Designing an evaluation tool for evaluating training programs of medical students in clinical skill training center from consumers' perspective.

INTRODUCTION: The Clinical Skill Training Center (CSTC) is the first environment where third year medical students learn clinical skills after passing basic science. Consumer- based evaluation is one of the ways to improve this center with the consumer. This study was conducted with the aim of preparing a consumer-oriented evaluation tool for CSTC among medical students. METHOD: The study was mixed method. The first phase was qualitative and for providing an evaluation tool. The second phase was for evaluating the tool. At the first phase, after literature review in the Divergent phase, a complete list of problems in the field of CSTC in medicine schools was prepared. In the convergent step, the prepared list was compared with the standards of clinical education and values of scriven. In the second phase it was evaluated by the scientific and authority committee. Validity has been measured by determining CVR and CVI: Index. The face and content validity of the tool was obtained through the approval of a group of specialists. RESULTS: The findings of the research were in the form of 4 questionnaires: clinical instructors, pre-clinical medical students, and interns. All items were designed as a 5-point Likert. The main areas of evaluation included the objectives and content of training courses, implementation of operations, facilities and equipment, and the environment and indoor space. In order to examine the long-term effects, a special evaluation form was designed for intern. CONCLUSION: The tool for consumer evaluation was designed with good reliability and trustworthiness and suitable for use in the CSTC, and its use can improve the effectiveness of clinical education activities.

The Localization, development and validation of a survey instrument to assess attitudes toward professionalism based on the opinions of clinical teachers.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the validation of a survey instrument to assess attitudes toward professionalism based on the opinions of clinical teachers in Iran and localized it. METHODS: The research is applied-descriptive, that is conducted in two stages: qualitative and quantitative. Fifteen expert professors in the field of professionalism from Iranian universities of medical sciences participated in qualitative stage by Delphi. sampling method was purposive. In the quantitative stage, using simple and quota sampling method, 82 samples were collected from all clinical professors of first ranked universities of medical sciences. We used "The Penn State College of Medicine Professionalism Questionnaire"( PSCOM) as a basic questionnaire. Its validity assessed by Delphi and survey. Some items changed, deleted and added. Then it confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Data analysis was performed using one-sample t-test and SmartPLS software. RESULTS: Seven dimensions and 48 final indicators were approved and all 7 dimensions were in good condition. Among the approved dimensions, "the enrichment" with a factor load of 0.238, was the biggest factor in measuring the variable of professionalism. The dimensions of "respect", "responsibility", "altruism", "duty", "honor, honesty and justice", "respectively" with factor loads of 0.215, 0.212, 0.163, 0.146, 0.106 and 0.047 are ranked in order. CONCLUSION: the most dimensions in PSCOM are accepted by experts and teachers, but there are many differences in details. If we want to have an accurate tool for measuring attitudes toward professionalism, then, it is necessary to study localization and validation of instrument to assess attitudes toward professionalism in every new community. Delphi and factor analysis could be useful for assessing tool in new community.

Medical science students' experiences of test anxiety: a phenomenological study.

INTRODUCTION: The studies show test anxiety is a common disorder in students that causes academic failure. There are not enough studies and specific theoretical background about test anxiety and ways to deal with it, so the purpose of this study was to do a qualitative study to fully understand the ways to deal with test anxiety in medical Sciences students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a qualitative study. The participants are the students of the last 2 years of pharmacy, medicine and dentistry at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Ten students were selected by purposeful sampling, and interviews continued until the data saturation stage and the lack of access to new data. The data were analyzed by seven-level Colaizzi method. FINDINGS: After analyzing data, about 50 codes were extracted. These codes divided into 16 subclasses, and among them, ultimately five main themes are extracted: "Prayer and Dialogue with God", "Interaction and communication with friends and relatives", "studying strategies", "Finding ways to relax and self-care" and "Negative strategies" were extracted. CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study showed that students often use positive strategies to overcome the test anxiety and try to use positive strategies, but some students are advised of undesirable strategies such as misuse of authorized drugs and writing cheating that that lead to a lot of complex problems. The educational system should do its utmost effort to empower students to manage the anxiety by learning the best strategies.

Spiritual experiences of family members to cope with the challenges of childhood disability: A Qualitative study in Iran.

