Comparison of Traditional and Integrated Methods of Teaching Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology at Gonabad University of Medical Sciences: Attitude and Learning

Introduction: The relationship between basic medical science courses and clinical topics is important and helps the students tremendously in their long-term education, comprehension of clinical concepts, and diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In this regard, the present study aimed to compare the views and attitudes of medical students towards the two traditional and integrated methods of teaching endocrinology and reproductive physiology. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 50 third semester medical students at Gonabad University of Medical Sciences during the academic year 2019-2020. For the purposes of the study, the students were randomly divided into two equal groups. After teaching the theory to all students, only one group was allowed to come to the clinical wards of the hospital and become acquainted with the physiological basis of the diseases. In the end, the opinions of all students were evaluated using a standard questionnaire and their learning was measured based on the final exam. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22). Results: Based on the findings, the interest and attitude of the group that received education through the integrated method (47.1±8.8, 40.5±6.5) underwent an improvement, compared to the other group (49.9±5.9, 61.7±6.4). Moreover, satisfaction with the course in the hospital obtained a score of more than 3.5. Furthermore, the group that attended the sessions held at the hospital obtained higher scores in the exam; however, the difference was not significant. Conclusion: According to the results, the improvement in the attitude and interest of students towards the integrated method of teaching physiology courses shows that holding sessions at the hospital along with the theoretical education can increase the motivation and improve the attitudes of students towards basic science courses.