{"title":"Explaining medical students’ perceptions of virtual assessment in the pandemic COVID-19: A content analysis study","authors":"Soleiman Ahmady, Amin Habibi, Esmat Radmanesh","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33081","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a significant challenge to education systems worldwide, disrupting traditional teaching and learning methods. This study aims to explore the perceptions of medical students at Abadan University of Medical Sciences regarding electronic assessment methods during the pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study utilized conventional content analysis and involved medical students in their second semester of 2021 who had chosen a unit during the pandemic. Results: Through the analysis process, the participants’ experiences were categorized into six main classes, which included the following: information technology infrastructure, teaching methods of teachers, design of virtual exam questions, monitoring of online exams, psychological issues, and types of virtual assessment. Conclusion: The medical students shared their experiences with virtual assessment during the pandemic, highlighting challenges related to internet infrastructure, communication issues between teachers and students, exam monitoring, psychological factors, reduced learning efficiency due to virtual summative assessment alone, and better learning efficiency through formative assessment alongside summative assessment. They also suggested improvements to online exams, such as increasing the number of questions on each page, allowing the possibility to return to previous questions, and ensuring non-randomness in clinical questions.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135943834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social health among Iranian medical students during COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Maryam Baradaran Binazir, Fariba Heidari","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33117","url":null,"abstract":"Background: It has been experienced that the COVID-19 pandemic affects students’ physical and psychological health as well as their mortality risk; therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to recognize that medical students’ social health is more important than ever before. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students at preclinical and clinical training levels. The population of the study included medical students of the faculty of medicine at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. We used the Raosoft sample size calculator. This study was conducted using an online Standardized questionnaire of \"Keyes’s Social Well-being\" and a demographic scale in the Persian language from the 5th to 29th of October, 2020. We applied the Mann-Whitney test to compare mean scores concerning gender, marital status, level of education, and residence. P value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The current study involved 242 female and 118 male medical students with average ages of 22.54 (SD=2.41) and 22.48 (SD=2.36) respectively. The majority of participants (294) were single; more than half of them (204) lived in the dormitory. The participants had an average social health score of 84.21 (SD=8.34), indicated a low level of social health in this study. Moreover, we found that social health score was associated with education level, residence, gender, and marital status (P<0.05). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to provide medical students with appropriate social health programs to improve their quality of life and increase their achievement.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135647538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"\"Assessments: Students’ Perspectives and Faculty’s Dilemmas\": An ethical consideration","authors":"Prerna Agarwal, Abhinav Singh, Sanya Walia, Ohm Singh, Nikhil Kamal, Bharti Bhandari Rathore","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33135","url":null,"abstract":"Dear Editor, Assessments are of great importance and an integral part of the teaching-learning process. In other words, they serve as a measure of the achievement of the intended objective. In this regard, they aim to inform students of areas where more effort needs to be made to enhance their performance. As a result, they contribute to deeper learning.1 Assessment results and analysis assist educators in further planning and implementing curriculum developments.2 A summative assessment also facilitates the selection of ‘suggestively’ suitable candidates for promotion and employment, etc., if applicable.3 Furthermore, assessments also help students indirectly by promoting self-discipline, time management, stress management, and an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. There are, however, some negative aspects associated with assessments for students. Students are more likely to feel stressed and anxious during assessments.4 Typically, assessments are scheduled for the entire class and are time-bound. There may be some students who are not prepared to take exams at that time. Or there may be other factors may contribute to the students’ poor performance. In either case, students may feel ashamed of their poor assessment results. It may be embarrassing for them to accept it when their peers’ scores are higher than theirs. It may be difficult for them to explain it to their parents or guardians, who may view their ward’s exam performance as a measure of righteousness. Frequent assessments multiply students’ problems. Their learning rhythm is disrupted, and the emphasis is shifted to assessment.5 It also creates a vicious cycle of inadequate preparation for exams and poor performance on the exam. Some students indeed think fewer assessments will result in better performance. Some students who cannot cope with stress6 may either resort to delinquent behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and anti-social behaviors, to seemingly overcome their humiliation while some of them may develop psychosomatic ailments, low self-esteem, depression, sleep disturbances, gastric peptic ulcer disease, etc. Students may even commit suicide in severe cases.7 In addition to students, assessments test the faculty as well. The faculty always strives to make assessments valid, objective, and unbiased. However, certain aspects of assessments are always difficult to address. There are challenges involved in planning, implementing, and interpreting assessment results at various levels for faculty and administrators. Each class or batch consists of a diverse group of students from varying backgrounds, circumstances, preferences, and abilities.8 Some of them learn fast. Some of them are slow to learn. Some of them may be good at writing or oral communication. It may not be comfortable for some to deal with either of them; though they may still have the required skill and knowledge. However, they have to be judged with the commonly accepted tools of assessme","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136378853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Motivation as an integral factor in English language learning for medical students","authors":"Mehrdad