A Qualitative Inquiry into Nursing Students’ Experience of Facilitating Reflection in Clinical Setting

Background and Aim. Reflection is known as a skill that is central to nursing students’ professional development. Due to the importance and the role of reflection in clinical areas of nursing, it is important to know how to achieve it. However, nursing trainers face the challenge of how to help their students to improve reflection in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the nursing students’ experiences of facilitating reflection during clinical practice. This qualitative study was conducted by qualitative content analysis approach. Twenty nursing students during the second to eighth semester of their educational program were selected for participation using purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews. The interview was transcribed verbatim, and qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. From the data analysis, four main themes were extracted. Motivation to reflect, complex experiences, efficient trainer, and effective relations were four main themes obtained from study that, in interaction with each other, had facilitating roles in students’ reflective process on experiences. The findings revealed that the nursing students’ reflection in clinical settings is effective in personal and professional level. Reflection of nursing students depends on motivational and educational factors and these factors increase the quality of care in patients. Furthermore, nursing educators need to create nurturing climate as well as supporting reflective behaviors of nursing students

Reproductive Health Need Assessment of Adolescent Boys and Girls during Puberty: A Qualitative Study

Background Adolescence is the transient period from childhood to adulthood and the beginning of physical, mental and social changes. Understanding and meeting adolescents’ needs may have important effects on reducing theirs dangerous behaviors and therefore, will result in a more health society. This study aimed to assess the reproductive health needs of Iranian adolescent. Materials and Methods This qualitative design study explored the reproductive health needs among Iranian adolescent boys and girls. Purposeful sampling method was used until data saturation was reached. Data was gathered using focus group for girls and face to face interviews for boys. The interviews used semi-structured questions. Data analysis was carried out using the method proposed by Altschuld for need assessment. Trustworthiness of the data was assessed using Guba and Lincoln Indicators. Results Participants were 10 adolescent girls (age range from 13-15) and ten 14-17 year age male adolescences. The reproductive health needs of girls included 4 categories:  Menarche and puberty health, Discrimination in family and society, Sexual orientation, education and Consultation demands. The needs extracted from interviews of adolescent boys included adaptation with changes in puberty, sexual orientation, educational and consultation demands. Conclusion Despite some differences between males and females needs, their reproductive health needs are greatly similar. Adolescents need more Education and consultatio

Development of a checklist to validate the framework of a narrative medicine program based on Gagne’s instructional design model in Iran through consensus of a multidisciplinary expert panel

Purpose Narrative medicine is a patient-centered approach focusing on the development of narrative skills and self-awareness that incorporates “attending, representing, and affiliating” in clinical encounters. Acquiring narrative competency promotes clinical performance, and narratives can be used for teaching professionalism, empathy, multicultural education, and professional development. This study was conducted to develop a checklist to validate the framework of a narrative medicine program through consensus of a panel. Methods This expert panel study was conducted from 2018 to 2019 at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. It included 2 phases: developing a framework in 2 steps and forming an expert panel to validate the framework in 3 rounds. We adapted a 3-stage narrative medicine model with 9 training activities from Gagne’s theory, developed a framework, and then produced a checklist to validate the framework in a multidisciplinary expert panel that consisted of 7 experts. The RAND/UCLA appropriateness method was used to assess the experts’ agreement. The first-round opinions were received by email. Consensus was achieved in the second and third rounds through face-to-face meetings to facilitate interactions and discussion among the experts. Results Sixteen valid indicators were approved and 100% agreement was obtained among experts (with median values in the range of 7–9 out of a maximum of 9, with no disagreement), and the framework was validated by the expert panel. Conclusion The 16 checklist indicators can be used to evaluate narrative medicine programs as a simple and practical guide to improve teaching effectiveness and promote life-long learning

Clinical librarianship challenges in Iran

This study aims to identify and categorize the challenges of clinical librarianship in Iran. First, based on literature review and opinions of participants, the main challenges were identified and categorized. Then, a questionnaire based on this categorization was distributed among the participants for ranking. According to the results, the four main challenges include educational, cultural, executive and research challenges. These challenges lead to lack of consistency and limited success of clinical librarianship efforts. In order to perform a more generalized identification of these challenges and problems, it is necessary to conduct further studies at national and international levels

