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

Effect of behavioral intention model-based education on decrease the rate of caesarean delivery among pregnant women

Caesarean section is considered as a major surgery which is accompanied by several complications. The present study aimed to determine the effect of behavioral intention model-based educational intervention on reducing the caesarean section among pregnant women. The present interventional study was conducted on 100 primiparous women in the third trimester of pregnancy who were covered by the health and treatment centers of Fasa city, placed in Fars province, Iran. The subjects were selected through simple random sampling and divided into an intervention and a control group. After the pre-test, the intervention group underwent exclusive training based on the behavioral intention model. Then, both groups took part in the post-test and the data were analyzed using paired t-test, independent t-test, and chi-square tests. The results of the study revealed a significant difference between the two groups regarding knowledge, evaluation of the outcomes, attitude, and intention [P<0.001]. The results of the chi-square test also showed a significant difference between the two groups regarding their performance [P<0.001]. According to the results, the present intervention was effective in increasing the pregnant women's knowledge, evaluation of outcomes, attitude and strengthening their intention as well as performance. Thus, this model and other systematic trainings are suggested to be used for pregnant women in order to decrease the rate of caesarean section