The Viewpoints of Midwives Employed in Zanjan University of Medical Sciences towards Continuing Education Programs

Retraining is an important way for health workers keeping them up to date, and need assessment and evaluation are the essential principles for enhancing the efficiency of those under training. The aim of this study was to determine the viewpoints of midwives employed in Zanjan University of Medical Science towards continuing education programs. In this analytical-descriptive study, the number of samples based on the census was 43.Data gathering tool was a series of multiple choice questions about demographic data, priorities and educational needs which were designed based on Likert Scale and the aim of participation in this courses. Also some problems and suggestions were in the form of open questions that were filled and collected by our colleagues in one phase. Descriptive statistics and Spss14 software were utilized for analyzing information. 35 out of 43 midwives who were working in the centers, participated in this research. Their average age was 34.3±4.1; their mean years of service was 124 month; the average number of courses they had taken part was 16; and the duration of these courses was about 134 hours. More than 75% of them had attended in different retraining courses just inside the Zanjan province. 61.7% of them took part in unrelated training courses with different reasons such as interest and gaining job credits, 79.4% for improving their educational levels, 26.4% for reviewing lessons and 14% for gaining job credits. Most of their educational needs were new drugs and treatment methods in midwifery, new techniques and equipment of health care in topology and emergency centers. Major problems with these courses were inefficient proficiency of professors. There were many suggestions for holding regular and frequent courses in intensive form similar to medical courses. In view of the fact that midwives as a member of medical and health group have a significant role in improving the country's health and with respect to goals of educational courses, continuous retrainings and updating participant's information for meeting personal learning needs and improving practice along with constant changes, awareness of authorities about requirements of health care personnel seems to be necessary.