General Medicine Clinical Education Pitfalls: What Do Stagers and Interns State as Their Courses’ Challenges?

Background: Investigating the curricula, teaching activities, and interaction in education settings is essential to improve educational effectiveness. There is some evidence in the literature that general medical graduates do not adequately assess their skills and abilities to perform professional responsibilities. This study aimed to investigate the clinical education challenges at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS) from the students’ perspectives. Methods: In this cross-sectional analytic study, the viewpoints of 273 (stagers, n=153, and interns, n=120) students of ZAUMS were investigated using a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 28 5-Likert items in four areas of a) education, b) equipment, c) professors/assistants/the staff, and d) evaluation method. They were selected based on the availability sampling method. Results: The investigated challenges among stagers (87.96 ± 17.03) were lower than interns (106.90 ±15.80). This difference was observed to be statistically significant (P˂0.001). The highest scores regarding clinical education challenges were related to item 17 (availability of appropriate amenities in the hospital pavilion, including suitable rooms and internet access). The lowest score was related to item 1 (increasing the student's motivation and interest by commencing the hospital and clinical education at the beginning of the internship). Conclusion: The upward trend in gaining experiences and patient exposure is effective in students' attitudes. Since one of the crucial factors in education is a passion for learning, these results may indicate that applying theoretical teaching can be more helpful in influencing students' learning than mere theoretical teaching.