Journal of Medical Education Development
Volume:12 Issue: 34, 2019

Evaluation of satisfaction of students with educational services of universities can show the gap between their expectations and the current state. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the quality gap of educational services from the viewpoint of residency students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2017-2018.

This analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on 188 residency students selected by census sampling. Data were collected using SERVQUAL, and data analysis was carried out by SPSS version 24 using descriptive statistics and paired t-test. 

In this study, 106 subjects (56%) were female and 82 participants (46%) were male. In terms of age, 122 individuals were below the age of 25 (65%), whereas 66 residency students were above 35 years (35%). According to paired t-test, there was a difference between expectations and perceptions of residency students from the quality of educational services and a negative service gap in five dimensions (P=0.001, t>1.97). In this regard, the highest and lowest gaps were related to the dimensions of reliable (-2.43) and physical dimension and tangible (-2.1), respectively.

From the perspective of residency students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, there was a negative gap between expectations of quality of educational services with the current state.

Nowadays, the academic achievement of students is one of the concerns of professors and authorities. Therefore, the training courses are expected to be designed so that students can achieve this goal as one of the indicators of educational system effectiveness. Hence, in this study, we try to use cognitive strategies training for nursing students' academic achievement and the impact of this training is examined by applying the Kirk-Patrick model.

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 60 nursing students (two groups of 30 students) of Iran University of Medical Sciences. In the experimental group, in addition to presenting the content of the lesson, 5 sessions of 20 minutes were presented and practiced in the form of the extracurricular cognitive strategies program. The data collection tool was pre-test and post-test (end-of-course test). Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 20.

All 60 students participated in the study. There was no significant difference between the scores of students in the two groups before the cognitive strategies training (P = 0.1). There was a significant difference between the scores of the two groups after intervention and training (P = 0.001). Moreover, paired t-test results showed that the mean scores of post-test in each group increased compared to the pre-test but this increase was higher in the experimental group than the control group (P = 0.001).

Training the cognitive strategies will lead to students' academic achievement so that planning is recommended for training and promotion of these strategies.

In recent years, insufficient clinical education and the lack of integration with theoretical knowledge has caused problems in patients’ care. This study aimed to identify the barriers of applying learned lessons in the classroom in clinical settings

A qualitative content analysis approach was adopted. Individual semi-structured interviews with clinical trainees, faculty members and experienced clinical staffs were done. Data collected until data saturation and concurrently analyzed, assisted by MAXQDA 10

In this study, the five main categories of “tendency toward routine care in clinical settings”, “inefficient teaching-learning”, “lack of confidence in clinical adequacy”, “lack of supportive professional relationships”, and “difference between the nature of theory and practice” were extracted as the barriers of utilizing theoretical knowledge in the clinical  settings.

Transfer of learning is influenced by several factors with different natures. This phenomenon creates in a structure composed of the climate of clinical setting, lack of professional support in workplace, distrust and contradiction between the nature of theory and practice. Therefore, elimination of barriers requires improving the cultural, educational and professional settings.

Students are invaluable assets of every country. Medicine has long been a major of great interest worldwide, the selection of which involves numerous motivational factors. The present study aimed to assess various motivational factors in medical students since the first until the last year of education.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on the medical students at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad, Iran in 2016. In total, 200 students were selected via stratified cluster sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with 29 items regarding motivational factors. The questionnaire was validated (α=0.77) and completed by the participants.

The main reasons for the selection of medicine as a field of studies were as follows: "Doctors have a good social status.” (n=84; 46.7%), “I wanted to help people improve their health.” (n=81; 44.8%), and “I wanted to be self-employed in the future.” (n=73; 40.8%). The male students were more concerned about financial income (mean score: 1.1±0.7 vs. 0.8±0.9; P=0.04) and job security (mean score: 0.4±1.1 vs. 0.1±1; P=0.05) compared to the female students. Moreover, the viewpoint of the students toward the propriety of the duration of medical education completely changed (0.7 in basic sciences up to -0.4 in internship; P<0.001).

