Future of Medical Education Journal
Volume:13 Issue: 4, Dec 2023

The flipped classroom is an alternative educational approach that emphasizes the student-centered teaching method. The purpose of this research was to compare the flipped classroom (FC) teaching method with the traditional classroom (TC) teaching method on the learning and satisfaction of students Aja University of Medical Sciences in the microbiology course.

This interventional study was conducted in 2022 at the paramedical faculty of the Army University of Medical Sciences. The participants in the study were surgical technician students.  Evaluation of students' learning was done using MCQ test (pre-test and post-test). The level of satisfaction was measured through a 5-point Likert questionnaire made by the researcher. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 19 software.

The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference between the average learning of the intervention group, FC=0.82±9.30, and the average learning of the comparison group, TC=3.96±1.39.) P=0.0001). Also, there was a significant difference between the scores of the satisfaction level of the students of the FC group=4.69±0.358 and the average scores of the comparison group TC=2.530±0.863 (P<0.05).

The results of the research showed that teaching using the flipped classroom method in the microbiology course of the surgical technician students increased the learning and satisfaction of the students compared to the traditional teaching method.

One of the high-risk groups for contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are students of basic sciences and internships in the field of medicine. Therefore, the study was designed to determine the anxiety level of medical students and its relationship with their GPA (grade point average) at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in the academic year of 2020-2021 on medical students. Required information, including demographic characteristics, educational level, and level of anxiety was collected from a standard questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was using Cronbach's alpha method (α=0.919). The significance level was deemed p<0.05.

This study included 158 female students (47.4%) and 175 (52.6%) male participants. The average age of students was 22.65 years and the GPA was 15.36. The level of anxiety in female students was 48.1% higher than the male students 29.7% (p=0.001). Age had an inverse relationship with anxiety level (P<0.001). GPA had an inverse relationship with anxiety level (P=0.014) as well. The level of anxiety in basic science students was 68.5% more than internship students by 2.6% (P<0.001).

Anxiety caused by the COVID-19 in medical students at AJUMS showed an inverse relationship with GPA, and as the grade point average increased, the anxiety score decreased.Anxiety was higher in basic science students than intern students. The most concern of the students in both levels was related to the possibility of transmitting the COVID-19 to the people around them.

In  new clinical preparatory course of general medicine of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, topics of surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, infectious, neurology, pharmacology, and pathology were integrated. This study was conducted to investigate the satisfaction of professors and students of new course of clinical preparations.

This was a cross-sectional study in 2021-2022. 173 students and 43 professors  participated. Collection tool was a questionnaire which measured the satisfaction of professors and students with new clinical preparation course. Data were analyzed with SPSS 18 at  significance level of p<0.05.

Average score of satisfaction of professors and students with the new course was 34.97 ± 2.65 and 42.58 ± 15.2, respectively which was average. Professors and students were most satisfied with the integration of pharmacology and pathology. Students were least satisfied with the facilities of the clinical skills center and appropriateness of the amount of material with time. The grade point average of the new course of clinical preparations was significantly higher than basic sciences (P<0.001). But it had an inverse relationship with students' satisfaction (r=-0.169, P=0.026).

Professors' and students' satisfaction with clinical preparation course was moderate. The highest satisfaction was regarding  integration of pathology and pharmacology. The limitation of clinical facilities and inadequacy of the materials with the time caused dissatisfaction of the students, which needs to be revised. Considering the increase in the grade point average of the clinical preparation course and the change in the way of holding exams, more studies are suggested for confirmation.

Considering the important role of clinical teaching in creation and development of students’ clinical skills, challenges in clinical teaching, and lack of information due to the paucity of studies in this field, the present study aimed to investigate the clinical teaching status in major wards of the educational hospitals affiliated to Zahedan University of Medical Sciences from the perspectives of faculty members and medical students in 2019.

This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study was conducted on the faculty members and students in major wards. The quality of clinical teaching was evaluated using Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire.

This study was conducted on 31 instructors and 142 students. The results revealed no significant difference among different wards regarding the score of clinical teaching quality from the perspective of instructors (internal ward: 97.3+10.4, surgical ward: 94.8+13.7, gynecology and obstetrics ward: 99.4+6.6, and pediatric ward: 93.2+6.3). In fact, the instructors believed that the quality of clinical teaching was excellent in all major wards. However, the results showed a significant difference among different wards with respect to the mean score of clinical teaching quality from the students’ perspective. Accordingly, the highest score was related to the pediatric ward (92.8+23.3) followed by the gynecology and obstetrics ward (81.1+27.9), internal ward (75.5+31.3), and surgical ward (66.6+19.6).

Based on the results, identification of students’ expectations from educational programs and provision of instructors with feedbacks regarding students’ educational needs can improve the quality of clinical teaching.

