Designing and Assessment of Apprenticeship Comprehensive Program for Health Information Technology Students

The success of universities in training efficient human resources requires expansion of the range of education and gaining experience of real work environment. The purpose of this study was to design and assess an apprenticeship comprehensive program for health information technology students.
This research was an applied action study. Research population consisted of students, lecturers and managers of medical records department. The sample included all available individuals at the research time period (census). Data were gathered from lecturers by focus group discussion, from students by a researcher-made questionnaire (after confirming its validity and reliability) and focus group discussion and from managers by a researcher-made questionnaire (after confirming its validity and reliability). Using independent t-test, students’ satisfaction levels were compared before and after the implementation of the apprenticeship program for students of two different semesters.
Apprenticeship was designed in the form of health information management processes and based on problem solving and reflection. Data were reported and exchanged in the form of e-portfolio. The mean score of students’ satisfaction with the program increased from 38±4.3 to 42.6±3.2 (out of 75). The rate of students’ dissatisfaction with inadequate theoretical and practical courses for working in the apprenticeship period decreased from 73% to 34.4%.
Apprenticeship comprehensive program was designed with the focus on covering the weaknesses of previous apprenticeship programs such as information gap between theoretical and practical courses, training methods and dissatisfaction with apprentice assessment methods; it enhanced students’ satisfaction with the apprenticeship program.