Physical Environment Status of Educational Clinics in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences: An Inseparable Part of Teaching-Learning Process in Clinic

Introduction: The trend of medical education is going toward ambulatory medicine and clinics and the effect of physical environment on teaching-learning process is undeniable. This study was performed to determine the frequency distribution of physical environment indices in educational clinics of hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In a descriptive study, all educational clinics affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (33 clinics) were investigated through census sampling method. The data gathering tool was a researcher-made checklist including features of a clinic and its qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Clinics were directly observed by the researcher. The data was analyzed by SPSS software and reported through descriptive indices. Results: The highest frequencies in the clinics under investigation belonged to the domains of light (100%), facilities (78.8%), and arrangement of seats (84.8%). The lowest frequency percentages belonged to the existence of anti-acoustic walls (0%), access to educational resources such as internet and computers (3%), and access to reference books (6.1%). Conclusion: The physical environment of the investigated clinics was evaluated as weak regarding access to educational resources, as average regarding the existence of internal room, conditioning and access to facilities, and as very good in regard to the amount of light. Due to the lack of study in the field of physical environment, especially in clinical education, it is recommended to conduct further studies.