Research and Development in Medical Education
Volume:3 Issue: 2, 2014

Medical resident workload has been shown to be associated with learning efficiency and patient satisfaction. However, there is limited evidence about it in developing countries. This study aimed to evaluate the medical resident workload in a multidisciplinary teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran. All medical residents at Shariati Hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Science, who were working between November and December 2011 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A self–reported questionnaire was used to gather information about their duty hours (including daily activities and shifts) and financial issues.135 (52.5%) out of 257 residents responded to the questionnaire. 72 (53.3%) residents were in surgical departments and 63 (46.7%) were in non-surgical departments. Mean duty hours per month were significantly higher in surgical (350.8 ±76.7) than non-surgical (300.6±74.2) departments (p=0.001). Three cardiology (a non-surgical group) residents (5.7%) and 30 residents (41%) in surgical groups (p<0.001) declared a number of “on-calls in the hospital” more than the approved number in the curriculum. The majority of residents (97.8%) declared that their salary was not sufficient to manage their lives and they needed other financial resources. Medical residents at teaching hospitals in Iran suffer from high workloads and low income. There is a need to reduce medical resident workload and increase salary to improve worklife balance and finances.

Developments in the field of information technology has profoundly affected our educational system. The efficacy of Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL) has already been evaluated in medical education, but in this study, we examined the efficacy of CAL in combination with Lecture-Based Education. This quasi-experimental before and after study included 33 senior-year pharmacy students who had passed the preliminary hospital pharmacy internship course. Pre-test questionnaires were given to the students in order to examine their knowledge and attitudes. Then, three chemotherapy prescriptions were given to them. Pharmacology recourses also were available virtually. At the end, students were asked to answer post-test questionnaires with questions based upon knowledge and attitude. The mean score of their knowledge was 3.48±2.04 of 20 before intervention and 17.82±2.31 of 20 after intervention. There was a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-testing scores (p<0.001). The mean attitude score of students before intervention was 42.48±15.59 (medium) and their score after intervention was 75.97±21.03 (high). There was a statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test results (p<0.000). The combination of Lecture-Based Education and Computer-Assisted Learning improved senior pharmacy students’ knowledge and attitude in hospital pharmacy internship course.

Scientometrics is one of the most effective ways of investigating and quantifying research in academic databases. It can help examine the scientific output of various countries, and the authors’ and articles’ impacts on different subject areas can be determined. The main objective of this study was to analyze global scientific productions of problem-based learning (PBL) found in scientific productions indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) and PubMed databases from 2003-2013. PubMed and WoS were searched for PBL-related articles with the keywords “Problem Based Learning” AND “Medical Education”, excluding the keyword “problem solving”. The analysis was done based on scientometric indicators, like number of publications, citation count and Journals Impact Factor. Among the countries publishing research in PubMed and WoS, the USA was the most prominent producer, was identified as a leading and active contributor among others in the field of medicl education. A statistically significant relationship was found between geographical distribution of continents and PBL application in the specific field, authors’ articles and the continents of authors’ affiliations. Attention should be paid to the importance of problem-based learning in medical education, especially in developed countries, because a growing body of research suggests that it is necessary to train students who are researchers and can meet the needs of society.

Social accountability in medical education is an essential part of the health education process. According to the current needs in health education, social accountabilityin medical education is useful for increasing the overall knowledge of students, helping themto reach their maximum competency. The objective of this study was to determine the effectsof social accountability medical sciences education on the knowledge of occupational healthpersonnel working in the cement field. This study was a semi-experimental study that was conducted by using the curriculumof the Ministry of Health. The occupational health course was taught as a social accountability inmedical education course in order to increase knowledge in occupational health personnel of thecement industries, and then the grades of those personnel were analyzed by SPSS 11.5. Mean,standard deviation, and a t-test with P<0.05 were calculated. The test incorporated aspects ofstudents’ knowledge, attitude and practice. The total grade of the occupational health workers at the pre-test (before the accompanyingworkshops) was 4.39±2.10, and at the post-test (after the workshops), it was 17.52±3.28 with t =-14.274 and P<0.001 had significant differences. The grades in all of the educational items werestatistically significant after the workshops. According to the grades, the social accountability in medical education course had a positive effect on the knowledge of the occupational health personnel of cement industries.

