Evaluation of the Task Compliance of Medical Education Development Centers from the Viewpoint of the Managers of the Centers

Background: Medical education development (MED) centers are established in order to improve the quality of medical education. It seems that after more than two decades since the establishment, the centers still have difficulties to perform some tasks. Objectives: According to the important role of MED centers, the current study aimed at adapting the performances of such centers with their assigned tasks. Methods: The current qualitative applied study was conducted in 2013. The statistical population of the study included managers of MED centers in Iran. Data were collected through a questionnaire containing open questions. During a national meeting the questionnaire distributed among 40 managers of MED centers and then analyzed using content analysis. Results: More than half of the major functions that the managers stated, were referred to the first, second, and fourth tasks of the centers, and only 18% of the major functions were related to other tasks (11 cases). About 28% of the functions performed in such centers had no direct correlation with any of the 14 tasks. Conclusions: Despite the history of MED centers for several decades, they are not justified in respect to their duties. It is recommended that guidelines be developed to address all duties and adequately monitor their implementation.