Evaluation is recognized as one of the effective factors in forming how students learn in higher education and the quality of learning outcomes is associated with the quality of student evaluation. Formative evaluation leads learners to increase their learning and ultimately results in appropriate achievements to learners, including creativity, confidence and motivation needed for academic success. This study aimed at investigating the impact of formative evaluation on applying self-regulation learning strategies by students.

This quasi-experimental cross-sectional study was conducted on 68 undergraduate nursing students. A formative exam was performed for the experimental group at the end of each month. The control group was only subjected to the final exam. The use of self-regulation learning strategies was assessed before and after the intervention in two groups with Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) developed by Pintrich & De Groot. Finally the collected data were analyzed by SPSS.

There was no significant difference between the mean use of self-regulation strategies in the control group in pre and post-test phases (76.79±8.13 vs. 77.17±3.33, p=0.921), however the experimental group showed a significant increase in the mean use of self-regulation strategies after the intervention (94.26±6.44 vs. 77.26±9.78, p>0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of two groups before the intervention (p=0.89), whereas it was significant after the intervention (p> 0.001).

Formative evaluation can significantly increase the use of self-regulation learning strategies in students. In addition to its crucial effectiveness for students' readiness to take the final exam, it can promote their independent and self-directed learning skills.

There is little evidence for the effective assessment of the ethical skills and behaviors of health professional students. Therefore, this study was aimed to compare students’ performance and attitude about ethics exam between collaboration testing and written assessment.

In this Quasi-experimental interventional study, thirty-six fourth-year undergraduate students of physiotherapy and occupational therapy were recruited. The ethical content of the course was educated in the first semester 1400-1401. At the end of the semester, participants took the examination in a two-stage process of a descriptive question based on a clinical case. The first stage was held individually (written examination). Immediately after it, the students in groups of five discussed about the question and final responses were written on the question sheet (collaboration testing). Before beginning the examinations, three student attributes associated to the examinations were assessed using the survey, including self-efficacy, anxiety, and preparedness.

Self-efficacy and preparedness, and testing scores were significantly greater in collaboration testing compared to written examination. In contrast, the anxiety level was significantly lower in the collaboration testing compared to written examination.

The present findings showed better performance and positive attitudes of students about ethics exam using collaboration testing.

Simulation education based on flipped learning allows millennial students to adopt a self-directed learning style. This study aimed to determine the effect of simulation education based on flipped learning on academic performance, motivation in learning, and academic engagement of first-year undergraduate nursing students.

This study was conducted with semi-experimental design. 40 undergraduate nursing students at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences was selected by whole enumeration. Teaching was provided conventionally for the control group (n =18) while simulation education based on flipped learning was done for the intervention group (n = 22). The academic performance of the participants was measured using the observation checklists, also they completed the academic engagement scale and the Instructional Materials Motivation Scale at two points. Data were analyzed using t-test, paired t-test, chi-square, and ANCOVA.

There was no significant statistical difference between the two groups after the intervention in the mean of the performance (F=2.49, P<0.09), motivation in learning (F=0.75, P<0.48) and academic engagement of nursing students (F=1.1, P>0/34).

Using the simulation teaching approach based on flipped learning can be an alternative teaching strategy for conventional simulation teaching. However, more research is needed on this educational approach to be considered a preferred approach.

Morning report (MR) is one of the most common methods in medical education. It is effective for improvement of the communication skills, problem solving abilities, and clinical reasoning among learners. This study aimed to evaluate and rearrange the MR sessions in the department of obstetrics and gynecology of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad.

This study was an action research. The first step  included observation of current sessions, formation of focus groups, and conducting a training workshop regarding the principles of MR. Fourty-six individuals including 25 medical interns, 14 residents, and 7 faculties participated in the study within two months. Then , evaluation of the sessions was done and the effect of the intervention was evaluated.

Some of the significantly improved items are: the method of patient selection by selecting common diseases (P: 0.010), announcing the patient's file number (P: 0.000), the patient’s follow up  (P: 0.000) and declaring the person responsible for patient’s follow-up  (P: 0.000), writing the list of the patients on the board before the meeting (P: 0.042), proper management of the meeting (P: 0.000), referring to proper articles (P: 0.000), and managing the duration of the presentation (P: 0.000), documenting the summary of the history (P: 0.000), documenting the key points of history (P: 0.000), providing appropriate feedback to the provider (P: 0.010), and paying attention to complications (P: 0.001.

The methods of holding MR differ from defined standards in many educational centers worldwide. Thus, various aspects of meetings, including structural principles of holding MR, timing, patient selection, attention to intern and resident training at different stages, and compliance with ethical issues still need to be reviewed.