An Investigation of Medical Students’ Satisfaction with the Quality of E-learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Universities’ sudden exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to maintain social distancing have prompted universities to reconsider their traditional roles in the teaching-learning process and to create a new organizational structure for this process. The result of this reorganization is the development of a new teaching system framework known as e-learning. Although this type of education could lay the foundation for all learners to enhance the quality of education, expand learning opportunities, and receive education conveniently and quickly, students’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction plays a key role in the current competitive and turbulent environment. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the satisfaction of medical students with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The sample population of this study included the students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran. Via convenience sampling, 240 medical students were selected. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire to assess the students' satisfaction with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was distributed and collected after confirming its validity and reliability. Results: The mean satisfaction of the medical students with e-learning was moderate. The highest mean satisfaction of the students’ with the desirability of the e-learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed in the dimension of satisfaction with the quality of educational facilities and equipment, followed by the dimensions of the quality of professors and teaching time, quality of professors’ lesson plan, quality of the educational atmosphere and assessment of academic achievement, and the quality of professors' teaching methods. Conclusions: Although the students’ satisfaction with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was not very high, their moderate satisfaction and prioritizing their satisfaction based on the quality of classrooms and equipment, as well as the quality of professors and teaching time, indicated that universities should provide the required facilities to improve the quality of e-learning and take appropriate measures to enable professors to implement virtual classrooms and e-learning properly.

Determinants of Equal Access to Higher Health Education Opportunities in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background: Today, the health higher education system has a privileged position in maintaining, rebuilding, producing, and creating new knowledge and responsibilities in medical universities. Solving these problems requires adopting a scientific and research approach in order to provide fair conditions and equal educational opportunities. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the determinants of equal access to higher health education opportunities in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated contextual, input, process, and output indicators. Samples included the documents and statistics of seven schools of KUMS and 358 students of these schools in the academic year 2020 - 2021. Census sampling was used for the documents, and relative stratified random sampling was applied for the descriptive sections. Data analysis was performed in SPSS using TOPSIS and multiple linear regression models in a stepwise manner. Results: The independent variables were significant regarding the variable of inequality in educational opportunities among the medical students of KUMS (F = 590.11; P < 0.001). The variables of the model explained 99.7% of the variance of the dependent variable, indicating inequality between the KUMS medical schools in terms of the studied indicators. Conclusions: Government policies should be focused on the development of educational equality in medical sciences on all levels of health, education, and technological developments. Our findings indicated differences between the medical schools of KUMS in terms of educational indicators and the location of the schools in less privileged, semi-privileged, and privileged areas.

Sequence Graphics to Impart Drawing Skills in an Upper Extremity Anatomy Course

Background: Sequence graphics could be used to address the lacunae of drawing skill development in medical undergraduates. Objectives: The present study aimed to use sequence graphics to evaluate medical undergraduates in terms of drawing moderately complex diagrams. Methods: This pilot study was conducted on six medical students, and four moderately complex diagrams were evaluated regarding the usefulness of sequence graphics. Core and accessory components were identified before asking the students to draw the diagram. In a conventional drawing exercise, the students were asked to draw four diagrams consecutively during the dissection hour. On the next day, videos of sequence graphics were projected on the screen, and the students were asked to draw the diagrams simultaneously. Results: While using the conventional drawing method, the students took significantly more time to complete the diagram, the outcomes were not uniform, and several missing core and accessory components were detected. Using sequence graphics, all the students traced the diagrams in tandem with the projected videos. The videos would be paused and replayed an average of six times each; the mean duration of the videos was 95 seconds. The students started and ended the drawing at the same time, and immediate feedback revealed that they all agreed that sequence graphics could impart better drawing skills, thereby leading to the ease of drawing the diagrams. Conclusions: According to the results, sequence graphics resulted in uniform, centered, labelled, large diagrams with defined core and accessory components drawn in lesser time compared to conventional drawing.

The Quality of Evidence-Based Morning Reports with an Interactive and Consultative Approach in the Viewpoint of Clinical Faculties and Residents: A Qualitative Study

Background: 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. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the quality of evidence-based morning reports using an interactive and consultative approach. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.

User Experience of NAVID E-learning System in the School of Nutrition and Food Technology of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran (2020)

Background: 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. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the quality of NAVID system as an e-learning system used in Iranian medical universities. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: According to the results, NAVID e-learning system should be improved in all the areas of user experience.

The Influential Factors in Students' Satisfaction with Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran (2015 - 2016)

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

Challenges of Virtual Medical Sciences Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Context: 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. Objectives: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.

Characteristics of the Internal Evaluations of the Educational Groups in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

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