Iranian Journal of Medical Education

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Introduction: Curriculum revision, teaching activities and interaction in instruction are required for the improvement of effectiveness of education. This research was conducted to study the effectiveness of medical education from the viewpoints of students in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This survey was carried out on fifth year medical students in the first semester of the academic year of 2005-2006. One hundred and sixty two students were selected through stratified random sampling method. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire including 74 questions which was designed using McDonald model and consisted of three parts of curriculum, organizing teaching activities, and interaction in education. The questionnaires were distributed in educational hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The data was analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Results: The mean and standard deviation obtained from students' viewpoints toward effectiveness of curriculum, teaching activities, and interaction in education were 2.35±0.34, 2.5±0.35, and 2.46±0.35, respectively. The first one was less than theoretical mean, while the second and third ones were equal to the theoretical mean. Conclusion: The mean obtained for effectiveness of curriculum was lower than the theoretical mean (2.5) which shows the necessity of revising medical curriculum. The mean of the interaction in instruction and teaching activities calls for a need to improve different kinds of interaction and promote the skills of instructors.

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Introduction: The situations affecting teaching and learning nursing fundamental course may influence acquiring competencies in primary clinical skills. Several reasons have been mentioned for this problem. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences and viewpoints of nursing students and instructors on nursing fundamental course. Methods: This was a qualitative study using thematic analysis method. Fifteen nursing students, 4 nursing instructors, the head nurse of operating ward, and two nurses graduated from the university in which the study was performed, were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed. All interviews were transcribed, analyzed. Results: Using thematic analysis, a significant number of preliminary themes and 7 main themes each having few other sub-themes, were extracted. The main themes included educational factors, not respecting the standards in performing the techniques, the gap between theory and practice, motivation, human resources, communications, management staff, equipments, and physical environment. These main themes and other sub themes have been explained in the main article using direct statements of study samples. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed problems in communication in educational environment and interaction between instructor and students as well as lack of motivation among nursing instructors and students. These are the main principles of the appropriate teaching and learning. It is recommended that nursing education administrators pay more attention to these aspects of educational process and remove the causing factors.

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Introduction: Regarding the importance of ambulatory education and its challenges, this study was done to investigate Teacher-Student and Teacher-Patients Interaction Time in educational ambulatory settings in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, Teacher-Student and Teacher-Patients Interaction Time of 45 teachers was investigated in educational ambulatory settings in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences during the academic year of 2007-200. Teacher - student interaction and teacher- patients interaction time and the number of visiting patients per hour was investigated by researcher. The gathered data was analyzed statistically using descriptive statistical indexes frequency percentile. Results: Teacher –patient interaction was less than 5 minutes in more than 50% of ambulatory settings. Teacher –students interaction was less than 5 minutes in less than 50% of ambulatory settings. The number of visited patients during an hour in 70% of the health centers was one patient. Conclusion: The finding showed that teacher- students and teacher -patient interaction time were low and suggested some solution for this problem.

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Introduction: Extensive changes in the health field have compelled many organizations of health sciences education to seek for the most effective educational approaches. Meanwhile, interprofessional education as a novel and efficient approach has recieved attention internationally. We conducted this study for introducing interprofessional education with a focus on its backgrounds and formation in health sciences. Methods: This integrative review study was performed during years 2012-2013 using an integrated search in PubMed, CINHAL, Ovid, and Science Direct databases. Moreover, google search engine was also used for searching in various information sources such as validated journals and conference proceedings and reports of educational organizations and assemblies, using main key words such as interprofessional education and interprofessional learning, limiting the results from 1995 to 2013 and mainly in English. We obtained more than 2000 titles including original articles, reports, web pages, letters to editor, and books. Having titles and abstracts assessed, 120 documents that were more appropriate and directly related to the study question were selected and analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Then the text contents were retrieved and final results were categorized and managed by MAXQDA software. Results: Two themes were obtained indicating the formation of interprofessional education in the health system. The challenges theme containing 4 categories: dynamic changes in all aspects of human society, poor quality of care services, staffing crisis, and failures of uniproffessional education. The second theme named constructive strategies containing 4 categories: improvement of interprofessional interactions, promotion of interprofessional collaborations, patient centered team care, and changing in professional socialization process of health sciences students. Conclusion: Interprofessional education with focus on interprofessional interactions and promotion in professional socialization process of health sciences students provides necessary competency and ability for developing interprofessional collaborations and comprehensive patient-centered team care among graduates for addressing challenges in health systems.

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Introduction: Communication and interaction are the main features of e-learning. Without interaction, students cannot be motivated to continue the course which undermines their learning. This study endeavored to identify barriers to interaction in e-learning and providing solutions for creating and improving interactions from the point of view of professors and students of virtual fields at Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Methods: To identify barriers and strategies for creating and improving interaction in the e-learning, qualitative study with qualitative content analysis method was employed. Twenty-two participants with maximum diversity were selected from faculty and students through purposive sampling with theoretical approach, sequential and gradual method until data saturation. To analyze in-depth semi-structured interviews, a commitment approach of Granheim and Lundman model was used in 2020. The accuracy and robustness of the research was confirmed through Lincoln and Guba criteria.

Results: According to faculty members and student’s point of view the barriers were divided to 6 main categories which related to the incomplete educational process, motivational and attitudinal barriers, infrastructure barriers, individual frameworks, weakness of the knowledge and cognition incomplete structural planning and policy as well as 16 sub-categories.

Conclusion: As to the barriers, the most influential were related to the incomplete educational process, after that related to motivational and attitudinal barriers, infrastructure barriers, individual frameworks, weakness of the knowledge and cognition and incomplete structural planning and policy. The results of this study help educators, educational administrators and curriculum planners, professors and students in the field of e-learning to remove existing barriers and develop interaction in e-learning.