The Experiences of the First Master of Nursing Graduates Regarding the Implementation of the Curriculum and Thesis Status at Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Iran: A Qualitative Study

The experiences of research and educational service recipients are important for improving the quality these services. Since the views of the first postgraduate nursing students at Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Iran have not been investigated so far, the present study aimed to describe the experiences of these graduates in terms of curriculum implementation and thesis status.

This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis on 19 nursing graduates, who were selected via purposive sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews (20-40 minutes) until data saturation. Data analysis was performed simultaneous with data collection using the OneNote software. The interview contents were reviewed repeatedly, and open codes were identified and categorized in the form of subthemes. The similar subthemes were organized as the main themes.

The findings were classified in seven main themes, including the necessity of the change and improvement of theoretical education, the necessity of the change and improvement of clinical education, research improvement, proper performance of thesis supervisors, the necessity to improve the performance of thesis advisors, proper performance of statistical thesis advisors, and the need to respect the students by the faculty members and educational personnel.

Although the graduates provided positive feedback regarding the implementation of educational and research programs, they were also faced with various challenges that require the revision of the educational curriculum by the nursing education board. Furthermore, the meticulous supervision of the university in the process of conducting student research activities is strongly recommended.