A Study on the Quality of Study Skills of Newly-admitted Students of Fasa Medical University, 2012

Introduction: Some students attribute their academic failure to such factors as low aptitude, unavailability of resources, and bad luck. However, we can dare to say that the most important factor playing a role in academic success is students’ little acquaintance with learning and study skills. This study aimed at examining the quality of study skills in newly-admitted students of Fasa Medical University so that the results can be used in holding teaching courses in study skills. Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sampling was done of all the newly-admitted students in the first semester of 2012 academic year including 94 students of Medicine, Nursing and Laboratory Technology. The data were collected through a questionnaire, consisting of two parts. The first part included items on demographic information of the subjects (such as sex, field of study, number of hours dedicated to studying, student’s rank in Konkour, and the National University entrance exam. The second part was composed of 19 special items on such domains as ‘Time management’, ‘Concentration’, ‘Class note-taking’, ‘Studying’ and ‘Taking exams’ with 4, 5, 4, 3, 3 items, respectively. The checklists were filled in using Likert scale. The collected data was then analyzed using an SPSS 14, through which descriptive statistics as mean, standard deviation and multiple regressions were obtained. Moreover, the data were analyzed using Independent Sample t and ANOVA tests. Results: The results showed that the range of the students’ study skills was 2.35, being rather below the normal level; the highest mean belonged to ‘concentration’(2.56), but the lowest mean was that of ‘time management’ (2.05). Through ANOVA test, it was also shown that there was no significant difference between the students of Medicine, Nursing and Laboratory Sciences regarding their scores on ‘study skills’ as (p=0.646). In addition, through independent sample t-test, it was shown that there was no significant difference between the subjects’ ‘sex’ and ‘study skills’ as the p-value was 0.584. On the other hand, through multiple regressions, the results indicated that there was a significant difference between ‘Taking exams’ and ‘Studying’ (p=0.003), between ‘Class note-taking’ and ‘‘Taking exams’ (p=0.004), between ‘Concentration’ and ‘Taking exams’ (p=0.002), and between ‘Time management’ and ‘Taking exams’ (p=0.001). Conclusion: Regarding the very important role of study skills in learning, it is recommended that ‘study skills’ and ‘study habits’ courses be included in the students’ curriculum formally or implemented as workshops for students

Qualitative evaluation of general practitioner training program as viewed by graduates from Shiraz, Fasa and Jahrom Medical Universities

Introduction: The majority of countries have brought the quality of higher education into focus in the past few years. They have tried to improve the quality of their own higher education. The studies show that Iranian Universities are not at an accepted level in terms of quality. They have encountered several problems which have diminished their quality level. This study aimed at assessing the quality of medical education program as viewed by general practitioners graduated from Shiraz, Fasa and Jahrom Medical Universities. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. 215 subjects were selected based on a census of all the general practitioners graduated from Shiraz, Fasa and Jahrom Universities during 2011- 2013. The questionnaire used for collecting the data was that of the Association of Graduates from American Medical Colleges. The collected data were then analyzed using SPSS 14 through which such descriptive and bivariate statistics as percentage, means, Standard Deviation and ANOVA were used. The level of significance was set to 0.05. Results: The questionnaire return rate was 97%. As to the graduates’ preclinical experiences, five indices were studied which were assessed as “average” in graduates’ views. However, with respect to their clinical experiences five indices were equally studied, among which such indices as “Communication” were evaluated as “desirable” in view of the graduates from the very three universities. On the contrary, the quality of clinical experiences and technological skills was evaluated as “almost weak”; furthermore, the integration of basic science with required clinical experience was also considered “weak”. Conclusion: It seems essential to set up an annual assessment of general practitioner education program and a review of the medical education program in Iran based on the global medical advancement and international standards

Radioprotective Effect of Melatonin in Reducing Oxidative Stress in Rat Lenses

Objective: Ocular morbidity is widely observed when radiotherapy includes the orbit.Oxidative stress generated by irradiation is responsible for this complication. In differentstudies, it has been shown that melatonin has antioxidative properties and a radioprotectiverole. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant role of melatonin againstradiation-induced oxidative injury in rats' lenses after total cranial irradiation.Materials and Methods: Thirty-six adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided intosix groups. Group I was the control group, group II only received total cranial gamma irradiationof 5 Gy, group III was exposed as the second group but at the dose of 8 Gy, groupIV received 30 mg/kg melatonin 30 minutes prior to radiation plus total cranial irradiationof 5 Gy plus 5 mg/kg melatonin daily through intraperitoneal injection for ten days afterirradiation, group V was treated similar to the fourth group, i.e. received irradiation plusmelatonin, but at the dose of 8 Gy, and group VI only received melatonin (30 mg/kg onthe first day and 5 mg/kg on the following days). Ten days after irradiation, all rats weresacrificed and their eyes were enucleated to measure the biochemical parameters i.e.malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH).Results: The levels of MDA in rat lenses increased and the levels of glutathione in lensesdecreased after gamma ray irradiation but these parameters were still within normal limitsin rats that received melatonin.Conclusion: It could be concluded that melatonin is useful in preventing radiation-inducedoxidative injury due to its antioxidative and free radical scavenging properties