Strategies for Clinical Medical Education in Iran: A Systematic Review

Background: In order to improve clinical education, after evaluating the current situation and identifying the shortcomings and problems, it is essential to find strategies to change and improve the situation. This results in planning an efficient clinical education program and achieving the educational goals. Objectives: This study aimed at identifying strategies for clinical medical education in Iran. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in 2017 to find strategies for clinical medical education in Iran. Bedside teaching, ward round teaching, ward round, teaching round, training round, grand round, clinical teaching, ambulatory education, and bedside round were the keywords searched in both Persian- and English-language databases. Related articles were carefully reviewed and the key information was extracted. Finally, the data were analyzed in MAXQDA software version 10. Results: After retrieving the related articles, the title and abstract of 593 papers were reviewed, and after excluding the irrelevant and duplicate ones, full-texts of 101 articles were reviewed based on the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The strategies for clinical medical education in Iran were classified into five categories including infrastructures, areas of clinical education, educational planning, and clinical teachers and students. Conclusion: Improving the quality of clinical education and the effectiveness of the educational system depends on the identification of appropriate strategies. The identified strategies pave the way for achieving targeted educational goals. Keywords: Strategies, Clinical Education, Iran, Systematic Revie

Perception of Graduate Students Regarding the Use of Social Networks in Education: A Qualitative Research

Background & Objective: Social networks are new technologies that have emerged in the past decade and are dramatically used in various areas such as education. This new social media has changed the lifestyle of individuals and their communication. Due to this fact and the increasing trend towards using social networks in universities, the present study was conducted with the purpose to explore graduate students' perspectives regarding the use of social networks in education. Methods: This study was conducted using qualitative content analysis method. The participants were selected using purposive sampling (n = 13). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, recorded on audiotapes, transcribed, and then, analyzed. MaxQdata software was used for data analysis. Results: Data analysis led to the extraction of 476 codes, 59 sub-codes, 11 subcategories, and 4 main categories. The main categories included the advantages of social networks (3 subcategories), disadvantages of social networks (2 subcategories), required infrastructures for using social networks in education (3 subcategories), and the capabilities of social networks in education (3 subcategories). Conclusion: This study revealed the advantages, disadvantages, and the applications of social networks in education. Due to the importance of social networks in education, we suggest that by providing the required infrastructures, such as high speed internet, educational protocols, and etcetera, the uses of social networks in education be improved so that students can better use these networks in education. Key Words: Social networks, Education, Students, Qualitative stud

Research priorities in medical education: A national study

Abstract BACKGROUND: One preliminary step to strengthen medical education research would be determining the research priorities. The aim of this study was to determine the research priorities of medical education in Iran in 2007-2008

Impact of a narrative medicine program on reflective capacity and empathy of medical students in Iran

Purpose Narrative medicine consists of the expression of medical experiences and the reflection on narratives to foster empathic communication with patients. Reflecting on narratives increases self-awareness and recognition of the feelings of the narrator or the story’s main character, which in turn affects the audience. This study was conducted to examine the impact of a narrative medicine program on the reflective capacity and empathy of medical students. Methods A quasi-experimental study was performed during the 2018–2019 academic year at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran involving 135 medical interns in 2 groups (control [n=66] and experimental [n=69]). Interns in the experimental group took part in seven 2-hour reflective practice sessions, while those in the control group underwent no educational intervention. Pre-test and post-test assessments were conducted for both groups using 2 valid and reliable tools for the assessment of reflective capacity and empathy. Mean reflection and empathy scores were compared within groups (between pre- and post-test values) and between groups (using the paired-t test and the t-test; P≤0.05). Results The mean reflection and empathy scores of the experimental group significantly increased from pre-test to post-test, but those of the control group did not. Moreover, the mean post-test scores were significantly different between the 2 groups (P<0.001). Conclusion Narrative medicine is an effective teaching method that can improve reflective capacity and empathy, thereby ultimately promoting professionalism as a core competency in medicine. Consideration of learning conditions and interdisciplinary teaching are necessary for implementing a narrative medicine program