Viewpoint of general medicine students and faculty members about basic sciences curriculum

Curriculums are of the core elements or sub-systems of higher education that have a crucial and undeniable role toward universities’ goals and missions. The purpose of this study was to compare the views of students and instructors of Qom Medical University about the current situation of educational curriculum of basic science courses. This descriptive study was carried out on 107 students and 20 faculty member of Qom Medical University during 2010-2011, who were selected by accidental sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire based on Likert scale that included the demographic characteristics and evaluation of students’ views toward the curriculum of basic science courses (histology, physiology, genetics, microbiology, immunology, pathology). Data analysis was carried out by descriptive statistics and independent T-test using SPSS 15 software. Most of the studied students were somewhat satisfied with the current curriculum of the basic science courses and there was no significant difference between males and females (p>0.05). There was no significant difference between the students and instructors’ views about the curriculum of the basic science courses (p>0.05). there is consistency and similarity between students and faculty members’ viewpoints and there is no significant difference between the opinions of male and female medical students. In addition, students are satisfied with their level of knowledge and skills in clinical environment.