Thrita
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Dec 2012

Values used by the nursing profession are essential in order to maintain high standards of the nursing care. The aim of this study was to compare the perspective of nursing students from type Ι and III universities of medical sciences about professional values of nursing in Iran. In this cross-sectional survey, we investigated the professional values of nursing profession among 240 B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) in nursing students randomly selected from three type I and five type III universities in Iran in 2011. A two-part questionnaire containing demographic features and the Nursing Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) developed by Weis and Schank with 26 Likert-scale items was used after translation and validation. The mean scores of the NPVS-R items on the five point Likert-type scales for students of type Ι ranged from 2.79 to 4.08. Also, the mean scores of items for the students of type III ranged from 3.03 to 4.43. The most important and least important items identified by the participants of type I universities were the “maintain competency in area of practice “and “participate in peer review”, respectively. The most important and least important items identified by the participants of type III universities were the “maintain confidentiality of patient” and “participate in public policy decisions affecting distribution of resources”, respectively. Examination of the participants by families’ economic condition revealed significant differences in some of the scores about the NPVS-R statements (P < 0.05). The present study did not show any significant difference between perspectives of students studying in type I and III universities regarding nursing professional values. Moreover,both groups of nursing students rated the values directly related to patient care as the most important. Integrated planning and teaching methods is required to enhance all fields of the professional values in nursing..

Current evidence supports the idea of including interprofessional learning (IPL) in healthcare students curriculum. Thereby, shared learning at an undergraduate level has been supported as an interprofessional initiative in healthcare education. The aim of this research was to determine the attitudes of nursing, pharmacy and medical students studying in the clerkship phase toward IPL and shared learning at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Tehran, Iran. We applied the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire consisted of 19 item scale and three subscales, labeled by the original researchers as team work and collaboration, professional identity, and roles and responsibility to assess the readiness of the students in interactive engaging with other students and shared learning. The RIPLS was delivered to 150 fourth year medical, nursing and pharmacy students within clerkship phase. SPSS software was used to save and analyzed the data. The Chi-square test was performed to assess the possible differences between groups. One hundred and thirty students returned the questionnaires and therefore the response rate was 86%. The majority of TUMS students reported positive attitudes toward shared learning. The benefits of shared learning including the acquisition of team working skills were recognized to be beneficial in patient care and likely to enhance professional working relations. However, professional groups did not show any significant difference in the perceived outcomes of shared learning. The results of this study indicated that there was willingness and a need to share knowledge and skills with other undergraduates as a way of resolving clinical problems at TUMS. Thus, implementing shared learning programs could promote the quality of provided patient care via increasing the teamwork and communication skills of the undergraduate students.

Considering the pivotal role of sports and exercise in health promotion and disease prevention, there is a pressing need for adding the sports and exercise related topics into the medical schools’ curriculum. However, there is paucity of data about the skill and knowledge of general practitioners and interns as well as their interest in topics related to sports and exercise medicine. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and interest of interns and general practitioners about sports and exercise medicine related topics. A cross-sectional study was performed in 2009 to determine the knowledge regarding each listed topics of sports and exercise medicine in addition to the attitudes toward insertion of mentioned topics into the undergraduate medical curriculum of 86 interns from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), and 314 general practitioners (GPs) attending Iranian national congress of general practitioners. In this regard, a questionnaire was developed by consulting with the experts. The mean age of the 81 interns was 26.6 years (23-38 years); while 56 (69.1%) of them were male and 25 (30.9%) were female. For the 287 GPs, the mean age was 36 years (26-46) and 208 (74.8%) were male. The response rate for interns was 94.1% and for the GPs was 88.5%. More than two-thirds of interns and nearly 90% of GPs believed that undergraduate medical students should be trained in the matter of sports medicine topics. The two topics that both interns and GPs agreed on adding into the medical curriculum the most were approach to life-threatening sports injuries and exercise therapy for patients with low back pain. The levels of knowledge and skill among Iranian physicians on major topics of sports and exercise medicine are low to medium. GPs and interns are the first line of patient management so our findings suggest adding some sports medicine related topics into curriculum of medical doctors.

The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis), is an obligate ectoparasite that is found on the hair and scalp and transmitted mainly through physical contact. In the most part of the world, pediculosis is a major public health concern, where head lice infestation is a common problem in school-age children. Present study is the first study about head lice infestation in the rural areas of Sirjan county in Iran. Considering the fact that primary school studenta are more prone to head lice infestation, this study was conducted in the all primary schools of the rural areas of Sirjan. This study was conducted to determine the head lice infestation rate and some risk factors in primary school students. The data from Iran’s National Census was used for sampling. All primary school students Between 2009 to 2010 from rural areas of the Sirjan County were selected and asked about the presence of lice (in any form). For the data analysis, chi-square test (SPSS software, version 11.5) was used and P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. A total number of 20 out of 1772 (1.12%) examined students were found to be infested by lice. Although the infestation rate was higher in girls, the difference of infestation rate between genders was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The rate of head lice infestation was siginificantly (P < 0.05) correlated to their hair-washing behavior. Parents’ literacy level also was siginificantly related to the head lice infestation rate (P < 0.05). Pediculosis is a major health problem in many parts of the world including both developed and under-developed countries. According to our findings, it seems that in populated families in which parents have lower literacy level, in families without a bathroom at home, the infestation rate was higher. Therefore, employing health workers to educate such families as well as teachers is a good method to prevent pediculosis

Doctor-patient interaction plays an important role in patient satisfaction, treatment results, medical expenses, quality of clinical services and even patient’s complaints toward doctors and health care system. This study was performed to assess the level of patient satisfaction in the Iranian context. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a public clinic in Tehran in 2010. The participants included 392 patients who referred to this center for a period of two months. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was used which had 24 items on patient satisfaction with the communication skills of the physician that included six subscale scores. The total score and subscales scores were calculated on a maximum possible of 100. The mean age of the patients was 38 years and 69% of them were female. The education level of most patients was high school diploma or higher (72%). The mean patient satisfaction score was 44 ± 15. Patients expressed highest satisfaction with patient training (56 ± 24) and response to their questions (49 ± 17) while they were least satisfied with the examination (31 ± 23). No significant relation was found between patient age and overall patient satisfaction (P = 0.392, r = 0-.007). In addition, no significant differences were found between the overall scores of male and female or married and single patients. However, highly educated or salaried employee patients showed a higher satisfaction score than self-employed or unemployed patients (P < 0.001). The results of the regression analysis showed education and employment status of patients to be the effective variables on patients’ satisfaction. The results of the present study revealed that patients are not highly satisfied with the communication skills of physicians and they were least satisfied only with the quality of examination processes by the physicians. In addition, patients with lower education showed lower satisfaction as well. Thus, a higher quality and elaboration of examination, more patience and better communication skills considering the education and social status of the patients may increase patient satisfaction.