Medical school department chair performance improvement: A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: In medical education, department chairs should play a significant role. The present qualitative study was conducted to identify factors that influence the performance improvement of department chairs at medical schools in Iran. METHODS: The study was conducted in Iran in 2022 and used a thematic analysis method. Using a purposeful sampling method, 20 participants were invited to participate, including medical school deans and department chairs. Focus group discussion (FGD) was used for qualitative data gathering. Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis was used to analyze data. RESULTS: There were 18 males and 2 females among the participants. The mean age of the participants was 45±4 years. Five overarching themes were formulated: human resource management, organizational behavior management, performance support system, leadership, and financial resources. Also, nine subthemes emerged, including performance evaluation, job and work design, educational and non-educational support, motivational efforts, organization culture, organizational knowledge management, planning for change, and financing. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found factors influencing DC performance improvement. Department chairs' effective performance may have a positive impact on department operations, processes, or outcomes.

Medical students' perceptions towards distance e-Learning in gynecology ward during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused serious public health problems and compromised the health of individuals and communities. This study aimed to evaluate a Distance e-Learning from the perspective of medical students in the Gynecology ward during the COVID-19 Pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Iran University of Medical from the September 2020 to September 2021. The study sample included 130 medical students who participated in distance training courses in the gynecology ward during the COVID-19 pandemic. All medical students were included for the study. Medical students (externs and interns), who received Distance eLearning in the gynecology ward during the study, were included. The self-administered questionnaire was used in this study. Questionnaires was developed through literature review and consultation with gynecology and eLearning experts. Face and content validity was established by eight experts. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The questionnaire was sent to 170 medical students. Of the 130 respondents 65% were female and 35% were male. There were 57 (43.8%) externs and 73 (56.2) interns. Most students agreed that mobile devices increase their learning and home is the preferred place for participation in DE. Most students (66.9%) either strongly disagreed or disagreed that Distance e-Learning was an appropriate method for learning basic clinical skills.72.3% of respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed that Distance e-Learning provided them an opportunity to practice clinical skills effectively. Most medical students (69.3%) strongly agreed or agreed that Distance e-Learning created more opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge directly to medical practice. DISCUSSION: The results of the online survey suggest that medical students have found both positive and negative aspects of clinical learning by DEL format in Gynecology ward.

Outstanding qualities of a successful role model in medical education: Students and professors' points of view.

Introduction: Role models play a crucial role in determining the professional development of medical trainees. The purpose of this study was to gain in-depth understanding of the outstanding qualities of successful role models. Material and methods: In this qualitative-descriptive study, data were collected through conducting interviews, and the inductive content analysis was performed. The study was done at the school of medicine of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Twenty-five medical students, medical graduates, and faculty members participated in 25 interviews from April to December 2019. The participants were recruited via purposive sampling. Results: five categories and 13 subcategories were extracted from the data. The results of this study illustrated five crucial qualities of a good clinical role model including an excellent character, effective coach and mentor, inspiring medical leader, expert clinical teacher, and a professional physician. Our results also highlighted the lasting effects of positive role modeling of clinical teachers on medical trainees' professional careers. Another category in the present study was connected to future consequences of being a role model in a clinical setting. Conclusion: The result of this study illustrated crucial qualities of a good medical role model. This result can assist the leaders to engage with medical educators to better understand the process of role modeling and design the best plan for development of role modeling in medical education.

An interesting result of a qualitative research: Academic exhaustion barrier to professionalism in medical students.

INTRODUCTION: Professionalism is an important measure of the efficacy of the medical education. Some studies showed that dominant values changed during clinical education, and some negative values might replace positive ones. In this regard, this study aimed to explore barrier to professionalism in clinical medical education. METHODS: This was a qualitative study conducted with the content analysis method. A total of 34 interviews with 23 participants were done. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-eight original codes were extracted from the research data, which were classified under the theme of "Academic Exhaustion" and the four following categories: "stressful environment, "human conflict," "Poor Inter professional collaboration," and "emotional exhaustion." DISCUSSION: It can be admitted that having full knowledge of the factors influencing professionalism from the viewpoint of stakeholders can improve the environmental and organizational conditions to prevent professional misconduct.

A framework for participatory selection of the school dean: Report of an experience.

INTRODUCTION: Selection of the managers and leaders is a major concern of leading organizations. Recruitment of the qualified individuals in an educational organization depends on effective selection techniques. The present study reports the experience of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in designing a framework for selection of school dean. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, a literature review was conducted to identify the common frameworks for the selection of deans in academic environment. Then, the perceptions of key stakeholders were collected via focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was used to categorize participants' comments. Following, an institutional guideline for selection of school dean was developed based on the derived themes and subthemes by a task force and approved by the board of directors. RESULTS: Three themes and nine subthemes were extracted, resulting in the selection framework for the school dean at TUMS with three phases of preparation, selection, and appointment. The preparation phase includes organizational needs analysis, designing the selection strategy and determining the eligibility of nominee. In the selection phases, various methods such as personal resume, interview, and consultation with beneficiaries were recommended, and the appointment phase includes formal appointment of the selected nominee by the university chancellor. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a framework for selection of school dean at TUMS. It recognizes the process that top managers would look out when selecting school deans. The framework may result to choose the proper individuals who have suitable plans and stronger Curriculum Vitae, while involving key stakeholders and collecting wisdom.

