Educational Needs Assessment of Medical School's Clinical Faculty Members in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Identifying the educational needs is an essential step in planning faculty development prog-rams and plays an important role in promoting the quality of education. The aim of this study was to determine and prioritize the educational needs of clinical faculty members in medical school of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: A questionnaire was developed in this descriptive cross-sectional study using the indices identified in an opinion poll, reviewing the literature and similar foreign and domestic studies, and the instruction including 6 areas of faculty members' job description. The questionnaire was sent to all clinical faculty members of school of medicine (n=275). The items were scored from 1 to 20 according to the importance of that educational need. Data was analyzed by SPSS software using the mean and standard deviation statistical indices. Results: Different areas of educational needs were respectively prioritized as: personal development, research, administrative and executive activities, education, health services and health promotion, and specialized activities outside the university. The first priority in the area of education was the method for developing continuous learning and self-learning in students in research, data analysis skills in personal development, English speaking ability in administrative and executive activities, time management in health services and health promotion, the approach for registering patients' information and in the area of specialized activities outside the university, it was the principles and methods for providing education and counseling for the society by public media. Conclusion: Faculty members are in need of all these 6 major areas specially the area of personal develop-ment. The area of education is not fully regarded as expected. It is recommended to determine the weight of all these six areas using a standard method.