Journal of Advances in Medical Education & Professionalism
Volume:2 Issue: 3, Jul 2014

The current world needs people who have a lot of different abilities such as cognition and application of different ways of thinking, research, problem solving, critical thinking skills and creativity. In addition to critical thinking, learning styles is another key factor which has an essential role in the process of problem solving. This study aimed to determine the relationship between learning styles and critical thinking of students and their academic performance in Alborz University of Medical Sciences. This cross-correlation study was performed in 2012, on 216 students of Alborz University who were selected randomly by the stratified method. The data was obtained via a three-part questionnaire included demographic data, Kolb standardized questionnaire of learning style and California critical thinking standardized questionnaire. The academic performance of the students was extracted by the school records. The validity of the instruments was determined in terms of content validity, and the reliability was gained through internal consistency methods. Cronbach''s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.78 for the California critical thinking questionnaire. The Chi Square test, Independent T-test, one way ANOVA and Pearson Correlation test were used to determine relationship between variables. The Package SPSS14 statistical software was used to analyze data with a significant level of p<0.05. Our findings indicated the significant difference of mean score in four learning style, suggesting university students with convergent learning style have better performance than other groups. Also learning style had a relationship with age, gender, field of study, semester and job. The results about the critical thinking of the students showed that the mean of deductive reasoning and evaluation skills were higher than that of other skills and analytical skills had the lowest mean and there was a positive significant relationship between the students’ performance with inferential skill and the total score of critical thinking skills (p<0.05). Furthermore, evaluation skills and deductive reasoning had significant relationship. On the other hand, the mean total score of critical thinking had significant difference between different learning styles. The results of this study showed that the learning styles, critical thinking and academic performance are significantly associated with one another. Considering the growing importance of critical thinking in enhancing the professional competence of individuals, it''s recommended to use teaching methods consistent with the learning style because it would be more effective in this context.

This study aimed to investigate the male and female students’ learning styles of classroom participation and these styles’ differences between Humanities and Science majors. 1039 individuals were selected through the proportional stratifiedrandom sampling method among undergraduate and graduate students inHumanities (n=421) and Science (n=618) faculties of Tehran University. In the Humanities group, there were 285 females and 136 males, and in the Science group, there were 208 females and 410 males. The participants answered the Grasha-Riechmann student learning styles scale. The findings indicated that the females obtained significantly higher means in collaborative, participative, and dependent styles than males, but in avoidant, and independent styles, the means for males were higher than those for females. Also, the science group’s means in collaborative, participative, dependent, and competitive styles were significantly higher than those for the humanities group. According to the findings, it seems that due to psychologicalcharacteristics, female students tend to collaborate with other students ofthe same sex and participate in their activities. In this way, they also are more dependent on their teacher and classroom, because otherwise they will face some problems such as anxiety. In addition, it seems that science students in comparison to humanities students are more participative and collaborative because they need more collaboration in their projects and course work.

The present study aimed to compare self-assessment forms of coursework taught in the school of public health at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels and students’ evaluation of the performance of the faculty members at these levels. The subjects in this cross-sectional study were the faculty members and students of the School of Public Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. The data were collected using a sociodemographic information form and evaluation forms of professors prepared by the Educational Development Center (EDC). The faculty members were assessed by the students in undergraduate and graduate classes. Among the study subjects, 23 faculty members filled out the self-assessment forms which were then evaluated by 23 students. Then, the data were analyzed using the SPSS 14. Paired t-test was used to compare the students’ evaluation of the faculty members’ performance and the professors’ self-assessment. The mean score of self-assessment of the faculty members who taught undergraduate courses was 289.7+8.3, while that of the students’ evaluation was 281.3+16.1; the difference was statistically significant (t=3.56, p=0.001). Besides, the mean score of the self-assessment of the faculty members who taught graduate courses was 269.0+9.7, while that of the students’ evaluation was 265.7+14.6 but the difference was not statistically significant (t=1.09, p=0.28). Teaching performance perceptions of the faculty were similarto those of the graduate students as compared to the undergraduate ones.This may reflect better understanding of coursework at this level comparedto the undergraduate students. Faculty members may need to adjust teaching methods to improve students’ performance and understanding especially in the undergraduate level.

Students and universi ty community are social and human resources of the country. The students’ viewpoints about the quality of educational services can be considered as a basis for planning quality promotion and improving organizational performance. This study was conducted to determine the quality gap in educational services d by the students of Health and Nutrition School of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. In this cross-sectional study, 140 students participated voluntarily (age range=19 to 40 years). The service quality (SERVQUAL) questionnaire was used for data collection. This questionnaire measured the quality gap in 5 dimensions of educational service including assurance, responsiveness, empathy, reliability, and tangibility. The students’ perception about the current conditions and their expectations as to optimal conditions can be determined, using this questionnaire. The score of the gap in quality of educational services is calculated from difference between perception and expectation scores. Due to non-normality of data, non-parametric tests were used. To this end, data were analyzed using statistical tests including Wilcoxon, Friedman, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whiteny tests in SPSS 14. The results showed that there was quality gap in all 5 dimensions of educational services. The largest and the smallest gaps were observed in «responsiveness» with a mean±SD of -0. 94±0. 74 and in «reliability» with a mean±SD of -0. 76±0. 69, respectively. There was a significant difference in quality gap between the 5 dimensions (p<0. 001). According to the results, the students’ expectations were higher than their perceptions of current conditions; also, in all aspects of the services their expectations were not met. It is recommended that workshops on customer services, communication skills and personnel’s technical skills development should be planned and held. Also, allocating more resources for improving educational facilities and physical environment is recommended.

