Author/Authors :
Farahangiz، Saman نويسنده Department of Community Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran , , SALEHI، ALIREZA نويسنده Research Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; , , REZAEE، RITA نويسنده Quality improvement in Clinical Education Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran , , Imanieh، Mohammad Hadi نويسنده Gastroenterohepatology Research Center, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Ir ,
Abstract :
Introduction: Integration of public health and medical
education has been thought to have an important role in medical
students’ training. Shiraz University of Medical Sciences has
developed an MD/MPH dual degree educational program for
the talented volunteer students. The aim of this study was to
assess the students’ viewpoints about various aspects of Shiraz
MD/MPH program.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on Shiraz
undergraduate medical students, who were enrolled in MD/MPH
program. A self-structured questionnaire in Persian consisting
of 4 parts was used; it included demographic factors including
16 questions which evaluated the students’ perspective of the
goals, content, skill development, applicability and meeting their
expectations; 7 questions evaluating the self-reported increase of
knowledge; and 3 multiple choice questions to assess the students’
motivations and opinions on the impact of the program on their
future career. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis.
Results: All MD/MPH students (89) with a mean age of 21.4±1.34
participated in this study. Forty one of the students (46.1%) were
male and 48 (53.9%) female. Overall, 86.1% of them had positive
views about the goals of the program; also, 83.5%, 81.2% and
81.9% of them reported a positive viewpoint about the contents,
the applicability and development of specific skills, and meeting
their expectations, respectively. The students’ most frequent
motivation was “learning how to research systematically”
(73%). The majority of the students reported this program to be
moderately to highly effective in increasing their knowledge in
the provided courses.
Conclusion: The students had a positive view about almost all
of the aspects of the MD/MPH program; this may be indicative
of the program being successful in delivering the goals,
increasing the students’ knowledge and skills, and meeting their
expectations to date. Students’ enthusiasm for the educational
program may lead to their motivation for better learning and
thus in the program’s success.
