Evaluating Factors Affecting Residency Education from the Perspective of Professors and Pediatric Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Specialized and sub-specialized medical education, considering the special role of residents in the educational and medical system of universities, is of key importance in the higher education system of Iran. The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors affecting the quality of residency education from the perspective of professors and pediatric residents.

In this cross-sectional study, sample size consists of pediatric residents and faculty members who were working in the pediatric wards of training hospitals affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran in 2020. The individuals have been selected through convenience sampling. The samples then filled a researcher made questionnaire (about the quality of Resident Education in clinical fields), and the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16.0.

A total of 10 faculty members and 35 pediatric residents participated in this study. Findings showed that professors assigned higher mean scores to the effect of individual and environmental factors on the residency education as compared to pediatric residents (p <0.05). The results showed a significant difference between professors and residents in terms of the mean scores given to the educational quality in items 14 and 13 and items 18 to 23. In other words, professors had more positive attitude towards quality of clinical education than pediatric residents (P <0.05).

Faculty members and pediatric residents did not have the same views on the quality of residency education and professors had more positive assessment of the effect of individual and environmental factors on the clinical field as compared to pediatric residents.