Achievements In health and medical education now 40 years after the Islamic Revolution: Strategies for integrating medical education into the health system

After the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, two main changes were made in the health system namely the establishment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the formation of the Health Network of Iran. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education is responsible for policymaking, planning, leadership, stewardship, monitoring and evaluation of health services and also training and educating the healthcare workforce in a community-based health system, which comprises the country's healthcare structure.

Library documents were reviewed and information and relevant data were collected.

From 1979 to 2015, the number of medical, dental and pharmacy schools in Iran increased from 7 to 72, 3 to 19 and 3 to 21, respectively; the number of admissions to medical school increased from 1357 to 44040 during the aforementioned time period. Training courses , PhD and clinical sub-specialties were established after the revolution. Nowadays, admission to these disciplines  are 268 and 350 students, respectively. This quantitative increase has been accompanied by a significant improvement in the educational quality of clinical services rendered and increased research.

Integration of medical education into the health system in Iran has proved to be an appropriate and economical strategy for promotion of healthcare and is considered a turning point in improving medical education in the Islamic Republic of Iran.