Comparative Study of the Performance Appraisal Systems for Academic Members’ Performance Appraisal Systems in the Various Universities in around the World According to the Diagnostic Model: A Qualitative Research

Background & Objective: Reviewing the kinds of performance evaluation systems for academic members applying by different universities is one of the most important approaches to develop one. Therefore, as part of a broader research aimed to provide a performance evaluation model, we attempted to compare the performance evaluation systems of some universities around the world. Methods: This study was performed through a qualitative content analysis method with the theoretical approach based on the Performance Appraisal Diagnostic Model (Wolf, 2003). The study population included all universities of the five continents. The universities that had their performance evaluation systems in English in their websites were chosen as sample group. A search was also conducted with the determined keywords through the search engines. The faculty performance evaluation systems of 19 universities were chosen from the continents: America (10), Europe (3), Oceania (2), Africa (3) and Asia (one in Turkey). Results: The philosophies of all the reviewed performance evaluation systems were performance recognition, continuous development, identifying performance barriers and individual development needs. These systems were related to the systems of payment, compensation, recruiting, and performance development. The effectiveness of a faculty member was characterized by his/her performance indicators in line with the mission of organization in education, scholarship, and clerical area. There was a combination of the trait-, behavior- and result-based systems with different weights according to organizational and professional positions. The quantitative and qualitative data were gathered by different measures from multiple sources. Conclusion: Considering the findings, the reviewed performance evaluation systems for academic members have important issues according to the Wolf’s diagnostic model. Keywords Performance Appraisal Faculty member Qualitative stud

The Effect of Teaching Nurse-patient Communication through Role-play Method on Nursing Students’ Caring Behaviors: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Introduction: Student-centered methods can improve nursing clinical education. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of teaching nurse-patient communication through role-play method on nursing students’ caring behaviors. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out in Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Four experimental groups (n=32) and four control groups (n=32) were randomly selected from 15 training groups. The experimental group received patient-nurse communication skills by means of role-play method. Demographic information questionnaire, communication skills checklist and Wolf’s caring behaviors questionnaires were completed before and after the training course. Data were analyzed by means of independent t-test, paired t-test and ANCOVA at 95% confidence level. Results: At the beginning of the study, mean scores of caring behaviors and communication skills were 83.47±23.56 (total=220) and 3.87±1.86 (total=31) respectively in the control group and 77.87±29.34 and 4.78±2.37in the experimental group and were not significantly different (p>0.05). After the intervention, however, the mean scores of caring behaviors (172.28±15.14) and communication skills (26.22±2.86) in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Results indicated that implementation of role-play method improved the communication skills at the beginning of, during and after the communication and the caring behaviors among MSc nursing students

Performance Evaluation of Nursing Faculty Members: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Performance evaluation (PE) of nurse faculty members is complicated and difficult but seems necessary. Deans of the faculties, their educational assistants, and faculty member nurses are responsible for planning, performing, and revising evaluation. Finding their common views in developing PE is of special importance. The aim of this study was to elucidate and describe PE of nurse faculty members. Methods: In this qualitative study, the required data was gathered through two methods of semi-structured interview with experts and examining the existing policies, procedures, and evaluation documents. Totally, the contents of 22 individual interviews and 26 series of subject materials went under qualitative content analysis using arbitrary approach. Purposive sampling and census methods were used for selecting the interviewees and evaluation documents, respectively. Results: Participants had a wide-ranging perspective toward the PE of faculty member nurses. Having the analysis done, these perspectives and the content of the existing documents were placed in three major themes: individual qualifications of faculty member, performance process, and practice outcome. The items which were not in the concept of PE but had an effect on it were categorized as organizational factors. Conclusion: Findings of the current study confirms the suggestions of the experts, who agree a combination of individual attributes, behavior, and result-based systems for PE. But, it considers the qualifications of faculty members which are improvable and modifiable instead of individual attributes. Besides, paying attention to some organizational factors which affect PE is a matter of importanc

A comparative study of academic members� and students� perspectives of the formative evaluation by quiz test

