Educational Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:10 Issue: 1, Jun 2021

Although ethics is essential to every occupation, it is even more crucial in the professions of the healthcare sector as the spiritual and responsible behavior of these employees toward patients plays a pivotal role in improving and restoring their health. Social capital is a significant determinant of the level of professional ethics. The organizations that respect social norms and principles could create a platform of trust and mutual communication between individuals to contribute to professional ethics promotion.

The present study aimed to model the structural equation of the correlation between social capital and the professional ethics of the specialists of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

This study was conducted in all the hospitals in Shiraz, Iran (n = 33) in 2019. Cluster sampling was applied to select 10% of the hospitals as the research population, and several general practitioners and specialists (n = 200) completed the questionnaires for data collection. In addition, data on social capital were collected using the social capital questionnaire (2012), and the field data regarding the professional ethics of the physicians and medical specialists were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire.

Themeanscores of the social capital and professional ethics of the participants were higher than cut-off points. In addition, the final model of the study indicated that the professional ethics of the practitioners could be predicted by their perceptions of social capital.

Social capital is an important criterion of the survival of every system and organization, including medical organizations. Given the importance of social capital in the growth, success, and sustainability of social systems, administrators and health officials must develop basic infrastructure and an atmosphere of trust, security, and loyalty through the improvement of ethics among medical staff, especially among physicians and medical specialists.

The motivational reasons for choosing dental specialties are highly variable among dental students. A deep understanding of these motives can greatly help in strategic planning in this respect.

Thus, this study aimed to explore the motivational reasons for choosing dental specialties among dental students.

This qualitative study evaluated the viewpoints of 17 dental students at the School of Dentistry, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran who were selected via purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in the second semester of the academic year 2018 - 2019 and analyzed using the content analysis method.

The motivational reasons for choosing dental specialties were categorized into five main categories, including conditions and nature of a specialty (such as acceptance conditions, education, and work), financial return (such as level of income and job market), personal characteristics (such as personal capabilities and characteristics affecting the specialty choice), the external environment (such as the effect of environmental factors on the specialty choice), and academic experiences (such as personality characteristics of mentors affecting the specialty choice).

According to the results, the motivational reasons for choosing a dental specialty are highly variable among dental students and influenced by various individual and environmental factors. These motives should be addressed in strategy planning for dental specialty programs.

Teacher evaluation is an essential tool in educational processes, which could be performed by various methods, such as the assessment of students’ opinions. Currently, the evaluation of university professors by students is an online process implemented by a questionnaire. However, the questionnaire items do not suit the current conditions, and university classes are held virtually or online due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The present study aimed to identify the influential factors in teacher evaluation regarding e-learning during COVID-19 from the perspective of the students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2020.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 213 students selected via convenience sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with 18 items. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by 10 education experts, and its reliability was confirmed at the Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96. Data analysis was performed in SPSS.

The most to least significant influential factors in the students’ evaluation of professors were respectively teacher’s educational skills (54.9%), teacher’s personal and ethical characteristics (56.6%), and observance of educational principles and rules (43.2%). The viewpoints of the male and female students toward these factors had a significant difference (P < 0.001). In addition, a significant difference was observed between the effects of various factors on the students’ evaluation of their professors in different faculties and different educational levels (P < 0.001).

According to the results and given the importance of the influential factors in teacher evaluation, the empowerment of professors regarding effective teaching methods and communication skills in e-learning is recommended to improve the quality of virtual education.

Knowledge sharing within an organization plays a key role in developing scientific production.

The present study aimed to predict the knowledge sharing intention among the faculty members of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conductedon154 facultymembersof KUMSin the spring of 2019. Participants were selected via random sampling with a probability proportional to size. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), bivariate correlations, and linear regression analysis at 95% significance level.

The most significant predictors of knowledge sharing intention were attitude ( = 0.387) and perceived behavioral control ( = 0.215). In addition, the predictive constructs of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control constituted 25% of the variation in the outcome measure of knowledge sharing intention.

According to the results, designing interventions focusing on the constructs of attitude and perceived behavior control could yield beneficial findings for promoting knowledge sharing among faculty members.

Internal assessment plays a key role in improving the quality of education.

