of Babol University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Subjects were selected using convenience sampling, and data were collected using a 14-item researcher-made questionnaire. In addition, data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: From a total of 41 professors, about 33 cases (80. 4%) had the experience of teaching a course by several lecturers in the previous or current semester. In total, 65. 9% of professors believed that this type of teaching increased the diversity and attractiveness of the course and about half of them reported that there was better compliance with the headlines. On the other hand, most of these individuals believed that teaching a course by several lecturers was associated with an unnecessary increase in volume of the course content (68. 3%), as well as a decrease in the time required for student assessment (51. 2%) and the time needed for establishing relationships between professors and students (46. 3%). However, statistical tests showed no significant differences in results in terms of gender and academic rank of professors. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, about half of the professors opposed to applying the method of teaching by several lecturers or no comments on this technique. However, the other half of the professors had a positive attitude toward this type of teaching. Therefore, considering some of the positive aspects of teaching by several lecturers, it is not possible to provide a definitive opinion about the method and more extensive studies are required in this regard.

Background and Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between self-determined motivation and work engagement of faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was performed on faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences in four schools of health, medicine, paraclinical and behavioral sciences, and mental health. In total, 100 subjects were selected using the Cochran formula. Research tools included work engagement (Salanova and Schaufeli [2002] with 0. 99 reliability). In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21 using normality, correlation, and multiple regression tests. Results: According to the results, 44% of the subjects were male, and 56% were female. There was a significant and positive correlation between internal, introjected, and self-determined motivation and work engagement of the faculty members. On the other hand, there was a negative and significant relationship between internal and external amotivation and work engagement of the participants. Results indicated that 22% of the variance of work engagement could be predicted based on the dimensions of self-determined work motivation. In addition, 17% of the variance of self-determined motivation could be foreseen according to the dimensions of work engagement. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, high levels of self-determined work motivation could have positive outcomes, such as work engagement. Given the fact that work motivation could be predicted by the dimensions of work engagement, it is necessary to design methods to maintain a high level of work motivation in faculty members by planners and decision makers of this field.

Background and Objective: One of the major education quality indicators is students’ academic engagement, which could be influenced by students' academic buoyancy and effective teacher features. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between effective teacher features and academic engagement mediated by academic buoyancy of post-graduate students at Sistan and Baluchestan University. Materials and Methods: This research is applied in terms of objective and a structural equation-based correlational study in terms of research method. Using stratified random sampling method and according to Cochran’ s sampling formula, 341 postgraduate students were included in the study and filled in three questionnaires of effective teacher features, academic engagement, and academic buoyancy. Correlation coefficient of the structural equation model was used to analyze the data. SPSS software version 16 and LISREL software were used to run the analyses. Results: There were significant correlation coefficients between the effective teacher features and academic engagement (r = 0. 56, p <0. 001), effective teacher features and academic buoyancy (r =. 328 p <0. 001), academic buoyancy and academic engagement (r=0. 486, p <001). The direct effects of the effective teacher features on academic engagement (t =8. 02, β = 0. 98), effective teacher features on academic buoyancy (t =4. 23, β =0. 45) and academic buoyancy on academic engagement (t =4. 43, β = 0. 45) were significant. The indirect effect of the effective teacher features on academic engagement with regard to the mediating role of academic buoyancy (β = 0. 157) was also significant. Conclusion: University professors can enhance the academic buoyancy and academic engagement of their students through employing cultural-educational, training, research and service-executive indicators.

Background & Objective: Internationalization is an active and intelligent reaction to the phenomenon of globalization. Higher education internationalization in universities of medical sciences is a necessity and priority considering the emphasis of the upstream documents, including the sixth development plan, 20-year vision plan and medical education transformation program. Given the complication and various levels of internationalization of higher education from one hand and dependency of universities of medical sciences on the government system from the other hand, this study aimed to determine the role of the government in the higher education internationalization in universities of medical sciences. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative research, the grounded theory method was employed to evaluate content and reviews with experts. The research population included educational management experts and senior executive managers related to the ministry of health and universities of medical sciences. Interviews were conducted with 20 experts through theoretical and targeted sampling method and continued until data saturation. In addition, data analysis was performed using fixed comparative analysis and performing open, axial, and selective stages. Results: According to the grounded theory, the causal factors of the government were recognized with six factors (ministry of health, legal and policy-making units, national documents, national security, language and culture, information technology). On the other hand, strategies of the government and consequences were recognized with seven (policy research, policy-making, legislation, strategic plan, foreign policy, budget, and commercialization of education) and four (scientific, economic, political, and cultural development) factors, respectively. In addition, the relationship between the mentioned factors was presented in the diagram of grounded theory. Conclusion: As a phenomenon with national and transnational consequences, internationalization of higher education of universities of medical sciences requires the role-playing of the government in the implementation of strategies and realization of expected consequences.

Background and Objective: Given the importance and status of faculty members in universities, the advancement of the duties and missions of the higher education system and rapid development of the technologies and challenges faced by educational institutions require proper measures for the continuous development and overall improvement of these systems, especially the improvement of the capacities, scientific capabilities, and professional skills of faculty members through knowledge management. The present study aimed to assess the role of the elements of knowledge management in the improvement of the faculty members in distance education universities by designing an appropriate model. Materials and Methods: This applied, qualitative research was conducted on the faculty members of distance education research universities in Iran, including 5, 101 faculty members. The participants were selected via stratified random sampling (n=357) and based on Morgan's table. Data were collected using a questionnaire. The validity of the research instrument was confirmed by experts, and its reliability was confirmed using the Cronbach's alpha, which was estimated at 0. 89 for knowledge management and 0. 91 for knowledge development items. Data analysis was performed in SPSS using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for data normalization. In addition, the path and fitting of the model were examined using structural equations in AMOS software. Results: In this research, knowledge management indicators (creation, sharing, storage, and application of knowledge) affected all the improvement indicators (individual, professional, and organizational), so that the overall effect of knowledge management on improvement was estimated at 69. 3 in the model fitting index table. Conclusion: According to the results, knowledge management is a conscious strategy for creating, sharing, storing, and applying knowledge, thereby enhancing the performance of the faculty members in distance education universities and enabling them to become an efficient element of change in universities.

Background & Objective: Higher education is an important institution providing education and human resources, which requires special attention in terms of the quality of services if it is to be preserved. The present study aimed to assess the perceptions of students toward the quality of educational services at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS), Iran during the academic year 2017-2018. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 477 students, who were selected randomly using the Krejcie-Morgan table for the estimation of sample size and stratified-proportional sampling from the students of six schools at ZAUMS. Data were collected using the adjusted standardized questionnaire for the quality of educational services (SERVQUAL) model. The questionnaire consisted of two sections, including demographic data and quality assessment of educational services based on the SERVQUAL model. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21 using descriptive and analytical statistics, such as independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The assessment of the perceptions of the students toward the quality of university services indicated that 11. 2%, 87%, and 1. 8% of the students considered the service quality to be poor, average, and favorable, respectively. However, the quality assessment of the educational services based on gender, marital status, age, type of accommodation, and schools indicated no statistically significant correlations (P>0. 05). The difference observed in the average scores of the quality assessment obtained by the native students was considered statistically significant (P=0. 004). Conclusion: According to the results, the students considered the quality of the current educational services at ZAUMS to be average. Therefore, the authorities must implement efficient plans in order to improve the quality of educational services.