Currently, medical staff of hospitals use a number of recorded files in the treatment process of patients, but we have noticed that there are insufficiencies and gaps in data of the medical recordings, some of which may be the reason behind serious problems related to treating patients. Other studies have shown some weaknesses in the medical recording systems in our country so we studied effect of attaching a standard recording guidelines sheet to patients’files as a reference for the recorder. In this study, 50 externs and 40 interns were enrolled. They were responsible for 60 patients in the general internal medicine ward of Sina hospital, University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. This study was done during 6 months in the Sina hospital (January 2010-August 2010). Standard medical recording guidelines were attached to the patients’ files. The externs studied off note writing, and the interns studied consultation, off note and orders writing in the first day of patient hospitalization. The quality of their medical writing was assessed before and after attaching guidelines. The students were not aware of the evaluation of their work. If the writing met less than 70% of the standard format, it was not accepted. The consultation sheet of the interns showed significant differences before and after the guidelines’ attachment in problem list writing (p= 0.005). Other studied aspects did not have any significant difference. Affixed guidelines, therefore, could solve the problem of list recording, but did not alter other items. This study showed that the interns had many problems in medical recording which would not be solved with attaching a standard medical recording checklist, and we must choose other methods to correct those errors.

Studying mental and physical health and their determinants is an important issue, especially among future health providers. This is a sectional-analytical study whose target population was students who had participated in the 4th National Olympiad of Medical Sciences Universities in Tabriz, Iran, held in February 4-7 2013.Web-based designed questionnaires were sent to all 328 participating students’ emails containing our questionnaires that were designed as web-based through Google Drive was sent to all available email addresses of our target population. Questionnaires consisted of student life stress inventory (SLSI), SF-36 (Short Form Health Survey), and College Self-Efficacy Inventory (CSEI), which were translated to Persian and revalidated. The data were analyzed using SPSS ver.19 software. 59 students completely filled the questionnaires and enrolled in the study. In the area of student life stress inventory, the total score of the participants ranged from 79(13.73%) to 168(63.73%) with a mean of 130.74(40.05%) and SD of 21.51(10.84%). On the college self-efficacy scale, participants’ scores ranged from 62(40.79%) to 152(100%) with a mean of 114.29(77.10%) and SD of 22.82(14.20%). On the Sf-36 form, participants scored 72.28±14.09% on average (Min=44.03%, Max=98.75%). The Spearman correlation coefficient test indicated that all correlations between variables were statistically significant (p<0.001). It can be concluded that adopting additional methods to increase self-efficacy and decrease stress amongst medical students in the academic population will lead to improved mental and physical health, which can help national improvement of science.

Previous studies have shown that study guides are effective tools that recognize students’ educational needs and help teachers to attain satisfactory results. Unfortunately, this effective learning tool has not been used in the coursework and teaching of basic sciences in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Therefore, this study was proposed to evaluate the effects of a study guide in an applied physiology course on the overall learning quality of dental students. In this semi-quasi experimental study, 45 dental and 63 medical students in an Applied Physiology course were included. A study guide was given to the dental students at the beginning of the course. At the end of the course, a final examination was held for both groups separately using the OSCE method. The medical and dental students’ final scores were compared using a T-test with SPSS v.16 software. A 34-question Likert-scaled questionnaire was prepared by researchers to evaluate the experimental group’s opinion about the effects of the study guide on their learning. The final exam score of the dental students was 18.01±1.57, and it was 17.94±1.42 for the medical students. The final score of both groups was not different significantly (p=0.804). Based upon the questionnaire, the dental students believed that study guide significantly improved their knowledge and skills in applied physiology (Mean= 61.12±13.7). Use of a study guide improves both the attitude and knowledge of dental students in the applied physiology course.