A comparative study on the function and structure of medical development education office in world's top universities.

PURPOSE: It is essential to adjust the responsibilities and function of medical education offices (MEOs) in regard to the current societal requirements. Therefore, it is a good idea to learn lessons from the experiences about the establishment and function of these offices around the world. The aim of the present study was to carry out a comparative study to investigate the function and structure of MEOs at some of the medical universities from America, Europe, and Asia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This is a comparative, descriptive study that was conducted in 2015. Eleven offices around the world (in America, Europe, and Asia) were selected for the study. Expert group discussion and literature review were used in order to select research sample. The data were gathered using self-constructed checklists. Content and face validity of the checklist was assessed by gathering feedback from experts. The Kappa coefficient was used to determine the inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: All the 11 offices in our study (100%) dealt with the issues of faculty development and research and scholarship activities. Only one out of the 11 offices (27%) dealt with the issues of society and patient education. Five out of the 11 offices (36%) dealt with the continuing medical education and continuing professional development. Consultation services are provided at seven of the 11 offices (64%). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed both commonalities and differences in the function and structure of MEO among the 11 offices we examined. Based on this study, effective goals and strategies for MEO can be recommended.

Evaluating validity of current criteria for judgment passing ER rotation among internee medical students.

BACKGROUND: Passing the emergency medicine internship is an essential process for all graduates of medical schools. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate validity of current criteria for judgment passing ER rotation among internee medical students. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 200 students in the emergency departments (ED) of the teaching hospitals at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) were included. The data were gathered using by a valid self-assessment questionnaire including demographic information and 12-items about the students' level of confidence with the skills and procedures under study. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS (version 22). RESULTS: 200 medical students participated in this study. A Univariate analysis showed a significant correlation between successfuly completions of training in emergency medicine (passing emergency medicine in past rotations) with some items in self-assessment questionnaire same as knowledge of interns in managing emergency situations (p = 0.009). The Spearman test demonstrated a significant correlation between the duration of emergency training (number of months which interns spent on the emergency training) with the some items in self-assessment questionnaire same as importance of emergency medicine training (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: According to association between successfully completions of training in emergency medicine and self-assessment questionnaire, it seems current criteria for judgment passing emergency medicine rotation is valid as well as we recommended using self-assessment for evaluating validity of such testes.

Self- directed learning barriers in a virtual environment: a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: There is a growing trend in online education courses in higher education institutes. Previous studies have shown that high levels of self-direction are essential for successful online learning. The present study aims to investigate challenges of and barriers to self-directed virtual-learning among postgraduate students of medical sciences. METHOD: 23 postgraduate virtual students of medical sciences in Iran, collected through maximum variation purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews, served as the sample of this study. The collected data were analyzed using the inductive content analysis method. RESULTS: Three themes and six sub-themes were identified as barriers to self-directed learning in virtual education, including cognitive barriers (information overload and lack of focus on learning or mind wondering), communication barriers (inadequate coping skills and inadequate writing skills) and educational environment barriers (heavy workload and role ambiguity). CONCLUSION: By the importance of self-direction in online education, the present study results can be used by virtual education planners in the review and design of courses, so as to adequately equip students, obviate barriers to self-directed virtual education, and ultimately train highly self-directed learners in online medical education.

Determining the Criteria and Their Weights for Medical Schools' Ranking: A National Consensus.

Delphi as a consensus development technique enables anonymous, systematic refinement of expert opinion with the aim of arriving at a combined or consensual position. In this study, we determined the criteria and their weights for Iranian Medical Schools' ranking through a Delphi process. An expert committee devised 13 proposed criteria with 32 indicators with their weights, which were arranged hierarchically in the form of a tree diagram. We used the Delphi technique to reach a consensus on these criteria and weights among the deans of 38 public Iranian medical schools. For this purpose, we devised and sent a questionnaire to schools and asked them to suggest or correct the criteria and their weights. We repeated this process in two rounds till all the schools reached an acceptable consensus on them. All schools reached a consensus on the set of 13 criteria and 30 indicators and their weights in three main contexts of education, research and facilities, and equipment which were used for Medical Schools' ranking. Using Delphi technique for devising the criteria and their weights in evaluation processes such as ranking makes their results more acceptable among universities.