Iranian Journal of Medical Education
Year:2017 | Volume:17 | Issue:SPECIAL ISSUE FOR INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION IN MEDICAL EDUCATION|Papers Count:9

Introduction: Social accountability is a fundamental feature in medical education. In this regard, the aim of this study was to explore the views of general practitioners in Isfahan about GP’s minimum learning essentials based on common and important signs, symptoms and diseases to be used in the revised curriculum in accordance with social accountability.Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in 2015-16 in two phases. The research tool was developed in the first phase by reviewing the literature, documents and experiences. In the second phase, the field study was conducted on general practitioners working in private and public sectors of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 462 subjects were selected through systematic random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods.Results: A total of 619 questionnaires were analyzed. 46.7% of the participants were female and 37.5% worked as a family physician. Based on the interaction between subjects’ encounters with diseases, signs and symptoms and the importance of each case, 136 topics were identified as educational priority.Conclusion: Since high prevalence of a disease and its importance for education have been accepted as the criteria to determine learning needs, educational priorities for general practitioners were determined based on the interaction of these two criteria. Further research is recommended to determine the opportunities for teaching these priorities and their appropriate educational content.

Introduction: In any change in the assessment system, students’ opinions as one of the main stakeholders is of great importance. These opinions will help planners overcome the problems and weaknesses and guide them towards corrective measures. The aim of this study was to investigate medical students’ experiences of pre-internship electronic exam in Isfahan and Kashan Universities of Medical Sciences in 2016.Methods: This qualitative study utilized directed content analysis approach. Participants included 17 medical students participating in the first pre-internship electronic exam and were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded with participants’ permission and then transcribed. The data were analyzed in MAXQDA-10 software.Results: Three main categories emerged following data analysis including “strengths”, “weaknesses” and “solutions and recommendations”.Conclusion: This study elicited students’ experiences as one of the main stakeholders in the assessment system. The results indicate students’ satisfaction with participating in the pre-internship electronic exam and the students suggested that other exams should be held in this way.

Introduction: In the era of increasing development of electronic technology, using technology and making favorable changes in student assessment have a prominent role. The purpose of this study was to review the evolution process of student assessment methods in medical education and report its process in Iran based on the 8-step model (In Line with the Package for Medical Sciences Assessment System and Tests Promotion).Methods: In this narrative review, databases of SID, Magiran, PubMed, Eric and Google Scholar were searched for articles published from 1950 onward in Persian and English using the keywords assessment, computerized test, evolution, change and medical education.Results: A total of 28 highly relevant articles were reviewed from 76 publications. Based on the 8-step model of change, the evolution process of student assessment has occurred as 1: creating necessity, 2: forming a powerful coalition, 3: creating a vision for change, 4: communicating with the vision, 5: removing the obstacles, 6: creating short-term achievements, 7: founding and building the change, 8: institutionalizing the change.Conclusion: The eight steps of change and evolution of Graduate and Medical Education Council tests have been administered with due precision in Iran. Given the challenges facing each change and in line with more favorable administration of this process in the coming years, identifying existing executive problems and contributing to resolve them would be an effective and constructive step forward.

Introduction: Medical education quality improvement is a major issue in Iran’s medical education system. One of the strategies for medical education quality improvement is evaluation of the status quo and identification of the weaknesses. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate educational departments of Kashan Shahid Beheshti Teaching Hospital according to clinical education standards in line with the education reform plan and accreditation package.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 210 stagers and interns of Shahid Beheshti Teaching Hospital of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Subjects were selected by means of census method and data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The viewpoints of stagers and interns about the conformity of educational programs (round, grand round and morning report) with clinical education standards in departments of pediatrics, internal medicine, general surgery, cardiology, infectious diseases, neurology and specific surgery were assessed.Results: The highest rate of desirability of round from the viewpoints of stagers was related to infectious diseases (77.3%) and cardiology (66.7%) departments and from the viewpoints of interns was related to infectious diseases (60%) and neurology (40%) departments. The highest rate of desirability of grand round from the viewpoints of both stagers and interns was related to infectious diseases department (86.7% and 80% respectively). The highest rate of desirability of morning report from the viewpoints of both stagers and interns was related to the infectious diseases department (46.7% and 80% respectively).Conclusion: Given the moderately desirable status of educational programs in most of the departments, faculty members should get familiarized with new trends in medical education and clinical education standards through holding clinical education workshops and be encouraged to follow these standards. Moreover, departments should make efforts to eliminate weaknesses and achieve the desirable status.

Introduction: Curriculum revision is the basis and a necessity for development of education. The goal of General Dentistry curriculum is to train dentists with minimum expected competencies. Considering the importance of this field in promoting society’s health, this study was carried out in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2017 with the purpose of criticizing the general dentistry curriculum from stakeholders’ viewpoints in order to revise it in line with accountable and justice-oriented education package.Methods: This study employed a qualitative approach. Data were collected through reviewing the documents, individual and group interviews. Purposeful sampling was carried out with the participation of 30 stakeholders of general dentistry curriculum and holding 10 interview sessions. The interview transcripts were imported to MAXQDA-10 software and analyzed by directed (deductive) qualitative content analysis.Results: Curriculum criticism was conducted in 14 courses based on the stakeholders’ viewpoints and according to three main categories of weaknesses, strengths and proposed solutions from the stakeholders’ viewpoints and in accordance with the basic curriculum components including needs assessment, objectives, instructional strategies, content, educational sources, learning environment, learning activities, implementation and evaluation. Overall, from the stakeholders’ viewpoints, curriculum revision is useful but sudden changes without persuading stakeholders and the lack of suitable hardware and software infrastructures for implementation have led to failure in the curriculum implementation.Conclusion: It seems that stakeholders’ dissatisfaction with general dentistry is due to hasty implementation of the recently revised curriculum and lack of infrastructures to implement the curriculum and achieve its idealistic goals. Hence, revision through comprehensive needs assessment of curriculum stakeholders and pilot implementation and also providing executive infrastructures and persuading stakeholders for the sake of curriculum development and success are recommended.

