Assessment of the perception of the educational process in "Pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases" by final-year students of the medical faculty

Abstract

The dynamic evaluation of the educational process at a higher medical educational institution is a pressing task, as it enables the further improvement of student education—particularly for graduating classes—in line with the current needs of the healthcare system. Research objective: to assess the perception of the educational process in the discipline "Pediatrics, Pediatric Infections" among final-year students in order to improve the teaching of the discipline. Materials and methods. We assessed the perception of the educational process in the discipline "Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases" by surveying 93 fifth- and sixth-year students enrolled in the Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Bukovyna State Medical University. Two comparison groups were formed: Group I consisted of 44 fifth-year students majoring in "Medicine" (mean age – 21.4 ± 0.4 years, male – 23.6%, state-funded students – 68.2%), Group II consisted of 49 sixth-year medical students (mean age – 22.4 ± 0.8 years, 30.6% male, 65.3% state-funded). The comparison groups were comparable in terms of their main characteristics. Study Results. The study found that sixth-year students rated the role of modern teaching methods significantly higher than fifth-year students (relative risk = 1.3, odds ratio – 1.8), more often emphasized the need for a clinical focus in classes and the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical skills, and saw a need for the implementation of new educational programs (relative risk – 1.3, odds ratio – 1.7). In contrast, fifth-year students were more focused on the need for a clear structure of the educational material and the accessibility of explanations from the instructor, which may be related to the stage of developing basic clinical competencies in the subject. Conclusions. For the graduating class, when assessing perceptions of the "Pediatrics and Pediatric Infections" course in the 6th year, the likelihood of the need for new curricula increases by 1.7 times, and for modern teaching methods—by 1.8 times, and in the pre-graduation year, it is associated with an increased need among students for the structuring and elaboration of educational material