process assessment

This study aimed to compare the effects of requirement-based and test-based formative assessment methods on pre-clinical endodontic competence and performance of dental students.

This interventional field study was conducted on dental students of Shahid Beheshti Dental School in the first and second semesters of 2021 academic year (third-year students), taking practical basic endodontics 1. After receiving theoretical instructions and practical demonstrations, the students in both groups were asked to perform root canal therapy for extracted maxillary anterior and mandibular/maxillary canine teeth as part of their requirement. Their errors were assessed and recorded by two calibratedinstructors. Next, group 1 students performed root canal therapy for mandibular incisors and premolars as their requirement and returned the treated teeth on a specific date every 3 weeks. Group 2 students did not have a specific requirement and only participated in an examination which included endodontic treatment of the same group of teeth treated by group 1 students at the same designated dates. The treated teeth were assessed by instructors for errors. A final examination was held at the end of the semester for both groups. The two groups were compared by independent t-test, ANCOVA, Pearson Chi-square, and Mann-Whitney tests (alpha=0.05).

No significant difference was found between the two groups in access cavity preparation, root canal instrumentation, or obturation (P>0.05).

Requirement-based and test-based formative assessment methods had similar effects on pre-clinical endodontic competence and performance of dental students

 Assessment plays a great role in encouraging learning and evaluating whether the learning objectives have been achieved.

 This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of dental faculty members toward Patient Management Problem (PMP) and Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) tests.

 In this descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was used to collect information from 54 faculty members of the dental school of Kerman University of Medical Sciences from 2019 to 2020. This study’s questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part included demographic information, and the second included questions related to the faculty members' knowledge (10 questions) and attitudes (8 questions) towards MCQ and PMP tests. Cronbach’s alpha was considered to be 0.8. Content validity was assessed to determine the validity of the questionnaire. SPSS 20 was used to analyze the data, which included descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as non-parametric tests such as the Kruskal-Wallis and linear regression tests.

 Fifty four dentistry faculty members returned the completed questionnaires in this study. Amongst them, 34(63%) were female, and 20(37%) were male. The mean scores of the knowledge and attitudes questionnaire toward the MCQ and PMP tests were 7.20 and 27.83, respectively. The Mean scores of the knowledge and attitudes had no significant relationship with age, gender, and teaching experience.

 Based on the results, it can be concluded that the dental faculty members had good knowledge about MCQs and PMPs structures and their strengths and weaknesses. There was also a good awareness of the shortcomings of the MCQ test in the assessment of clinical reasoning and the lack of transparency of this assessment tool.

The ultimate goal in educating medical students is to train skilled workforce who by obtaining the required knowledge of the discipline, personal and professional skills, and attitudes to enter the national health‑care system. This study was conducted with the goal of designing a comprehensive clinical competency test of operating room technology student using the Delphi technique, and then, the clinical skills of the operating room technology students of the paramedical school were assessed using the CIPP evaluation model.

The present study was conducted in the University of Medical Sciences to evaluate clinical skills with Delphi technique and CIPP evaluation model. This was a mixed methods study. Purposive sampling method was employed in the qualitative stage, and a census was conducted in the quantitative part. A comprehensive clinical competency test was designed in this research using the Delphi technique and was conducted with 18 students. Then, clinical skills evaluation was performed by descriptive‑analytical statistical tests and evaluator’s observation using the CIPP model.

The comprehensive clinical competencies test of the surgical technology students was designed in four sections: content, evaluation method, test conditions, and the criteria for passing the comprehensive test. The results in the implementation stage showed that the operating room technology students had a range of excellent to weak performances in exhibiting basic skills at different levels.

The results of the present study showed that the comprehensive test, designed based on the Delphi technique of experts, and using the CIPP model can be a good criterion for the evaluation of the operating room technology students before entering the clerkship.

Evaluation is one of the most important tools for determining the quality of any educational program, which can lead to reformation, revision, or termination of programs. Quality in higher education requires assessment and judgment of goals and strategies, executive policies, operational processes, products, and outcomes. The Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model is a comprehensive perspective that attempts to provide information in order to make the best decisions related to CIPP. Due to the importance of this topic, the present study examined the application of the CIPP model in the evaluation of medical education programs through a systematic review.

In this systematic review, Persian databases including ISC, SID, Mag Iran, CivilicaL, and Noormags and English databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, and Google Scholar were searched using relevant keywords, such as evaluation, program evaluations, outcome and process assessment, educational assessment, and educational measurements. The search was done with no time limits and 41 papers were obtained until May 22, 2020. This systematic review was performed by following the data extraction steps and assessing the quality of the studies and findings. Critical Appraisal Skills Programs and Mixed‑Methods Appraisal Tool checklists were used to check the quality of the papers.

This systematic review was conducted on 41 studies, 40 of which were research papers and one was a review paper. From the perspective of the CIPP model of evaluation, most papers showed quite a good level of evaluation of educational programs although some studies reported poor levels of evaluation. Moreover, factors such as modern teaching methods, faculty members, financial credits, educational content, facilities and equipment, managerial and supervisory process, graduates’ skills, produced knowledge, and teaching and learning activities were reported as the factors that could influence the evaluation of educational programs.

Due to the important role of evaluation in improvement of the quality of educational programs, policymakers in education should pay special attention to the evaluation of educational programs and removal of their barriers and problems. To promote the quality of educational programs, policymakers and officials are recommended to make use of the CIPP model of evaluation as a systemic approach that can be used to evaluate all stages of an educational program from development to implementation.

It is essential to evaluate the performance of hospitals in the health system. Hospitals need a performance evaluation system to develop and compete in order to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of their programs, processes, and human resources. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of teaching hospitals using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method and hierarchical analysis.

This was a cross‑sectional and descriptive study conducted in 2019 in all teaching hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The required data were collected using a standard checklist. The collected data were analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and TOPSIS. In the first phase, annual indicators of hospital evaluation were collected. Following the AHP, key performance indicators (KPIs) were selected and prioritized in hospitals.

The questionnaires were provided to 15 experts to weigh KPIs, and the most important indicators were selected. The results of hierarchical analysis showed that three main indicators in evaluating the performance of hospitals were bed turnover rate, emergency clients, and length of stay.

One of the problems in evaluating hospitals is the use of key indicators that alone measure the quantity or quality of their performance. Multicriteria decision‑making can be used to determine key indicators first, and then by combining these indicators into a multicriteria decision‑making model, a better assessment of the role and performance of hospitals can be provided.