Evaluating clinical teaching in a pediatric hospital in Iran: View points of academic members and medical students

Background: Evaluating the state of clinical teaching is a very essential aspect of useful teaching.It helps in determining areas of strength and areas for improvement. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate clinical teaching activities in a pediatric hospital at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, based on standards provided by the Ministry of Health in Iran.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2018 in the setting of a pediatric hospital of the Tabriz University of medical sciences. Participants were selected from this hospital: academic members and medical students who were present in the pediatric hospital during this investigation. The evaluation tool was a checklist of standards relating to clinical teaching settings. The outcome measures included four domains, assessed using mean standard scores: teaching round, morning report, journal club, and outpatient clinic. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare scores on the checklist among academic members and medical students.

Results: A total of 126 participants completed the checklist. Among the participants, 50 (39.6%) were 5th-year medical students, 51 (40.4%) were final-year medical students and 25(19.8%)were academic members. The highest and lowest mean standard scores were 85.3 and 34.5,the morning report and the teaching round by final-year medical students, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found among academic members and medical students’mean standard scores for teaching round (P = 0.983), morning report (P = 0.696), journal club (P= 0.952), and outpatient clinic (P = 0.060).

Conclusion: Considering both academic members and medical students, clinical teaching standards were not widely regarded as important in the pediatric wards of the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Some interventions are indicated to improve adherence to the Ministry of Health standards.