Background: A significant gap exists between patient-centered health policies and medical graduates’ practice. Medical education is not restricted to the formal curriculum. The hidden curriculum has a powerful effect on students’ learning and behavior. This study measured the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum in Mashhad Medical School. Methods: The participants were medical students at Mashhad Medical School who were about to graduate. The sample size was determined 100 students based on the Morgan table and selected in a convenient method. The validated Persian version of the Haidet instrument with three content areas of “role modeling, student’s experiences and support for students’ patient-centered actions” was used to evaluate the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum. Descriptive indexes and Independent samples T-Test were used for analysis.Results: The mean±SD score of patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum was 54.9±9.4, slightly more than half of the total questionnaire score. The area of "support for students' patient-centered actions" received a higher mean±SD score (62.1±16.5) compared to role modeling (53.9±12.3) and student experiences (53.6±9.4). Additionally, medical students emphasized the professor's role in acquiring patient-centered care.Conclusion: Despite the formal education for patient-centeredness, students learn mainly from the practical environment and their educators’ behaviors. There was a relative dissonance between the formal and implicit curriculum regarding patient-centeredness associated with the medical student. The medical students’ experiences regarding patient-centered manners and giving encouraging feedback are two chief points for improving patient-centeredness.  

Dear Editor, It is indispensable to train competent health professionals to meet the evolving healthcare needs of the nations. To this end, it is crucial to pay much attention to curriculum development. 1 A formal curriculum has the teaching and learning experiences that empower students to achieve the outlined goals. It consists of learning goals, teaching and evaluation methods and strategies, and a learning environment laid out by higher education institutes. There is another type of curriculum, commonly known as the hidden curriculum. This also plays a vital role in medical education, particularly in what occurs in a clinical setting. Moreover, the hidden curriculum has a pervasive influence on students’,attitudes, professional personalities, learning courses, and how they deal with ethical dilemmas...

Background & Objective: Hidden curriculum plays an effective role in developing professionalism and improving the quality of education in the fields that constitute the structure of the health system, such as medicine and dentistry. The present study was designed to clarify the experience of dental students with a hidden curriculum at Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. Material & Methods: This study was conducted with a qualitative approach and using the conventional content analysis method in 2021. The participants consisted of 15 dental students studying in the 3rd to 6th academic years at Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran, who were selected by purposive sampling method. Data collection continued until reaching saturation using semi-structured interviews. Results: The mean age of the participants was 23. 8 ± 1. 7 years, of which 66. 7% were women and 66. 7% were men. In this research, 100 codes were obtained that were categorized into 14 subthemes and 6 main themes. The main themes included the professor’s educational characteristics, professor’s professional characteristics, interactions and communication, attitude and expectations, rules, facilities, and educational environment. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that teaching and assessment methods, professional behaviors, and professors’ role modeling, as well as the interactions between the professors, students, and staff, their attitudes, educational environment, and rules, should be taken into consideration before planning the hidden curriculum for dental students

Introduction: The experiences of learners in the educational system are not just limited to the overt curriculum. Other factors also play a significant role in shaping student learning in the form of hidden curriculum. Students’ views on this issue can help design a suitable curriculum.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the viewpoint of nursing students about the hidden curriculum on learning.Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study. The sample size of this study comprised 300 nursing students of the Guilan University of Medical Sciences’Faculty of Nursing (students of the 2nd to the 8th semesters) who were selected using the random sampling method. The research instrument included a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of two parts of the socio-demographic characteristics and 34 statements about students’ views regardingthe effect of hidden curriculum on learning. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and the binomial test.Results: The results of this study on the effect of the hidden curriculum on learning showed that the subjects agreed on the impact of the program in 25 statements (P=0.038) and selected disagreement options only in nine statements. According to responses of the research subjects, the reasons why the hidden curriculum was effective on learning based on students’viewpoints are: Good student-professor relationship (88%), a chance to interact with experienced professors (82%), student humiliation (80%), equipping classes with up-to-date electronic teaching aids (80%) and attention to the peer group as a model of behavior (53%).Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm the profound effect of the hidden curriculum on learning. Considering the importance of the formal curriculum, more attention to the hidden curriculum can boost knowledge among students.