The present study aimed to internally assess the nutrition department of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran.

This cross-sectional study was carried out in the nutrition department of KUMS. Data were collected using the internal assessment questionnaires based on the guidelines and framework of the ministry.

The main factors involved in internal assessment included goals, organizational position, management and organization, faculty staff, students, and educational facilities and equipment, which had a favorable status. In addition, the educational courses, curriculum, andteaching/learning strategieshada relatively favorable status, while graduateshadanunfavorable status. In general, the mean of all the internal assessment factors was considered favorable.

Although the internal assessment indicated the favorable status of the nutrition department of KUMS, special attention should be paid to the graduates in this regard.

Critical thinking and individual characteristics are essential components of conscious decision-making and professional competence in medical students. The critical thinking abilities of medical students have a significant impact on their professional decision-making process. It may have direct and indirect consequences on the quality of medical care.

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between self-esteem, demographic information, educational status, and critical thinking of medical students.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 medical students in 2019. Data were collected using California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Quantitative variables were expressed as the mean and standard deviation and frequency and percentage were used to describe the qualitative variables.

The results of the study revealed that 332 (87.4%) of the medical students who participated in the study had a negative inclination towards critical thinking, and 48 (12.6%) had an ambivalent inclination. The average self-esteem score of the students was 3.093.35. Moreover, there was a positive and significant correlation between critical thinking scores and self-esteem in medical students (correlation coefficient = 0.848; P < 0.001). An increase in the grade level increased the critical thinking score of the students. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between overall scores of critical thinking with students’ age, gender, marital status, and place of residence.

In the current study, critical thinking scores of medical students were lower than average level and weak, and there was a direct and positive relationship between critical thinking and self-esteem. Given the importance of critical thinking abilities in the clinical decision-making process, university educators are expected to pay more attention to developing this skill in medical students.

 Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been numerous higher education challenges. Medical universities have been urged to dispel students from educational and clinical settings and led them toward virtual education. This sudden transition has been accompanied by multiple challenges.

The present study aimed to evaluate the challenges of virtual medical education in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study Selection: This systematic review was performed by reviewing the current literature on the research subject and the studies conducted in this regard during March 2019 to April 2021 by searching via five key search engines and databases, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, and ERIC.

In total, 23 studies were assessed, and different virtual education challenges in medical universities were classified into three categories of structural challenges, student-related challenges, and teacher-related challenges. In addition, strategies were proposed for overcoming the identified challenges.

Since medical education was not properly pursued before the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary infrastructures are lacking in this area, designing and implementing such programs could bring about fundamental challenges in several countries (especially developing and low-income countries), thereby decreasing their success rate. On the other hand, the coronavirus crisis could be an opportunity to identify the weaknesses, shortcomings, and infrastructural deficiencies in e-learning and address these issues effectively.

Morning reports are important training programs (especially for residents) as they enhance clinical decision-making skills, social interactions, and participatory learning. Given the need to eliminate the educational gap and provide optimal conditions, educational interventions regarding morning reports are often implemented in the form of evidence-based morning reports with an interactive and consultative approach.

The present study aimed to evaluate the quality of evidence-based morning reports using an interactive and consultative approach.

This qualitative study was conducted with an inductive approach in 2019 in Iran. Changes were made to develop an evidence-based morning report and create a friendly educational environment between faculty members and residents, as well as interactive learning among the residents. The intervention was assessed through explaining the experiences of 16 participants via individual semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed in the MAXQDA10 software.

In total, 153 codes, two main categories (education and dimensions of change), six categories (educational deficiencies, influential factors in the quality of education, requirements, barriers, benefits, and response to change), and 20 subcategories were extracted.

According to the results, the residents were satisfied with the changes, while the faculty members needed more justification and motivation. The strengths and weaknesses identified in the intervention could lay the groundwork for broader changes in the same clinical fields.

Attention to educational quality is a primary goal of the managers, professors, and policymakers of the community health system. Universities seek to meet students’ needs and expectations and increase their satisfaction since student satisfaction is essential to the growth and improvement of educational organizations.

The present study aimed to evaluate the influential factors in students' satisfaction with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran in 2015-2016.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 346 students of KUMS who were selected via stratified random sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire used in similar studies. The influential factors were assessed in two dimensions of importance and satisfaction. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics at the significance level of 0.05.