The execution of composed educational programs for general practitioners is one of the most common methods of continuing medical education. This research project aims to evaluate one of these programs. For this purpose, a pre- and post-test design was developed. The subjects consisted of 45 participants. They were tested (by a 76 MCQ knowledge test) in two stages: before and after the program. A questionnaire was also used to gather the participants’ views on four variables including teachers'' behavior, the degree of achieving the objective of the program, objective of the learner, and satisfaction with the program. Based on the results of this study, the mean scores of the articipants’knowledge increased from 10.05 (first test) to 12.61 (second test), (p 0.0001). In addition, the results showed that the teachers’ behavior and satisfaction with the program were rated by participants as the highest and least, respectively. The results of this research are indicative of the effectiveness of the composed educational program in continuing medical education. Nevertheless, such programs are recommended to be further evaluated with more rigorous design.

Introducrion: Self and peer assessment provides important information about the individual’s performance and behavior in all aspects of their professional environment work. The aim of this study is to evaluate the professional behavior and performance in medical students in the form of team based assessment. In a cross-sectional study, 100 medical students in the 7th year of education were randomly selected and enrolled; for each student five questionnaires were filled out, including one self-assessment, two peer assessments and two residents assessment. The scoring system of the questionnaires was based on seven point Likert scale. After filling out the questions in the questionnaire, numerical data and written comments provided to the students were collected, analyzed and discussed. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the questionnaires was assessed. A p<0.05 was considered as significant. Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha 0.83). Interviews revealed that the majority of students and assessors interviewed found the method acceptable. The range of scores was 1-6 (Mean+SD=4.39+0.57) for the residents'' assessment, 2-6 (Mean+SD=4.49+0.53) for peer assessment, and 3-7 (Mean+SD=5.04+0.32) for self-assessment There was a significant difference between self assessment and other methods of assessment. This study demonstrates that a team-based assessment is an acceptable and feasible method for peer and self-assessment of medical students’ learning in a clinical clerkship, and has some advantages over traditional assessment methods. Further studies are needed to focus on the strengths and weaknesses.

Organization structure and manpower constitute two basic components of anorganization and both are necessary for stablishing an organization. The aim of this survey was to investigate the type of the organization structure (mechanic and organic) from viewpoint of senior and junior managers in Shiraz teaching hospitals and creativity in each of these two structures. In this cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study, organization structure and organizational creation questionnaires were filled out by hospital managers According to the statistical consultation and due to limited target population, the entire study population was considered as sample. Thus, the sample size in this study was 84 12 hospitals and every hospital, n = 7). For data analysis, SPSS 14 was used and Spearman correlation coefficient and t-test were used. Results showed that there is a negative association between centralization and complexity with organizational creation and its dimensions. Also there was a negative association between formalization and 4 organizational creation dimensions: reception change, accepting ambiguity, abet new view and less control outside (p=0.001). The results of this study showed that the creation in hospitals with organic structure is more than that in hospitals with mechanic structure.

Bedsideteaching is defined as teaching in the presence of apatient, it is a vital component of medical education. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two methods of case based teaching (at the bedside and in the classroom) in the teaching hospitals (for both undergraduates and residents of Pediatrics). Thirty undergraduates and twenty pediatric residents were askedto study a topic of their curriculum from their text then pretest was takenfrom learners in the two levels; then either lecture with power point or casepresentation or bed side discussion were conducted. One week later posttest was taken, and then evaluation of these three methods was done by a questionnaire from learners. The majority of under-graduates and all of pediatric residents hadevaluated case based teaching superior to bedside teaching and these twomethods superior to lecture method. They believed that in the case based teaching they are more relaxed and have more self-esteem than at the bedside of the patients.Clinician teacher must involve patients and learners in the process of bedside teaching, by preparing a comfortable situation and by using available technolgy.

The concept of evidence based medicine (EBM) involves a systematic approach for integration of best available research evidence into medical decision making for physicians, medical trainees and researchers. The EBM process includes five essential steps: formulating the questions, searching for evidence, appraising the evidence, and applying and evaluating the results (1). In a descriptive study, the data about EBM skills obtained from the medical trainees showed that printed textbooks served as the first source of information in 80% of cases and followed by E-books as the second source. The hard copy journals in libraries had the lowest use. Easy access to information was selected as the main reason for using printed resources. Also, fast access to information was the most important reason for using electronic resources. In a study conducted by Rohani, it was found that physicians used printed sources more than e-books (2). This was due to their easy access to the printed reference books. Considering the fact that it takes a lot of time for new medical information to log in into the reference books, effective treatment of a disease may be entered in printed sources after its efficiency is confirmed. 45.2% of the participants were familiar with INLM. 32.1% of the students had attended the training course on INLM. 85.7% of the participants were familiar with the PubMed, 28.6% with the Elsevier and 16.7% with Science direct. 31% of the participants were familiar with the concept of EBM, but 7.1% were aware of the resources of EBM, and 12.2% had attended the special courses on EBM. The results of the recent data taken from internet showed that 53.8% of participants sometimes used it in diagnosis and treatment process and 28.2% of them used it after being developed into textbooks. Also, this information was sometimes useful for 75.8% of participants.Half of the students were familiar with the concept of EBM, but a few had attended the introductory course on EBM. Hanson in his study maintained that only 1.9% of physicians used specific methods to find valid evidence of medicine (3). Taheri showed that medical students were satisfied with the workshop on EBM and stated that familiarity with EBM was essential for proper functioning (4). Therefore, it seems necessary to organize the training workshops on the concepts of EBM as a part of formal training for medical trainees to change the students'' attitudes.