The most commonly-used method of teaching medicinal plants courses among the faculty of Traditional Medicine is a lecture-based slideshow, but we hypothesize that herb knowledge could be reinforced by using a sensory approach in which students have the opportunity to interact with these plants using their five senses. The aim of this study was to obtain students’ knowledge about the morphological characteristics of current medicinal plants. The students learned about the plants using all senses before, immediately after, and 40 days after intervention. We also assessed the satisfaction rate of students as a result of this educational intervention. As a pre-test, 27 students who had attended medicinal herb classes answered a questionnaire with open-ended questions about the morphological characteristics of herbs. Immediately after the educational intervention, for their post-test, students filled a questionnaire comprised of the same questions on the pre-test. The mean scores of students in pre-test (A) and post-test (B) were calculated. Forty days after the aforementioned session, students answered a different questionnaire covering the previously discussed morphological characteristics of herbs. The mean scores of participants in this exam were C. A and B, A and C as well as B and C were compared and analyzed by SPSS v.17 (p≤0.001). This workshop was evaluated by a questionnaire. There was a significant difference between A and B, B and C as well as A and C (P-value= 0.001). The rate of student satisfaction on five items of the questionnaire was higher than 90%. Exclusive textbook-based learning of medicinal plants might not be sufficient to understand them, and it seems useful for the faculties to integrate physical sensory experiences into herbal educational methods.

The aim of this study was to identify the educational needs of General Physicians working in the health centers of Tabriz in 2014. The study method was descriptive. The statistical population was 2,024. Of the population of the study, 322 physicians were randomly selected. In order to gather the data, the Delphi method and a researcher-made questionnaire were used in 14 domains of medicine, including: Communicable and Infectious Diseases, Non-communicable Diseases, Health Education, Mental and Social Health, Dental and Oral Health, Medical Procedures, Population and Family, Nutritional Health, Occupational Health, Environmental Health, Complementary Procedures, Health Crisis and Disasters, Laboratory and Drugs, and Alternative Medicine. The validity of the study was confirmed with the viewpoint of the Delphi team and the reliability was confirmed with the Alpha Cronbach (r = 0.84). For data analysis, we used descriptive statistic methods like frequency, percentage and mean, and the Friedman ranking test (calculated using SPSS v. 21). The results showed that the first-ranked educational needs of every domain were the following (in order of domain listed above): respiratory infection, hypertension, healthy lifestyle, stress management, dental growth and care in children, raising hope and pleasure, weight and nutritional control, occupational health and safety, water hygiene, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, therapeutic exercises, natural disasters’ primary cares, rational use of drugs and traditional medicine. The first domain receiving the first rank of educational needs was non-communicable diseases, and the conformity range of implemented plans in continuing medical education with need assessment results was 53.84%.

The Dean of Faculties is normally selected by the Chancellor of Universities. The democratic way of selecting a dean of faculties is an innovative procedure that first happened in 2013 at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). A brief survey of the faculties revealed that there were some disadvantages of this procedure. An insufficient number of candidates, obligation in nomination in some cases, casting ballots only by faculty members, and lack of future and strategic plans by candidates are some deficits in the process that brought some risk to the faculties and sometimes unrest to TUMS. These risks made the process more dangerous than it used to be previously, when we used more traditional ways of selecting a dean of faculty. In order to prevent possible risks to the faculty and university, we offer some suggestions to make the ground ready for democratic practices in selecting a dean of faculty.

Critical thinking is rational and sound thinking that involves investigation and review of opinions followed by actions and decision-making based on reasons with accurate and rational results. In our modern, complex world, we encounter multiple changes and competition in society, especially when it comes to using the latest technology; society must progress in this trend. Medical science is not exempt in this regard, considering that critical thinking is necessary in fulfilling its goals. This research aims to investigate the physicians’ critical thinking and patient satisfaction level in the Tabriz Sina Treatment and Educational Center. This study is both descriptive and analytical, and the statistical population involves all physicians and the patients of the Tabriz Sina Treatment and Educational Center in 2013. About 30 physicians and 170 patients were selected randomly, and data were collected using the Watson and Glaser critical thinking questionnaire, as well as the Mogimi and Ramazan patient satisfaction questionnaire. The data were then analyzed by Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between critical thinking and patient satisfaction in all dimensions except identification. Changes in critical thinking dimensions also changed patient satisfaction. The regression test showed that the critical thinking independent variable effect on the dependent variable was 0.558, which indicated a relatively strong correlation between these variables. Although the critical thinking of the physicians and medical staff is important in patient satisfaction, there is no progress towards these goals in the health system. Healthcare authorities should try to empower critical thinking in order to achieve organizational goals.