Evaluating the Ten-year Educational Performance of Medical Students in Basic Sciences at Semnan University of Medical Sciences

Background:

 The learning problems in the basic sciences field of study can cause further learning problems at higher levels and even in the future career. This study aims to evaluate the educational performance of medical students in basic sciences at Semnan University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) during a ten-year academic period.

Methods:

 This is an analytical study with a cross-sectional design that was conducted in 2021. All students of SUMS, who participated in the basic science comprehensive exam from 2011 to 2020, were selected by a census method (n=316). Their information was collected using a a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics and Paired t-test in SPSS software, version 16.

Results:

 Of 316 students, 62.3% were males. Most of them had exams in September 2017 (n=32), while the least had exams in September 2016 (n=3). The best status was related to those had exams in March 2017 (Average grade: 145), and the worst was related to those in September 2017 (Average grade: 100). Overall, the average grade of students in the March exam (128.8) was better than the average grade of September exam (114.2). The highest grades were observed in the courses of pathology, bacteriology, physiology, and immunology, while the lowest grades were observed in the courses of medical physics, embryology, and public health. Overall, there was no significant relationship between the average grades of the groups March and September (P=0.073). The basic science comprehensive exam grades had a significant relationship with grade point average (P=0.033) and gender (P=0.42).

Conclusion :

The educational performance of students in basic sciences at SUMS has not changed significantly in ten years. Long-term educational evaluations of students are recommended to university managers and officials for proper planning.