Educational Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:10 Issue: 2, Dec 2021

 Today, the health higher education system has a privileged position in maintaining, rebuilding, producing, and creating new knowledge and responsibilities in medical universities. Solving these problems requires adopting a scientific and research approach in order to provide fair conditions and equal educational opportunities.

 The present study aimed to evaluate the determinants of equal access to higher health education opportunities in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran.

 This cross-sectional study evaluated contextual, input, process, and output indicators. Samples included the documents and statistics of seven schools of KUMS and 358 students of these schools in the academic year 2020 - 2021. Census sampling was used for the documents, and relative stratified random sampling was applied for the quantitative sections. Data analysis was performed in SPSS using TOPSIS and multiple linear regression models in a stepwise manner.

 The independent variables were significant regarding the variable of inequality in educational opportunities among the medical students of KUMS (F = 590.11; P < 0.001). The variables of the model explained 99.7% of the variance of the dependent variable, indicating inequality between the KUMS medical schools in terms of the studied indicators.

 Government policies should be focused on the development of educational equality in medical sciences on all levels of health, education, and technological developments. Our findings indicated differences between the medical schools of KUMS in terms of educational indicators and the location of the schools in less privileged, semi-privileged, and privileged areas.

 Sequence graphics could be used to address the lacunae of drawing skill development in medical undergraduates.

 The present study aimed to use sequence graphics to evaluate medical undergraduates in terms of drawing moderately complex diagrams.

 This pilot study was conducted on six medical students, and four moderately complex diagrams were evaluated regarding the usefulness of sequence graphics. Core and accessory components were identified before asking the students to draw the diagram. In a conventional drawing exercise, the students were asked to draw four diagrams consecutively during the dissection hour. On the next day, videos of sequence graphics were projected on the screen, and the students were asked to draw the diagrams simultaneously.

 While using the conventional drawing method, the students took significantly more time to complete the diagram, the outcomes were not uniform, and several missing core and accessory components were detected. Using sequence graphics, all the students traced the diagrams in tandem with the projected videos. The videos would be paused and replayed an average of six times each; the mean duration of the videos was 95 seconds. The students started and ended the drawing at the same time, and immediate feedback revealed that they all agreed that sequence graphics could impart better drawing skills, thereby leading to the ease of drawing the diagrams.

 According to the results, sequence graphics resulted in uniform, centered, labelled, large diagrams with defined core and accessory components drawn in lesser time compared to conventional drawing.

 The office of institutional research (IR) is an efficient part of universities and is responsible for guiding academic research. IR plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of higher education and universities through targeted research.

 The present study aimed to propose a conceptual model of IR for the medical universities of Iran.

 This qualitative case study was performed on experts and managers at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran. 10 subjects were selected via purposive sampling, and data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews, text mining, and observation until reaching theoretical saturation. The validity of the research was confirmed based on Lincoln and Guba's evaluative criteria. The retest and inter-coder reliability of the interview texts and documents were confirmed at 0.85%, and 0.81 and 0.79, respectively. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis.

 We developed a model consisting of four inclusive themes, including: information authority, spin doctor, policy analyst, and scholar and researcher. Furthermore, the proposed model had 17 organizing and 71 basic themes.

 Our model with themes and organizing could be used by the medical universities of Iran to guide the measures taken to establish an IR office in these institutions.

 Universities’ sudden exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to maintain social distancing have prompted universities to reconsider their traditional roles in the teaching-learning process and to create a new organizational structure for this process. The result of this reorganization is the development of a new teaching system framework known as e-learning. Although this type of education could lay the foundation for all learners to enhance the quality of education, expand learning opportunities, and receive education conveniently and quickly, students’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction plays a key role in the current competitive and turbulent environment.

 The present study aimed to investigate the satisfaction of medical students with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 The sample population of this study included the students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran. Via convenience sampling, 240 medical students were selected. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire to assess the students' satisfaction with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was distributed and collected after confirming its validity and reliability.

 The mean satisfaction of the medical students with e-learning was moderate. The highest mean satisfaction of the students’ with the desirability of the e-learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed in the dimension of satisfaction with the quality of educational facilities and equipment, followed by the dimensions of the quality of professors and teaching time, quality of professors’ lesson plan, quality of the educational atmosphere and assessment of academic achievement, and the quality of professors' teaching methods.