BACKGROUND: If we take the family as a circle, the disabled child is in the center of the circle and weights on all communications in the family. Therefore, in this research, the experiences of all family members are studied. The knowledge about families' experiences helps the caregivers to have a deep recognition of family status and individual and social relations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a phenomenological study. Participants were Iranian families with disabled child and were selected by a goal-oriented sampling. Data collection was done through an unstructured interview. Interviews were transcript based. Data analysis was done by Colaizzi's method. Codes were extracted from the interviews and then the main concepts were formed by organizing the formulated meanings into clusters of themes. RESULTS: Data were being compiled from the 18-h interview tapes and the verbatim transcription of the interviews with the 12 study participants. Then, the researchers formulated the meanings of each significant statement into 65 codes and organized the formulated meanings into following four clusters of themes: 1 - protective structure, 2 - adjustment, 3 - social isolation, 4 - psychological tension. CONCLUSION: The existence of a disabled child may lead to psychological and spiritual distress and vast changes in every aspect of each member of the family.

The Factors Affecting Teaching and Learning Professionalism Among Medical Teachers.

Given the special importance of medical professionalism, a successful faculty development strategy not only teaches professionalism in cognitive domain but also creates practical instructors who can act as role models for students. This study proposed to identify themes that can explain effective factors in teaching and learning professionalism among medical teachers. The study was qualitative. Twenty-four experts in medical education participated in the study from all medical universities of Iran. Data gathering was performed via semistructured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed by classic content analysis. At the end, the factors were confirmed by the focus group consisting of six experts. One hundred seventy-seven codes were extracted. Codes were categorized into 24 subcategories and five main categories: (1) culture, (2) educational factors, (3) background, (4) attitude, and (5) organizational factors. There are many effective factors for a proper faculty development in teaching and learning professionalism. These factors could be individualized, organizational, or external. We cannot design a program without considering these factors.

Reproductive Health Needs Assessment in the View of Iranian Elderly Women and Elderly Men.

Objective: To assess reproductive health needs in men and women as the first and basic step in educational planning. Materials and methods: The study was qualitative. Participants were Postmenopausal women and men over 60 years. Data gathering was done by semi structured interviews. Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted during a multi-step process according to the assessment method of Altschuld et al needs analysis. Results: Two general themes were considered in categorizing codes extracted from interviews: 1) Problems, 2) Demands. Women's reproductive health problems were Problems associated with menopause, Related to family planning, sexual problems, and diseases and cancers. Reproductive health problems in men were in two main subthemes Urinary-reproductive problems and sexual dysfunction. Their main demand was for establishing a health center for geriatric reproductive health. Conclusion: Aging has severe effect on men's and women's reproductive health and elderly peoples need health services to cope with changes, therefore these needs should be considered in medical curriculums.

The expected results of faculty development programs in medical professionalism from the viewpoint of medical education experts.

BACKGROUND: Despite the great emphasis on teaching professionalism in universities, creating changes in one's professional behavior is a serious challenge in medical education. In this regard, one cannot ignore the role of faculty members. The present study was set to investigate the opinions of medical education experts about the expected results of faculty development programs regarding teaching and learning professionalism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out in two phases including content analysis study and Delphi. In the first phase, 10 medical education experts participated in the study. Data gathering was carried out using semi-structured interviews. Codes were analyzed using classic content analysis method. In the second phase, a six-member focus group and Delphi with 23 experts from across the country participated, and themes from the previous phase were confirmed and finalized. RESULTS: Analysis of the content of the interviews in the first phase and discussing in the focus group and Delphi showed two main themes: 1) direct results and 2) indirect results with six subthemes. Direct results included three subthemes of creating role model faculty members, scientific improvement, improving professionalism, and inspiring the students; indirect results included three subthemes of change in educational environment of the university, change in the university system, and effects on the society's culture. CONCLUSION: Faculty development in professionalism can contribute to university faculty members to become better role models and inspire their students, peers, and even the society. Therefore, improving professional behavior in university faculty members can have direct and indirect effects on improving the society due to their crucial role.

Effect of stress inoculation training on the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a broad group (over 270 types) of diseases. This disease, like other chronic diseases, occurs in all ages and ethnic groups, and is considered as a major health problem. Stress is one of the most important psychological factors influencing the occurrence of physical diseases, and can lead to severe anxiety, depression, and negative effects on health. It can also make individuals vulnerable to physical diseases, and in the long term, leads to death. This study was conducted to determine the effect of inoculation training on stress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in 2013 as a clinical trial with convenient random sampling of patients from the chemotherapy clinic of Seyed Al-Shohada hospital of Isfahan. Forty patients with cancer who were eligible for the study were randomly assigned to either case or control group. The case and control groups had the same treatment plans, and the only difference was stress inoculation training administered in the case group, which was composed of eight 90-min sessions over 8 weeks. Data were collected using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales 42 (DASS-42) questionnaire and demographic questionnaire, and analyzed by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and t-test in SPSS. RESULTS: The results showed that there was a significant difference between case and control groups in terms of stress, anxiety, and depression (P < 0.001). Stress inoculation training reduced stress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Stress inoculation training significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, teaching this skill and the strategies of coping with stress is recommended for these patients, in addition to medicational treatment.

