Evaluation of the cardiology curriculum based on the opinions of the assistants of cardiology

Background: Revision and promotion of educational programs, as well as guiding such programs from the traditional to modern ones, have been one of the goals of educational planning in order to improve the educational status. The present study was performed based on the opinions of the cardiology assistants.   Methods:  This research was a cross sectional study and all the participants included were the cardiology assistants, from the second to the fourth grade. Sampling was designed to be done effortlessly; seeking opinions from all the assistants with regard to the present curriculum, in addition to investigating their needs for planning changes in it, was carried out through a questionnaire. Results: In this study, 55% of the population consisted of men and 45% of women. It turned out that only 38% of them knew the curriculum and bore a precise definition of it in mind. 55% of the total participants concurred to the idea of rotation in the internal medicine ward while 40% demanded radical changes to be made there. In this study, it was made clear that 38% of the assistants agreed to rotation in the cardiology research center. 73% of them demanded holding pre-assistance classes to develop their skills. 66% of the assistants did not grasp the meaning of Evidence Base Medicine. 38% of the participants were partly pleased with the in-ward evaluation by professors whereas 62% did not consider it satisfactory at all. Conclusion: Evaluation of the cardiology curriculum of Iran based on the opinions of the assistants of Mashhad Medical University signifies the necessity of changes in it. Contrary to the existing curriculum in many countries, the present curriculum of the Ministry of Health does not include a clear accurate lesson plan for the assistants and only mentions the resources, topics and general skills necessary for them.