Talented Students’ View Points on the Educational Problems in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2010

Introduction: Distinguished work force is a major factor for growth and development of all countries and training programs should be designed based on their needs. Interviews with students provide an insight into the challenges of learning environment. This study investigated the educational problems from the viewpoint of talented students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this qualitative study, 55 talented university students expressed their educational problems during three focus group sessions. At the end of each session, the data were classified and organized and findings were sorted, categorized and tabulated, based on the frequency of statements in group discussions. Results: Most problems were related to the areas of educational objectives, planning, and management. The main reported problems were inclusion of a number of unnecessary content materials in the syllabi, low emphasis on research, unrealistic teacher evaluations, and inharmonious educational departments. Conclusion: Except for a few problems such as changing some parts of curricula that must be resolved at country level, there are many less important problems that influence the effectiveness of the educational outcomes. These problems do not need much effort to eradicate, as more cooperation of teachers, students, and managers can remove them.