Journal of Medical Education
Volume:16 Issue: 1, Feb 2017

In current issue of the Journal of Medical Education, Dashti and Yazadni in their comprehensive article “Factors Encouraging the private section to invest in Higher Education of Iran” proposed the main indicators which could facilitate the investment in higher education by variety of private sectors. They conclude that there are several different groups that can bring their financial resources to the higher education system to promote its quantity and quality. And also they claim that Iranian Laws and regulation in higher education will entitle these investments. They also proposed that the higher education system should facilitate this process and to encourage the private sector should reduce the risk of investment and try to reshape the culture of educational systems to accept this investment.

Higher education which has the main role in the training of skilled human resource can also be considered as the foundation of wealth creation in the country. The quantitative and qualitative expansion of higher education is inevitable. The facilities and the government budget are not responsive for the need, due to the increasing demand of young people for entering higher education in Iran. Therefore, developing and equipping universities and unpublicized and private higher education institutions have received considerable attention and have grown substantially. We aimed to evaluate educational experts regarding encouraging factors of the private sections for more participating in financing of higher education centers and institutions in Iran. Qualitative content analysis method has been used. The participants were selected using purposive sampling. The professors were in positions of policymaking and managing and had opinions on the challenges of universities financing. Data collection was conducted with semi-structured interview in 2016 and all ethical considerations associated with qualitative research were respected. The main concepts obtained from the interview were reported in the three main themes and their sub-classes. We have found that with the authorities given to universities by law, and preparing the transition from the based solely on government resources to the private section is provided by taking the appropriate decisions of managers to attract investors Universities can benefit from promoting different mechanisms to attract private financing in the higher education section. Solutions also were presented in this way. The idea of educational investment not only can promote the community investments towards higher education, but also has been the promotion of knowledge-based business in the community and promotes entrepreneurship and knowledge-based economy.

Considering that the only way to transfer data between the pathologist and the medical staff, particularly the therapeutic physician, is a documented report that serves as a base for the physician to diagnose the type, stage and beginning indications of the disease, it stands to reason that the therapeutic physician must possess sufficient proficiency in the comprehension of the pathological report. We aimed is to measure the ability of a medical student to correctly understand a pathological report at the end of a course of study.
This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. The subjects were 60 interns chosen randomly at different stages of internship. Each participant was given either a traditional or newspaper report format. Then, the questionnaires were handed out to assess the results.
Overall, 61% of the participants answered the questionnaire. Depending on the topic of the report, there was a highly significant 44-73% differential in the answers given. On the other hand, in comparing the actual formats (traditional and newspaperial), no significant difference was observed. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the reports of those interns with more experience.
The study showed that possessing more proficiency in the topic had the most impact on the quality of the reports. Furthermore, the reports showed a more thorough understanding when the subject possessed better knowledge of a less complicated topic. Lastly, changing the format of the reports from traditional to newspaperial did not increase the level of comprehension.

Assessments and examinations judge the learning capabilities and test the knowledge and skills that students have acquired during their academic courses. The general paper pen exams are now slowly being replaced by online testing system. This online assessment is now widely used in medical colleges in western countries and is slowly being introduced in Middle East countries as well. The objectives of the present study were to assess medical student’s perceptions on multiple choice questions (MCQs) based E-assessment and to analyze the strength and weakness of the online assessment method.
The study was done on 280 year 2, 3, and 5 students of Oman Medical College (OMC). A 23-item questionnaire that addressed different variables associated with attitudes, perceptions, user comfort factors and type of questions used for assessment about using online examinations was employed. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software.
We included 125 (44.6%) students from 2nd year, 110 (39.3%) from 3rd year, and 45(16.1%) students from 5th year. The survey looked upon the four main domains about the use of online exams using multiple choice questions (MCQs): 1. Affective factors, 2. Validity factors, 3. Practicality, and 4. Reliability and Security. Most medical students were comfortable with the online assessment mode. They perceived that the use of MCQs was sufficient to test knowledge during their course. A major theme of concern was technical problems and security issues.
Our survey indicated that most students preferred MCQs based E assessment. However it is evident that the exam system needs to be improved in areas of preparation of well constructed MCQs, its reliability and validity, practical and technical problems and also regarding the security of the exam system to prepare medical students global competent.

Academic achievement of students in the fields of medical sciences is influenced by several factors, including cognitive learning strategies, goal orientation, and test anxiety. We aimed to assess the relationship between metacognitive learning strategies, goal orientation, and test anxiety.
The statistical population of this descriptive and analytical study was 2621 students studying at Birjand University of Medical Sciences. The sample size was calculated to be 335 according to Krejcie and Morgan’s table and determined via stratified-randomized sampling method. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used to collect data which consisted of 47 items on cognitive learning strategies, goal orientation, and test anxiety. Data were analyzed using independent t, Pearson’s correlation, and ANOVA tests.
The results showed a significant, negative correlation between the dimensions of metacognitive learning strategies and test anxiety as well as a significant, positive association between the dimensions of metacognitive learning strategies and goal orientation (P0.05).
According to the results, metacognitive learning strategies and goal orientation are two contributory factors to reduction of test anxiety in students.

Medical education began in Mauritius with the establishment of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) Medical college in 1999 followed by a breakthrough in field of medicine with opening of Anna Medical College and Research Center (AMCRC) in 2010 and Padhamshree DY PatilMedical College in 2013.Though it was an appreciable beginning of medical education in Mauritius, medical schools are currently experiencing hardships in delivering right medical exposure to health care professionals. Mauritian medical schools now need to review their current teaching methodology and present curriculum to keep pace with global standards. Integrated curriculum which is now gaining popularity world-wide is to be introduced and strongly implemented in medical schools in Mauritius. This curriculum would breach barriers and improve integration between pre-clinical and clinical sciences thus facilitating long-term retention of knowledge in medical schools and develop a professionally sound approach towards management of health care. Horizontal curriculum can be replaced byvertical and spiral integration. For this major change, faculty engaged in medical profession are to be acquainted about innovative strategies and emerging trends in medical education. Thus this article aims to highlight the current scenario of medical education in Mauritius and also offer suggestions about possible future strategies to be implemented in medical colleges.