Background: The quiz is one of the most commonly formative evaluations to attaining the educational goals. This study aimed to compare the academic members� and students� perspectives about the formative evaluation by quiz and provide feedback to improve learning at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this survey, 27 teachers and 180 students were included by convenience sampling. In order to achieve specific goals, a self-report questionnaire was developed according to the literature. The questionnaire contained three parts: a- demographic characteristic (7 items) for both students and teachers, b- 25 items to determine the participants views about the quiz characteristics as how to organize (9 items), holding time (4 questions), feedback (6 questions), better strategies to organize (4 questions), and c- 18 questions on a Likert scale to determine their attitude. Content and face validity of the instrument were approved by the faculty members and its Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.85. Data collected were analyzed by 16-Spss software.Results: This study showed that the view of teachers and students were similar in the most items, however, in some cases, significant differences were obtained. The mean scores of the attitudes indicated the positive attitudes of teachers and students, the Mann-Whitney test (with P=0.59) did not show significant differences between two groups. Conclusion: In attention to the research findings on the quiz characteristics and particularly the participants� positive attitudes to quiz, it can be said that the quiz should be considered as a simple and economic formative evaluation in medical education

The Effects of Teaching the Communication Skills to Patients Through Role-Playing Method on Nursing Students\' Self-Efficacy

Introduction: Teaching the professional communication skills can be effective in developing the learners’ self-efficacy. In the patients' training with communication skills, the active and student-centered learning methods, such as role-playing, are emphasized. Therefore, this study was run to determine the effects of applying the role-playing method to communication education on the self-efficacy and communication skills of nursing students.   Methods: This controlled before-after quasi-experimental study was conducted in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Out of 15 student groups, four groups were randomly assigned to the role-playing (n=32) and four groups to the routine (n=32). Sherer's self-efficacy questionnaire was completed by students at the beginning and end of clinical education. Patient-nurse communication program training through role-playing method was implemented during the interval period. Data analysis was run using SPSS16 by statistical tests at 95% confidence level.   Results: Students in the role-playing group were compared to the conventional group in terms of the individual characteristics (P >0.05). At the baseline, the control group had higher self-efficacy than those in the role-playing group (P<0.05). But after the intervention, analysis of covariance showed that the significant progress was only made in the role-playing students' self-efficacy compared to the control group when baseline score differences were controlled (P<0.001).   Conclusion: Using an active role-playing method can lead to self-efficacy of undergraduate nursing students in comparison with the traditional method

The Effect of Training the Nine Enneagram Personality Types on Spouse Selection Criteria and Marital Attitude of Single Girls

Background and Objectives: The foundation of any society is built upon marriage and starting a family. However, marriage is a complex and challenging issue, success in which is hinged upon various factors such as attitude towards marriage. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of training the 9 Enneagram personality types on spouse selection criteria and attitude towards marriage in single grils. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and control group was performed on all the third-grade high school female students in the District 14 of Tehran, Iran, during 2015-16 academic calendar. The subjects were selected through multistage cluster sampling from two schools in the mentioned district. A total of 30 students were selected and randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The data collection tools consisted Preference Criteria of Spouse Selection Inventory (PCSSI) and Marital Attitude Scale (MAS). The intervention group received ten 90-minute sessions (once a week). To analyze the data, analysis of covariance was run in SPSS, version 22. Results: After the intervention, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of overall attitude and cynical attitude towards marriage and the general, procedural, and content spouse selection criteria (P0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, training the 9 Enneagram personality types was effective in marital attitude and spouse selection criteria of girls

The Effect of Informational Support on Satisfaction of Family Caregivers of Patients with Hemiplegic Stroke from Receiving Information

Introduction: Satisfaction of patients’ families is one of the criteria for assessing the quality of nurses’ performance. Considering the low satisfaction of stroke patient’s families in received information, the present study was done to determine effect of informational support on satisfaction of family caregivers of patients with hemiplegic stroke from received Information. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 78 family caregivers of patients with hemiplegic stroke admitted to the neurology department of Farshchian (Sina) Hospital of Hamadan (2017), were selected by Convenience sampling, and were divided continuously into two groups: control (n=38) and intervention (n=40). The research intervention was conducted from third to eleventh day of hospitalization. Information was provided about the department, equipment, patient status, home care individually and as a group method. The control group received routine care. Satisfaction of family caregivers was measured before and after the intervention in both groups. The data collecting tool was a questionnaire of demographic characteristics of the caregiver and patient, a researcher-made questionnaire to assess the satisfaction analyzing the received information. Data were analyzed using SPSS16. Results: Groups were similar in terms of demographic variables. There was a significant difference between before (79.15±21) and after (121.4±9.93) intervention at satisfaction scores in intervention group, and between the two groups (intervention and control) after intervention (P<0.001). Conclusion: Informational support is effective on increasing the satisfaction of family caregivers of patients with stroke. Therefore, informational support is recommended as an important nursing intervention