 Although the students’ satisfaction with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was not very high, their moderate satisfaction and prioritizing their satisfaction based on the quality of classrooms and equipment, as well as the quality of professors and teaching time, indicated that universities should provide the required facilities to improve the quality of e-learning and take appropriate measures to enable professors to implement virtual classrooms and e-learning properly.

 The narrative approach emerged in the late 19th century to humanize medicine, and narrative medicine was proposed to cultivate four skills, including empathy, reflection, professional commitment, and trust.

 The present study aimed to describe the challenges of implementing the first narrative medicine course in Iran.

 This qualitative study was conducted using an inductive approach in 2020. In total, 18 medical interns were selected via purposive sampling and enrolled in the study. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured individual interviews. Data analysis was performed in the MAXQDA10 software.

 In total, 523 codes were extracted, and the identified challenges were classified into three main categories and eight subcategories, including individual barriers (learners' attitudes, individual identity, and opposition to the clinical teacher), educational barriers (unsupported change, disorganization of sessions, educational atmosphere, and hidden curriculum), and environmental barriers (physical factors).

 According to the results, the narrative approach in medicine could be used efficiently through subsequent courses in various medical universities. It is recommended that expert opinions be considered in the implementation of such courses.
 

E-learning is an essential application of information and communication technology, which is emphasized in facilitating teaching-learning activities and the use of online resources.

The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between e-learning attitudes and academic achievement in medical students.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 154 residents, interns, and clerkships at Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan, Iran in 2020. Data were collected using two standard questionnaires, and the students’ grade point average (GPA) was considered as their academic achievement. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 26 using descriptive statistics (frequency tables) and inferential statistics (independent t-test, ANOVA, and correlation-coefficient) at the significance level of P ≤ 0.05.

The students’ attitude toward e-learning was considered favorable with the score estimated at 77.5. However, the students’ attitude toward e-learning had no significant correlation with their academic achievement (P = 0.169).

Given the satisfaction of the students with e-learning, we could use the capacities and strengths of e-learning to ensure the quality of learning in medical education. Furthermore, these capacities could be employed to overcome the barriers and limitations of traditional education, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Academic counseling is a relationship between academic advisors and students and an effective approach to preventing students’ academic failure and improve the educational system at the university level. Students’ satisfaction with academic advisors could affect the quality of academic counseling.

The present study aimed to investigate the influential factors in dental students’ satisfaction with academic advisors.

This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis on 17 students of the School of Dentistry of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran who were selected by purposive sampling in 2019. Data were collected via semistructured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by qualitative content analysis.

Two main themes were extracted, which were the academic advisor’s image and students’ expectations. Four main categories and 12 subcategories were also obtained. The main categories were the academic advisor’s characteristics, academic advisor’s position, student-advisor communication, and students’ needs.

According to the results, several factors may affect the satisfaction of dental students with academic advisors, such as the advisor’s characteristics, communication between advisors and students, and general attitudes toward academic advisors in the educational system. These findings should be addressed in strategy planning in order to increase students’ satisfaction with academic advisors.

Concerns about the environment have persisted over decades, and governments determinedly pursue the issue of environmental education. Designing an integrated curriculum is an effective approach to learning, participation, behavior, and critical thinking.

The presented study aimed to propose and validate an integrated model of environmental education curriculum for general medicine.

This study was conducted using amixedmethod (quantitative and qualitative). Data were collected using a questionnaire and via interviews. By using the Morgan’s table, the target population was determined to be 280 in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (15 professors and 265 students).

The students had inadequate knowledge and low positive attitudes toward environmental education. Given the maximum consistency of the data obtained and the curriculum models provided by Silver and Alexander and Taylor and Kelvin, the integrated environmental education curriculum model was designed in 11 stages, including needs assessment, objectives, content, area determination, learning materials and resources, learning-teaching strategies, implementation and the role of professors, grouping, time, place, and evaluation. The proposed model was validated based on experts’ comments, and the content validity ratio was considered appropriate.

Considering the integrated features of the proposed model, it applies to all stages of medical education and could foster effective interactions between students and environmental education during the seven-year study period, which confirms the efficacy of the model if implemented correctly. Considering the subjects of environmental education based on health-centered environment and the effects on physical, mental, and social health, the proposed model recognizes the contents of the current medical curriculum (i.e., disease prevention and treatment and the position of integration in organizing the content). In addition, it selects the contents of the model, which are reflected in its integrated approaches. The model composes of thematic knowledge, efficient knowledge, and functional knowledge in environmental education in medicine in the form of an integrated curriculum.