Analyzing the Quality Gap of Clinical Educational Services in Hospitals Affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences Using SERVQUAL Method

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Background: Students are the main customers of the universities. Thus, their perceptions and expectations of the educational quality is of great importance in planning for quality improvement. This study is aimed on evaluating the quality of clinical education in hospitals affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study. 303 externship, internship and residency students were participated. After validity and reliability tests, the adapted SERVQUAL questionnaire was used for data gathering. SPSS 18, descriptive tests, Kruskal-Wallis test, and paired t-test were used for data analysis. Results: A negative gap in service quality was observed in all five dimensions. Among externship students, minimum and maximum mean of the quality gap were in assurance (-1) and empathy (-1.28) dimensions, respectively. Among internship students, minimum quality gap was observed in reliability and tangibles dimensions together (-1.09) and maximum quality gap was in responsiveness dimension (-1.36). Among residency students, minimum and maximum quality gap was in tangibles (-1.48) and responsiveness (-2.04), respectively. No significant difference was observed regarding quality gap among different teaching hospitals (P>0.001). However, there was a significant difference among all students in all dimensions (P<0.001). Conclusion: Considering the negative gap in all dimensions of educational services, it is recommended to hold courses educating employees on how to better provide education services and effectively communicate with students. Using new educational methods, counselling skills and communicating with students must be considered in workshops for faculty members.