Relationship between Spiritual Health, Burn Pain Anxiety, and Resilience in Burn Patients

Background and Objective: Burn pain during therapeutic procedures causes anxiety in patients. Spiritual health and resilience are factors affecting anxiety. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between spiritual health with resilience and wound pain anxiety in burn patients. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 213 patients were selected by random sampling method. Demographic information, Polotzin and Ellison's spiritual health questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Burns Specific Pain Anxiety Scale were used to collect data. T-tests and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the collected data. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 21). Results: The findings showed that most patients were male (62.91%) with an average age of 38.21 ± 12.72. The average scores of spiritual health, wound pain anxiety, and resilience were 73.63 ± 21.20, 52.83 ± 16.18, and 58.24 ± 13.51, respectively. Although a significant relationship was found between spiritual health and resilience and between resilience and wound pain anxiety, no significant relationship was seen between spiritual health and wound pain anxiety. Conclusion: Burn patients suffer a lot of pain during procedures such as dressings. Considering the relationship between spiritual health, burn pain anxiety and resilience, educational workshops are suggested to increase spiritual health, resilience and better tolerance during hospitalization

The Positive Effects of Zinc Supplements on the Improvement of Primary Dysmenorrhea and Premenstrual Symptoms: A Double-blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background & aim:Primary dysmenorrhea can be relieved via some medical and non-medical approaches. In this regard, the probable therapeutic role of zinc supplements has been recently emphasized. The present study was conducted to determine the positive effects of zinc supplements on relieving primary dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms. Methods:The present double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 66 students at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Students with the experience of primary dysmenorrhea in at least the last three menstrual cycles (ranging between 21 and 35 days) were included in the study. The participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received oral zinc supplements (50 mg) twice daily for four days before the onset of menstruation and the control group received placebo. For data analysis, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, ANOVA and Wilcoxon test were performed (95% CI). Results: The intervention led to a decrease in the severity of dysmenorrhea and menstrual bleeding in the experimental group, unlike the control group. The experimental group experienced a lower frequency of some premenstrual symptoms such as headache, vertigo, muscular pain, disability in performing daily activities and general weakness; however, these changes were insignificant in the control group. Lower rates of medicine use for improving dysmenorrhea and its side-effects were reported in the experimental group, compared to the control group. Moreover, the experimental group had a lower tendency to use thermotherapy. Conclusion: The intake of zinc supplements at therapeutic doses could effectively reduce the severity of dysmenorrhea, improve menstrual bleeding and premenstrual symptoms and prevent other premenstrual symptoms

Relationship between Moral Distress and Moral Courage in Nurses Working in Selected Hospitals of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Background and Objective: Moral distress is a harmful factor in nursing and nursing care. Ethical courage helps nurses to perform nursing care. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between moral distress and moral courage of nurses working in selected hospitals of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 204 nurses working in selected educational hospitals by random sampling method. Data were collected by the self-report method using a demographic checklist, as well as Corelli Moral Distress and Sekerka Moral Courage questionnaires. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21) using independent t-test, ANOVA, and regression analysis. A P≤0.050 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results demonstrated that the majority of nurses were male (55.40%) with a mean age of 41.96±9.53 years, working in the emergency department (43.20%), with 5-10 years of work experience (51.38%), and contract employment (57.45%). Moral distress was significantly correlated with gender, place of service, and work experience; moreover, moral courage and age were significantly associated (P≤0.050). Nevertheless, no significant relationship was detected between moral distress and the type of employment. Moral courage was not correlated with the type of employment, work experience, gender, and place of service (P≥0.050). There was a significant negative relationship between moral distress and moral courage (R=-0.863, P≤0.050). The results of the adjusted regression model illustrated that with each unit increase in the moral distress score, the moral courage score decreases by 0.33. This relationship was statistically significant (β=-.033, P<0.001). The mean scores of moral distress and moral courage were 57.61±3.32 and 36.92±2.46, respectively. Conclusion: Since there is a significant negative relationship between moral distress and moral courage, it is recommended to hold moral motivation workshops to reduce moral distress and increase moral courage for nurses