Educational Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:11 Issue: 1, Jun 2022

Context:

 Ethics is important in higher education, especially in medical universities. Educational commitment is an essential part of ethics in higher education, which has received less attention. This study aimed to evaluate the educational commitment in universities of Iran and compare it with top global universities with an emphasis on medical universities.

 This qualitative study has used a comparative study by George Brady's model. The population consisted of the top 100 global universities and 539 Iranian universities regarding educational commitment based on related documents, which were selected by a complete enumeration sampling method.

 The educational commitment led to better educational efficiency in universities with an emphasis on medical universities. Therefore, eight main parts were proposed to formulate and promote the educational commitment in universities with an emphasis on medical universities.

 According to the results, educational commitment in universities with an emphasis on medical universities led to better educational efficiency but was not considered properly by the Iranian universities, unlike the top global universities. Iranian medical universities were in better condition. Furthermore, the universities with an educational commitment did not have a specific unity in expressing their content. Therefore, the present study is necessary, which requires special attention from relevant managers.

It is essential to recognize the influential factors in academic achievement to prevent academic failure. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between self-esteem and academic self-concept in medical students.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 126 medical students (residents, interns, and clerkships) at Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan, Iran in 2018. Data were collected using Rosenberg self-esteem and self-concept questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution and central indices) and inferential statistics (Pearson’s correlation-coefficient).

A significant positive correlation was observed between academic self-concept and self-esteem (r = 0.351; P < 0.001), and the higher score of academic self-concept in the medical students increased their self-esteem.

According to the results, self-esteem and academic self-concept were significantly correlated. Therefore, universities and professors must pay attention to students' self-concept and self-esteem, improve their positive attitude toward themselves, and prevent negative attitudes.

University professors largely influence achieving established educational goals. Effective teaching plays a pivotal role in enhancing learning and motivation.

The present study aimed to evaluate the systematic correlations between the influential factors in effective teaching from the perspective of faculty members based on the graph theory.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 65 faculty members who were employed in the health and nutrition schools of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2019. The participants were selected via convenience sampling, and data were collected using a questionnaire (demographic and effectiveness teaching). Data analysis was performed based on the graph theory in MATLAB software.

Mastery of the subject, providing new and updated content, simplicity and fluency, and the clear transfer of contents were the main influential factors in effective teaching. In addition, mastery of the subject and student evaluation in each session (midterm and end-of-term evaluation) with coordinates of “2.1 and 2.1” and “0.14 and -0.14” were identified as first and last priorities, respectively.

According to the results, the most significant influential factor in effective learning was the mastery of the curriculum by the teacher. Therefore, it is recommended that workshops be conducted on effective teaching in universities.

 Assessing student attitudes and satisfaction with electronic exams (e-exams) is crucial to evaluating e-learning.

 This study aimed to evaluate students' attitudes and satisfaction regarding e-exams during COVID-19.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 620 volunteer students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences (BUMS), who were selected based on random sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire with three sections of demographic information, attitude (including six dimensions and 19 questions), and satisfaction (including nine dimensions and 19 questions). A 5-point Likert scale was used for scoring, and the data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient at the significant level of 0.05.

 In this study, 620 students (56% women and 44% men) participated from June to September 2020. The mean age was 21.97 ± 3.27, and the mean students' attitude and satisfaction score was 59.18 ± 7.99 and 65.73 ± 10.05, respectively. The mean attitude and satisfaction scores by gender were not significantly different. The mean attitude and satisfaction scores regarding academic semester (P-values = 0.001 and 0.019, respectively), faculty (P-values = 0.001 and 0.002, respectively) and degree (P-values < 0.001 and = 0.006, respectively) were significantly different. A positive and significant correlation was found between students' attitudes and students' satisfaction, as well as between students' age and attitudes.

 According to the results, overall attitude and satisfaction were excellent and above average. Better attitudes toward e-exams were associated with a higher satisfaction level. E-exam validity and reliability concerns should be addressed in order to improve students' attitudes.

Quantitative and qualitative improvement of graduate student projects requires recognizing the problems of the target group perspective.

This study aimed to evaluate the research self-efficacy of students and the effectiveness of their research professors.

This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on all graduate students of basic sciences at the medical school by convenience method (116 people) in 2019 who were in dissertation compiling process with their supervisors. Two separate questionnaires were designed for professors and students. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS Software Version 16 and their relationship were examined by the Pearson correlation coefficient.

According to the data collected from 116 students, 65.5% were female, 69% were single, 91.4% were master's, and 8.6% were doctoral. The self-efficacy was divided into 7 areas, which was assessed based on the students' point of view. The highest score was in ethics (3.77 ± 0.9), and the lowest score was in qualitative research and statistical methods (3.01 ± 0.8). Regarding the evaluation of professors from students, self-efficacy in ethics (4.67 ± 0.66) and implementation method had the highest scores, and self-efficacy in statistics and analysis had the lowest score (3.25 ± 1.18). Pearson correlation measurements indicated that the score of the students' research method had a significant relationship with areas, including conceptualization, report writing, and translation of English texts (P < 0.05).

Getting a good grade from students, especially high score in ethics, shows the effectiveness of the activities and the weakness in qualitative research and statistical analysis.

Universities have switched to virtual assessments due to the spread of COVID-19 around the world. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction level of medical students at the Abadan University of Medical Sciences (AUMS) with the virtual assessment methods of the cardiac physiology course.

This study was conducted on 42 medical students of AUMS who were in the second semester of 2020 - 2021 (COVID-19 pandemic) and participated in the cardiac physiology course. Researchers developed an online questionnaire with 17 questions about students' satisfaction with assessment methods. Data were collected and organized in SPSS Software Version 21 for descriptive statistical analysis.

The mean age of the participants was 21.4 ± 2.08 years, of whom 76.2% (32) agreed that a higher percentage of the score should relate to the virtual formative assessment and 78.6% (33) experienced more stress in virtual summative assessment compared to the formative method. About 93.6% (39) agreed that all virtual summative assessment questions should be multiple-choice, and 88.4% (37) believed that allocating 1 to 2 minutes for each multiple-choice summative assessment question lowers their stress levels.

According to the results, the virtual formative assessment had an accepted place in the cardiac physiology course and helped students reduce stress and learn more. The students preferred summative assessment questions to be multiple-choice due to the difficulty of the cardiac physiology course. More research should be conducted on this subject with a larger sample size in future studies.

The internet is essential for social interaction, information acquisition, and entertainment. However, indiscriminate use of the internet by individuals, especially students, has harmed their social and psychological well-being as well as their education.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between internet addiction and academic performance of medical and pharmacy students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2019 - 2020.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 149 medical and pharmacy students, who were selected by convenience sampling method. The samples were examined using two questionnaires, including the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Educational Performance Test (EPT). The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and regression analysis.

There was a significant positive correlation between the IAT and some subscales of the EPT. In addition, more than 81.20% of the sample had mild (51.00%), moderate (29.53%), and severe (0.67%) dependence on the internet.

According to the results, the internet addiction negatively affected students’ academic performance. Failure to take critical steps to control internet addiction may significantly affect the future.