Nazarieh, Mozhdeh Delzendeh, Amin Beigzadeh","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33133","url":null,"abstract":"Dear Editor, Nowadays, there is a growing trend among university students to learn English as a medium to improve their educational and career prospects. Moreover, medical students are naturally enthusiastic to become physicians from the very beginning of their studies. Their academic pursuit as medical doctors accentuates their tendency toward learning English for several reasons. First and foremost, as a part of their academic studies, students are undeniably required to read English textbooks, references and articles from medical journals. Second, the desire to immigrate and study abroad, as well as perhaps become a faculty member, requires some medical students to take international English proficiency tests, such as the IELTS, TOEFL, and GRE.1 Last but not least, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for medical students is highly dependent on their command of English as a medium to gain a mastery over up-to-date, field-related technical and theoretical knowledge. Based on what has been discussed so far and the importance of learning English, what factors can affect the language learning process of medical students to achieve the desired outcomes? Evidence highlights some factors affecting the language learning process, including age, aptitude, attitude, learning style, personality, and motivation.2 In studying medicine, a high degree of motivation is imperative in the pursuit of medical education, as it is a crucial factor in achieving academic success, maintaining the intention to continue medical education, and fostering the development of a professional identity.3 Although there are different definitions for the term “motivation”, Motivation in language acquisition is the combination of effort, desire, and positive attitudes toward learning the language.4 There are four types of motivation in language learning, namely: instrumental motivation, integrative motivation, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation. While Instrumental motivation refers to learning a language for practical reasons, such as achieving a career or educational goal, integrative motivation involves learning a language to become part of a new culture or community. Furthermore, Intrinsic motivation is the desire to learn a language for personal fulfillment, enjoyment, or challenge. Finally, Extrinsic motivation is driven by external factors, such as rewards or pressures, including grades, praise, or avoiding negative consequences.5 Medicine is a crucial field of study that focuses on treating patients. To do so effectively, medical students must acquire essential related knowledge and skills, including history taking, physical examination, professionalism, communication, and clinical reasoning.6 These skills can be attained if medical students, as adult learners, are motivated by their internal drive to become competent doctors. In addition, medical students are responsible for their own education and ongoing learning. On the other hand, it appears that extern","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":"110 7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135303992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effectiveness of peer assisted learning in improving HIV knowledge, attitude, and perception among community health workers","authors":"Peigham Heidarpoor, Seyedehbeheshteh Mousavikashi","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33096","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Community health workers (CHWs) act as a bridge between community and clinical care in caring for HIV patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of peer education in improving HIV knowledge, attitude, and perception of CHWs in Babol, Iran in 2019. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study conducted among CHWs in the health centers of Babol, Iran. The city was divided into two areas of the North and the South according to the geographical map. Then, based on the list of the health centers in each of the areas, one health center was randomly selected and assigned to either the experimental or the control group. Results: Following peer education, all study variables including knowledge score, attitude, and perception about HIV-related issues significantly improved in the experimental group compared to the pre-intervention phase (P=0.002, P=0.02, and P=0.00 respectively). The most significant change was in misconception score with a approximately large effect size (0.78), presenting an increase of 95.53% from 15 to 29.33 after the intervention, while attitude and knowledge respectively presented 85.04% and 81.07% increase with a smaller effect size of 0.57 and 0.52. Conclusion: In the study peer education proved to be an effective strategy in improving the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of CHWs concerning HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the peer-to-peer training model can fill a critical gap in the training of CHW based on the idea that not only do the CHWs themselves need to enhance their knowledge of related topics but they also need to train others. In turn, this will result in providing cost-effective health promotion and prevention services in a more culturally appropriate manner.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49329213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Akbar Javan Biparva, Hamed Baghayi, Shahriar Peyghani Asl, Rahim Khodayari Zarnagh
{"title":"Comparison of the results of developing standards for health promotion hospitals in public and private medical centers","authors":"Akbar Javan Biparva, Hamed Baghayi, Shahriar Peyghani Asl, Rahim Khodayari Zarnagh","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33090","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Developing standards for Health Promotion Hospitals (HPH) plays a crucial role in hospital accreditation. This study aimed to compare the development of HPH standards in public and private hospitals in Tabriz, Iran in 2021. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate all public and private hospitals in the city. Data were collected using observation and interviews through a valid and reliable HPH checklist. Data were analyzed using t test. Results: The study found that the standards for patients’ data and interventions (77.38%), continuity in treatment and cooperation (69.38%), management policy (61.92%), patient evaluation (60.76%), and providing a healthy workplace (42.7%) had the highest scores, respectively. Private hospitals scored higher than public hospitals in all dimensions. There was a significant difference between public and private hospitals regarding the total score (P=0.001), management policy(P=0.01), patient information and interventions(P=0.003), and continuity in treatment and cooperation (P=0.002). Conclusion: The competitive atmosphere among private hospitals appears to have improved their status in HPP, while public hospitals were less concerned with competition and improving their performance in this field. Additionally, ignoring human resource management policies has made the managers of all hospitals feel the need for further upgrading in terms of standards for promoting a healthy work setting.