Abstract
Background: Clinical education is crucial to developing medical students' knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes. The attributes of clinical teachers play a significant role in students' advancement and transition to their future professional roles. The study aimed to determine the relationship between teaching quality and satisfaction with clinical teachers among medical students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This correlational cross-sectional study was conducted on 255 medical students in Ardabil (northwest of Iran). The participants were selected through the simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic information form, a Persian version of the System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ) questionnaire, and the Medical Students' Satisfaction with Clinical Education questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22.0).
Results: The study found that the overall mean teaching quality and satisfaction with clinical teachers among medical students were 3.37 ± 0.56 and 3.22 ± 0.72, respectively. The highest and lowest mean scores between dimensions of teaching quality were related to professional attitude toward students (3.46 ± 0.83) and teaching and learning environment (3.28 ± 0.68), respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that subscales of teaching quality (student assessment and feedback) and residence status were predictors of satisfaction with clinical teachers among medical students. The selected predictors accounted for 31.4% of the total variance in satisfaction with clinical teachers (F = 9.908, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Our study has found that delivering regular and positive feedback plays a pivotal role in promoting the development of students in clinical education. Furthermore, assessing learners' performance is equally significant in enabling educators to identify the areas where they require additional assistance and guidance. Feedback and evaluation are potent instruments in clinical education that augment learning and equip students with the necessary skills to tackle real-world situations.