The opinion of Iranian students about the society's perception on using surrogacy as an infertility treatment in the future community.

BACKGROUND: Surrogacy is one of the challengeable treatments for infertility; therefore, it seems necessary to learn the attitutude of people toward it, especially the opinion of those who are working in infertility treatment. Students studying midwifery, medicine, psychology and law are involved in this process to various degrees. The aim of this study was to investigate the students' opinions about the perception of the society on using surrogacy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The sample of this study included 200 students of the Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from the following courses: Midwifery, Medicine, Psychology and Law. Since the number of students in different discipline was not equal, we therefore used quota sampling. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions on their knowledge, attitude and surrogacy acceptance in the future in Iran. RESULTS: The students of the medical course were mostly in the category "strongly agree" and "agree" with surrogacy (43 students which constitute 79.6%), then, midwifery students (15 students which constitute 78.9%) and finally, the students of other courses agreed less with this method. According to chi-square test, there was no significant difference between attitudes of students (P=0.08). Individuals mostly assert their acceptance of this method through "increasing tendency to this method in the future" (77.1%). CONCLUSION: Students in this study had a positive attitude toward surrogacy and they accepted it as a norm; despite this, it is essential to make some changes within cultures to improve the situation.

Study skills and habits in Shiraz dental students; strengths and weaknesses.

INTRODUCTION: The dental students, the same as other students, during their academic courses are required to learn a wide range of scientific subjects. Obviously, choosing the inappropriate method of study leads to confuse and disenchantment of students and it causes wasting of their energy. The purpose of this study was to assess the existing strengths and weaknesses of the skills and study habits in Dental Students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2009-10. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, all of the dental students (n = 274), who studied at the time of study at all levels in the academic year of 2009-10, were selected by the census. Data were collected by using the Huston University questionnaire consisted of two parts of demographic questions and 64 specific areas of study skills in eight domains of time management, concentration/memory, study aids/note taking, test strategies, information processing, motivation, self-assessment/reading, and writing skills. Following the retranslation of the questionnaire, the validity was confirmed by using the content validity method. The reliability was obtained by using the Cronbach's Alpha of 0.92. The data were analyzed with SPSS software version 17 and using analytical statistic tests. RESULTS: Students who have previously participated in the study skills workshops had stronger skills in comparison with the students who had not participated in these workshops. Time management skills (P = 0.04), motivation (P = 0.0001) and information processing (P = 0.03) in students with professional status were in a more favorable position and showed significant differences in terms of educational levels. The study skills mean score of the students living in student housings in comparison with the other students were significantly higher (P = 0.04). Marital status showed no significant differences in reading skills. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The review of study skills in the undergraduate and post-graduate dental students indicated that the residents had higher reading skills. By recognizing the existing strengths and weaknesses and holding programs through counseling centers can develop the study skills in the students.

The suggested tasks for Master's graduates in reproductive health by experts in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Reproductive health is an important health topic. There are many challenges in reproductive health and it is necessary to train experts to manage them. The aim of this study was to define the tasks of Master of Science (MSc) graduates in reproductive health through comprehensive needs assessment to establish the course. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised of three steps. In the first step, through literature review, the draft and basic fields of main tasks were defined. In the second step, by establishing a focus group of 10 experts, the tasks were extracted on the basis of the country's needs. In the third step, a Delphi study was carried out among 51 experts who were selected to finalize the list of tasks and their priorities using three criteria of "importance", "feasibility" and "availability". FINDINGS: 57 tasks were extracted with regard to the four main functions of management and planning, education, consultation, and screening in reproduction age of men and women. According to Delphi's results and their priorities, 45 tasks were important and feasible but not available, and they were higher-priority tasks. CONCLUSIONS: The tasks extracted are consistent with the framework of reproductive health provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Guideline of Educational Planning. However, considering the differences of problems in Iran comparing with other countries, the list is not exactly similar to any list prepared for other countries. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the results of this research in university curriculums.