Iranian Journal of Medical Education

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Background. Educational curriculum assessment is an integral part for educational programs of Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The present survey, studies the situation of education for interns in surgery ward of AlZahra Hospital. Methods. This study is an analytic survey which was performed on 123 medical interns who passed their surgery courses in Alzahra Hospital in the year 2000. In order to evaluate their opinion about education in surgery department, a questionnaire including 13 variants was completed and was finally analyzed. Results. Mean of the scores was 11.23±42.4. Four main factors including education in operating room, education in emergency ward, residents attitude towards interns in regard to education and interns evaluation method were the most important factors in changing the overall score (P=0/05). Conclusion. Considering the efficiency of education in operating room, it is recommended to improve this kind of education by applying necessary changes in order to achieve a higher quality education in surgery department.

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Introduction: In order to have the most efficiency, nursing students should acquire the knowledge and skills needed for their future profession. This study was done with the goal to determine acquiring clinical skills in medical-surgical wards, through nursing graduates’ self-assessment. Methods: In this survey 50 new graduated nurses, employed in medical-surgical wards of governmental hospitals of Yazd were selected through census sampling method in 2004-2005. Data collection tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire composed of demographic characteristics and 190 items about clinical skills which used ordinal scale and was filled as self-administered. The data was analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: The mean and standard deviation of clinical skills were 294.02±42.05 out of 570 which was good. Eight percent of students evaluated their acquired skills poor, 34% intermediate, 58% good, and none of them evaluated their skills excellent. Assessment and care of patients suffering from common diseases, pain management, sampling for laboratory tests, pre and post care in diagnostic tests, performing caring protocols, and caring during medical treatment were assessed in an intermediate level recording reports in an excellent level, and using medical equipment in a weak level. The mean scores for graduates’ skills showed a significant difference between male and female graduates and also based on having daily or night courses. Conclusion: Graduated nurses’ skills were at an intermediate or good level. It seems that although nursing educational programs provide some opportunities for promoting students’ knowledge and skills, they are not sufficient. It is recommended to provide enough time for practicing skills before graduation, and take more precise clinical exams at the end of their course.

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Introduction: Our country needs expert nurses who are professional in family nursing. As a result, it is required to determine their professional duties as a basis for future planning for new disciplines and new majors such as family nursing. This study is an endeavor to determine a portion of professional tasks of family nurses via the viewpoints of physicians (family physicians and specialists), families, nurses, managers of health care centers, and administrators of private and public hospitals. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study in the year 2010 in Isfahan, study population included multiple groups of families who were covered by Isfahan health centers, nurses employed in public hospitals of Isfahan, family physicians, specialists, and managers of private and public health care centers. Families and nurses were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling, family physicians and specialist were chosen via simple random sampling, and managers were selected randomly among managers volunteered for participation in the study. Data gathering method was interview and focus groups were employed for completing and modifying the tasks. After determining the viewpoints, the tasks were categorized based on interview items and research objectives. Overlapping items and the number of repetitions were determined and were written beside each item. Results: Based on the viewpoints of study groups, 59 items were determined from families' viewpoints, 30 items from nurses', 25 items from family physicians', 15 items from family physicians', and 31 items from managers. After integration, elimination of the repeated items, and finalization in focus group, 32 items were remained. Conclusion: With regard to the need for future planning to train family nurses, there is a need for defining their professional tasks. Findings of the study could be used in curriculum development of this discipline.

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Introduction: Teaching and learning conditions & environment are crucial elements in acquiring skills and abilities during students’ education and also providing them with a satisfactory professional future. The purpose of this study was to assess teaching and learning environment in different sections of Isfahan dentistry school from the viewpoint of dentistry students. Methods: DREEM questionnaire was translated into Persian by two academic members and its validity and reliability were confirmed in a pilot study. The questionnaires were filled by second-sixth year students who had experienced the practical and theoretical courses in eleven clinical wards in Isfahan dentistry school at least twice. The data collected by 138 questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS. Results: Total and mean scores of questionnaire in all wards were 99.75 and 1.99 respectively. Mean scores of questionnaire in 11 studied wards were 1.76- 2.90. Conclusion: Based on the obtained mean scores, the positive aspects of educational environment in surgical, internship, radiology, reconstructive and periodontology wards are less than the negative ones. In all wards, there is a significant gap between the present condition and standards so that educational environment needs to be improved.

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Introduction: Identifying educational needs and implementing appropriate courses is one of the important steps to empower managers and experts. It also has an important role in improving organizational performance. In this study we aimed to determine the educational needs of managers and top administrators of health vice-chancelleries in Iranian universities of medical sciences Methods: This cross- sectional study was conducted in spring 2010. The research sample was selected through systematic and stratified randomization from among the staff working in health vice-chancelleries of 13 medical universities. All available managers and top administrators in the selected universities were interviewed by using census approach. The questionnaire included individual and organizational variables and 28 management topics. Results: Interviews of 293 managers and top administrators revealed that 26 (92.9 %) out of 28 topics had been rated 3.5 and above(out of 5). There were significant correlations between the mean scores of some needs and the type of universities, sex, age, work experience, educational level, passing MPH courses, work place and the current position of the participants (P<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the high rate of topics with considerable mean scores, it is suggested to have short and long term management training courses.

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Introduction: Patient rights include the duties that medical team has towards him and the total privileges, abilities or special permissions granted to patients by law. The aim of this study was to assess Qom University of Medical Sciences students’ awareness about patients’ rights. Methods: This descriptive and analytical study was performed in 2010. Subjects included 192 medical sciences students (33 medical, 72 nursing, 48 operating room, and 39 anesthesiology students. Data were collected using a questionnaire containing 40 questions in two sections, demographic characteristics and the patient’s bill of Rights. Descriptive statistics and Chi2 test was used for data analysis. Results: The highest knowledge score was about ''the patient's right to know about their treatment'' with 91% of the students showing complete knowledge about it, and the minimum knowledge score was related to ''the patient's right to know about their discharge time''. Only 51% of the students were aware of it. Conclusion: Students’ awareness in most areas of patient bill of rights was not enough, which can eventually impair the observance of patient rights by medical students and patients’ dissatisfaction.

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Introduction: Measurement has a special place in education. The main challenge of today psychometric measurements is to obtain numerical values for the competencies that can be used as a basis for decision making. In view of this, the purpose of this study is to review the role, position, and application of psychometric measurement in medical education exams.
Methods: This review study was conducted through the keywords Measurement, Assessment, Psychometric, Theoretical support, Theoretical Analysis, Theoretical foundation, Psychometric Analysis, Test, Examination, Medical Education, Validity and Reliability at websites such as Google Scholar, PubMed, SID, ERIC and Science direct and has been done on 32 articles without از time limit.
Results: From a total of 92 reviewed articles, the documentation of 32 relevant and valid articles was extracted with 31 English articles and a Persian article. Important findings of this study underline the validity, reliability, educational effect, acceptability, cost and applicability as well as sensitivity of the test, which are important features in the psychometrics of medical science tests. These findings highlight the importance of psychometric properties in evaluations in medical education.
Conclusion: The results show that due to the importance of psychometric properties in medical education exams, especially in high-sensitivity exams, familiarity with these features and standardization methods of exams is a necessity for medical educators. The use of techniques to increase the validity and reliability of exams and considering the basic principles in the design, preparation, implementation and analysis of exams is recommended to policy makers and examiners, educators and those in charge of higher education.