The mean scores of the important dimension, satisfaction dimension, and the gap were 174.6 ± 25, 138.3 ± 24.3, and 36.3 ± 33.3, respectively. All the factors had a high degree of importance, and the highest level of relative satisfaction belonged to the factors of school atmosphere and educational effectiveness. Meanwhile, the lowest level of satisfaction was assigned to responsiveness to diverse populations. The most significant gap was observed in the factors of school's atmosphere and educational effectiveness, and the lowest value belonged to the factors of health and safety status of the school. In addition, the mean score of the gap in the female students (42 ± 33) was higher compared to the male students (26.9 ± 31.9; P = 0.004).

Since the level of student satisfaction with KUMS was not desirable in this study, it is recommended that the university administrators and staff increasingly improve the quality and quantity of the educational services at this institution.
Keywords

With the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world, E-learning systems have been introduced as the main approach to education. E-learning infrastructures (especially the educational system) largely influence the quality of education.

The present study aimed to investigate the quality of NAVID system as an e-learning system used in Iranian medical universities.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on the faculty members and students who were willing to participate and used NAVID system in the School of Nutrition and Food Technology of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2020. The user experience questionnaire (UEQ) was employed to evaluate the quality and efficiency of NAVID e-learning system. The UEQ is a 26-item questionnaire with six domains of attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, motivation, and novelty, which are scored based on a Likert scale (range: +3 to -3). Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16.

In total, 60 participants completed the UEQ of NAVID system. The mean scores of attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, motivation, and novelty were estimated at 0.161 ± 1.350, -0.321 ± 1.305, -0.188 ± 1.169, -0.404±0.999, 0.417 ± 1.248, and -1.101 ± 1.097, respectively. Correspondingly, NAVID e-learning system has poor quality in all the domains of user experience.

According to the results, NAVID e-learning system should be improved in all the areas of user experience.

Intragroup evaluation is a process through which faculty members, students, and university officials examine the strengths and weaknesses of their department by assessing the educational unit to clarify the status of the department.

The present study aimed to investigate the internal evaluations (IEs) of the departments conducted at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran.

In this descriptive study, IEs were performed at KUMS during 2012-2018. A summary of the documented information was collected by a checklist, and 22 IEs of the university departments during this period were reviewed. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21.

Most of the IEs were evaluated within six months. In 100% of the cases, the educational goals of a specific department, cases of the evaluation areas, and assessment criteria were determined and scored, and the lesson plans for the existing theory units were delivered to the students. In addition, documents of faculty members’ research activities, along with specific and codified programs for conferences, were reported. However, only 27.3% of the educational experts and 54.5% of the student representatives were involved in the group evaluation committee, and in 68.2% of the cases, there were lesson plans for skill units and clinical wards. On the other hand, 40% of the cases had a specific documentary program to assess the students’ academic decline/achievement in the groups.

Formally, the IEs were performed correctly, and the obtained results briefly showed that they could achieve multiple academic goals. Due to the differences between the results and the observed state of the university, external evaluations are recommended as well.

The inappropriate use of pamphlets rather than textbooks is an educational problem faced by most students. Note-taking and reading pamphlets rather than reading textbooks regardless of defects and shortcomings with their own structure cannot cover the required materials for students.

The present study aimed to investigate the status of the textbooks used by the dentistry students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran.

This descriptive study was conducted on the students of the dentistry school of KUMS. In total, 148 students were selected via random sampling. Data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 18.

In total, 67.6% of the students used the content presented by professors in the class, and only 2% used the original English textbooks of dentistry. The analysis of the priorities of the type of resource indicated that the highest frequency belonged to the use of printed pamphlets (55.4%), and the lowest frequency belonged to the use of printed versions and electronic audio files (0.7%). Additionally, evaluation of access to resources showed the maximum frequency of a group pamphlet to be 35.8%, while the lowest frequency belonged to the pamphlet prepared by others (2.7%).

According to the results, the students showed great interest in note-taking and reading pamphlets rather than reading textbooks. The insufficient fluency of students in English, high costs of reference books, and a large amount of resources made the students more likely to use pamphlets.