Abstract
Background and Objective:Clinical education, which requires the direct presence of students at the patient’s bedside, faced unprecedented challenges following the COVID‑19 pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of clinical education from the perspective of medical interns and clinical clerks at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences after the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Methods:This descriptive cross‑sectional study was conducted in 2023 among 144 medical students (clinical clerks and interns) admitted between 2016 and 2017 at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a standardized Clinical Education Quality Questionnaire (32 items across 5 domains), whose reliability had previously been confirmed with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.98. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software through descriptive statistics as well as independent t‑test and chi‑square tests, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.
Results:The findings indicated that none of the interns or clinical clerks rated the quality of education as “high”; 52.9% reported it as “poor” and 47.1% as “moderate” (overall mean score: 23.98 ± 7.98 out of 64). The lowest scores were related to the domains of “educational goals and curriculum” and “interaction with students.” Notably, students admitted in 2018, who studied during the peak of the pandemic, rated the quality of education considerably lower than other cohorts. No significant association was observed between gender, GPA, or type of education (modern/classical) and the clinical education quality score.
Conclusion:The quality of clinical education in general medicine after the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences was evaluated as moderate and below the desirable level. Weaknesses in the domains of educational goals and curriculum, interaction with students, educational environment, and supervision and evaluation highlight the need for revising the structure of clinical education and strengthening educational infrastructure in accordance with available resources.
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