Introduction: The present study was carried out as part of the needs assessment program of virtual training at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences with the aim of evaluating the readiness level of faculties with regard to virtual training from the perspective of the deputies and authorities of education development offices at the faculties.Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional research. An 18-item researcher-made instrument was used for assessing the following four domains: infrastructures (4 items), faculty’s resources (2 items), students’ readiness (5 items), faculty members’ readiness (6 items) and their attitudes towards virtual training (1 item). Data were collected through the officials in each faculty and analyzed by means of descriptive statistics.Results: The mean score of readiness in the field of virtual training development was 4.99±1.20. Among the four domains, students’ readiness (5.38±1.37) and resources (4.60±1.65) had the highest and lowest scores respectively. The mean score of attitudes revealed a moderate level of the subjects’ attitudes.Conclusion: The results showed that despite their moderate attitude to virtual training development in the faculties, the participants assessed the faculty members and faculties’ readiness for planning and resource supply as inadequate. Nevertheless, the faculty infrastructures had a more favorable status compared to the other two domains from the respondents’ viewpoints.

Introduction: The optimal use of information technology in health sector requires due attention to human resources training. The purpose of this study was to determine the future of health information technology positions and professional qualifications of the employees to achieve them.Methods: This qualitative-quantitative study was conducted in 2016. A nonsystematic review of the articles published over the last 10 years was performed in well-known databases and websites using relevant keywords. Positions were extracted and then discussed using the Delphi technique in a panel of experts of 25 members including board members and faculty members of medical universities across the country. Agreedupon positions were confirmed and job descriptions and professional qualifications were identified and compiled. An applied cross-sectional study was conducted on all health information management employees (38 people) of hospitals affiliated with Kashan University of Medical Sciences to determine the existing gap. A researcher-made questionnaire was developed based on the professional qualifications obtained for the expert panel and distributed after being checked for validity. Reliability was approved with Cronbach's alpha (0.91). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in terms of frequency and percentage.Results: The future health information technology positions were found to be health information management, insurance and accounting, information technology, computer applications, and data management. Professional qualifications of statistics and epidemiology, disease classification, information storage and retrieval, health data management, legal considerations and information security, information technology, and software engineering concepts were determined. The most effective qualification was knowledge of storage and retrieval methods. Employees’ skills in statistics and epidemiology were at an average level. Conclusion: New positions are constantly being introduced into the field of health information technology. Continuous curriculum revisions and additional courses for insurance and accounting, data storage and retrieval, statistics and epidemiology are essential.

Introduction: WHO requires governments to train and utilize the services of non-physician personnel, especially nurses in managing chronic diseases including diabetes. This study aimed to develop a postgraduate diabetes nursing curriculum in line with the accountable education package.Methods: This study was conducted in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2014-15 based on Kern’s curriculum planning model steps in two stages: needs assessment (the first step of Kern’s curriculum planning) and curriculum development (the second to sixth steps of Kern’s curriculum planning). Needs assessment was performed using a modified Delphi technique and curriculum development was conducted in cooperation with curriculum specialists and faculty members in the field of diabetes teaching and treatment through holding multiple specialized panels and individual consultations in several stages. For data analysis, qualitative content analysis was used in the first Delphi round and descriptive statistics was used in the second and third rounds.Results: From the participants’ viewpoints, tasks and roles of diabetes nurse were classified into 6 categories, 9 subcategories and 81 tasks in domains of knowledge and awareness, education, caring and treatment, management and social accountability. Curriculum development for postgraduate diabetes nursing program was achieved according to the decisions of Supreme Council for Medical Education and Ministry of Health and Medical Education and postgraduate statute in four chapters including “curriculum general characteristics, curriculum detailed characteristics, courses characteristics and curriculum evaluation”.Conclusion: The proposed curriculum was introduced to Specialized Council for Medical Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Education for establishing a new academic major.

Introduction: The goal of clinical education in general medicine program is to achieve the minimum skills expected of graduates. Clinical competency exam is designed as a tool for assessing these minimum learning essentials. Exploring the viewpoints of examinees could be a step towards improving the quality of this exam and resolving its problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the viewpoints of interns participating in the clinical competency exam.Methods: This qualitative study employed conventional content analysis approach. Subjects included 17 interns participating in the clinical competency exam in 2016 in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences who were interviewed in four groups of 4-6 people. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed in MAXQDA-10 software.Results: A total of 93 preliminary codes were extracted. Having the duplicates removed and similar codes integrated, 72 codes were extracted and classified into 4 main categories and 9 subcategories. The main categories were: “conditions of the exam administration, content of the exam, educational factors affecting the exam, and conditions of exam stations”.Conclusion: It seems that educational factors affecting the exam are the major factors that influenced the clinical competency exam. Also, the objectives of the exam were not clear from the perspective of examinees which could affect the results. Since the clinical competency exam can be used as a tool to make students try more to acquire the necessary and expected skills, taking corrective measures and organized regular planning are essential in this area.