According to the results, some motivational factors varied significantly as the medical students progressed into educational stages, which could be explained by the fact that medical students became more realistic than idealistic as they started actual medical practice during clinical education.

Nursing is a practice-oriented profession and one of the main parts of its education is clinical training. Nursing clinical skills will be deteriorated if not used properly. Therefore, this study aimed to design, implement and evaluate an operational program to improve basic clinical skills in BSc nursing students based on the Kern’s framework.

This study was performed based on the stages of Kern’s framework to enhance basic clinical skills in nursing students in Abhar School of Nursing during 2016-2017 using single-group before-after intervention method. To this end, after recognizing the problem of poor clinical skills in nursing students and a primary needs assessment, the operational program and its method of evaluation were performed after being approved in the educational council of the school. During the research, reaction and knowledge of students before the program were compared to after the program based on the first and second stages of the Kirkpatrick model.

In the study, the scores of basic clinical skills test of students and their level of satisfaction significantly increased after the training program. According to the students, their anxiety decreased and their self-confidence increased in the clinical environment after the course.

According to the results of the study, the implementation of the educational program could improve the quality and quantity of clinical education in nursing students. Therefore, it is suggested that this type of program be used by nursing education planners to enhance education quality

Effective teacher-student relationship plays a fundamental role in the effective increase of the counseling process. This study aimed to recognize the factors affecting the advisor-student relationship from the perspective of students in school of rehabilitation in Hamadan, Iran.

This cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed on 117 students in the school of rehabilitation at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. In this study, the teacher-student relationship questionnaire was applied in three individual, professional and scientific areas. Students filled the questionnaires through self-report, and data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and analysis of variance.

In this study, the mean scores related to three individual, professional, and scientific characteristics of advisors from the perspective of students were reported to be 4.07±0.4, 4.23±0.57, and 4.13±0.63, respectively. The items of sympathy with students, homogeneity of students and professors in terms of field of study, and having up-to-date knowledge in professors had the most impact on the teacher-student relationship, whereas the variables of age, gender and appearance had the least effect in this regard.

According to the results of the study, the character and ethical aspect of professors can affect the improvement of the teacher-student relationship, thereby increasing and enhancing the counseling process.

This study aimed to determine the attitude of faculty members and PhD students at Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran toward the field of study and career development in 2017-2018.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 133 faculty members and PhD students selected by relative-stratified sampling. Using demographic characteristics questionnaires, we assessed the self-efficacy, attitude to coaching function, the field of study and career development. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16.

In this study, most professors and students had a favorable attitude to the field of study. On the other hand, students had an unfavorable attitude toward career development. Moreover, a positive attitude toward career development was related to the permanent employment status of individuals (P<0.05). In addition, a significant relationship was observed between students’ attitude toward field of study, coaching function, self-efficacy and career development (P<0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant, positive correlation between students’ self-efficacy and their attitude toward field of study and career development (P<0.05).

According to the results of the study, the performance of professors affected the attitude of students toward field of study and career development. Using educational, research, administrative and cultural indicators, professors can become role models for students and improve their attitude toward field of study and career development.

Academic motivation plays a significant role in self-directed learning due to giving energy to learners and directing their activities. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between academic motivation and hope for the future with readiness for self-directed learning in dental students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.

This descriptive, correlational study was performed on dental students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) branch. In total, 265 students were selected using Krejcie and Morgan Table. Data collection tools included demographic characteristics questionnaire, adults dispositional hope scale, and academic motivation and self-directed learning readiness scale, which were completed by the participants during the study. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression tests in a step-by-step form.

In this study, there was a positive, significant relationship between academic motivation and hope for the future (P<0.001), academic motivation and readiness for self-directed learning (P<0.001) and between hope for the future and readiness for self-directed learning (P<0.001).

According to the results of the study, a positive, significant relationship was identified between academic motivation with hope for the future and readiness for self-directed learning. Our results can be used by dental education planners and professors to improve the quality of dental education as a step toward educational development.