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43076696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Academic stress and stress coping style in nursing undergraduates: Predictors of academic performance in a public tertiary institution in Nigeria","authors":"Yahaya Jafaru, E. Afolabi","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33074","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The students’ ability to withstand the effect of stress is significantly determined by their coping ability. Their inability to cope effectively with stress may lead to low academic performance. This study aimed to investigate academic pressure and coping style as predictors of the academic performance of nursing undergraduates. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive research design. The target population was nursing undergraduates at the Federal University of Birnin-Kebbi. A sample size of 118 was selected as respondents. Data were collected and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 26. Frequencies and percentages, Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple linear regression were used in data analysis. Results: The respondents’ mean age was 25.09 (SD=4.53). Females were 55.9%. There was a weak negative correlation between cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and mean academic stress (AS) (r=-0.141, P=0.065), a weak positive correlation between CGPA and mean stress coping style (SCS) (r=0.237, P=0.005), and a weak positive correlation between mean AS and mean SCS was 0.008 (P=0.466). Mean AS was not a significant predictor of academic performance t (115)=-1.589, P=0.115. Mean SCS was a significant predictor of academic performance t (115)=2.656, P=0.009. Conclusion: The mean AS was not a significant predictor of academic performance. However, the mean SCS was a significant predictor of academic performance with a positive and significant correlation.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49414301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tayebeh Khajeh, Alireza Isfandyari Moghaddam, Behrooz Bayat, F. Doroudi
{"title":"Correction: Factors affecting health information resources in central libraries at Iranian universities of medical sciences","authors":"Tayebeh Khajeh, Alireza Isfandyari Moghaddam, Behrooz Bayat, F. Doroudi","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33139","url":null,"abstract":"This corrects the article \"Factors affecting health information resources in central libraries at Iranian universities of medical sciences\" published in 2022: Volume 11, page 18 (doi: 10.34172/ rdme.2022.018). The first affiliation in the original version has not been written in the correct format. This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the article.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139359720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Abbaszadeh, Tavakkol Aghayari Hir, M. Jabraeili, E. Mohammadpour
{"title":"The impact of organizational education on nurses’ career resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"M. Abbaszadeh, Tavakkol Aghayari Hir, M. Jabraeili, E. Mohammadpour","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33107","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The current study was conducted to explore the level of career resilience among nurses working in medical centers affiliated with the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, and examine whether organizational education and other characteristics, such as background variables, have any effect on that resilience. This is of particular importance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in nurses playing a more prominent role than other medical staff when dealing with infected patients and consequentially experiencing a greater impact on their career resilience. Methods: This research study was a descriptive correlational design using a stratified sampling technique. A total of 351 participants, all nurses from medical education centers affiliated with the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, were selected. Questionnaires covering career resilience, organizational education, and demographic items were used to collect the data. SPSS 22 was used to carry out the analyses, including t-tests, Pearson correlations, and linear regression tests. Results: The results showed that nurses had an average career resilience score of 56.4 out of a possible 100 with an average organizational education score of 48.6. Bivariate relationships revealed statistically significant associations between career resilience and organizational education (P<0.001), years of employment (P<0.001), and education level (P<0.05). Although there was no statistically significant relationship between career resilience and sex in the bivariate analysis, sex was found to be significant in the multivariable analysis (P<0.05). Conclusion: Organizational education is essential for nurses to maintain career resilience. To that end, hospitals and medical education centers should offer regular programs centered on enhancing career resilience and helping nurses manage job-related stress.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41736477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Nemati, Rahim Badri Gargari, S. Vahedi, Mir Hashem Mirkazempour
{"title":"Mindfulness-based resilience training on the psychological well-being of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"S. Nemati, Rahim Badri Gargari, S. Vahedi, Mir Hashem Mirkazempour","doi":"10.34172/rdme.2023.33099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34172/rdme.2023.33099","url":null,"abstract":"Background: In recent years, research has witnessed an exciting change toward well-being and health instead of emphasizing disorders and inefficiency. The current study aimed to assess the effect of a mindfulness-based resilience training program on the psychological well-being of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The current study was quasi-experimental with a control group and a pre/post design. A sample of 30 students was randomly selected from a community of medical students at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in the academic year 2021-2022. These students were randomly divided into two groups of 15 participants. The tools used in this research included Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Questionnaire (PWB-18) and an integrated training program for resilience and mindfulness. Results: The findings showed an integrated training program of resilience and mindfulness positively affected students’ psychological well-being. In addition, this intervention was able to explain 59% of the combined variance of psychological well-being variables. Conclusion: The results of the current study found that an integrated training program of resilience and mindfulness can improve individuals’ psychological well-being during a difficult situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":21087,"journal":{"name":"Research and Development in Medical Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46826192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}