Development Strategies in Medical Education

Introduction
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, medical education was affected. It led to a sudden change in teaching methods towards online education. Online learning has played an essential role in medical education [1]. It could enable students to continue learning during the pandemic [2]. Considering that the number of college students will reach about 160 million in 2025, traditional universities with low facilities will not be able to respond to this increase in demand [3]. In medical universities, teaching quality is of particular importance. The improvement in medical education is not possible without changes in teaching methods [4]. 
The physiology course is one of the basic science courses for medical students. Few studies have been conducted to investigate the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards the virtual teaching of physiology. So far, the online teaching of the physiology course has not been provided at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS). This study aims to explore the knowledge and attitude of medical students at AJUMS toward the online learning of physiology.

Methods
This is a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted in the School of Medicine at AJUMS in 2021. The study consists of 320 medical students (semesters 2-4) at AJUMS. The sample size was determined 176 using Morgan’s table. The data collection tools included a demographic form (surveying age, gender) and a researcher-made questionnaire to measure students’ knowledge and attitude towards the online learning of physiology. It had 25 items measuring the knowledge of online learning of physiology (items 1-14), attitude towards the online learning of physiology (items 15-22), and attitude towards online education during the COVID-19 pandemic (items 23-25). Data analysis was done in SPSS v.22 software. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results
Among participants, 92 (52.3%) were female and 84 (47.7%) were male. Their mean age was 21.76±1.12 years (ranged 19-26). The frequency of the answers to the knowledge and attitude items showed that the scores were above the average level (>3). Also, the attitude of medical students towards online education was positive and favorable. The knowledge score was 3.51±0.81. Medical students’ knowledge showed a significant difference between males and females (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the scores of attitude towards the online learning of physiology based on gender. The mean score of attitude towards online education was 3.66±0.81. Therefore, the attitude of medical students towards online education during the pandemic was relatively favorable and positive. There was no significant difference between male and female students in their attitudes towards online education.

Conclusion
According to the obtained results, the AJUMS students’ attitudes towards the online learning of physiology are relatively favorable. Considering the importance and necessity of implementing online educational programs in universities during the pandemic, it is essential to identify the strengths and weaknesses and find appropriate solutions to improve physiology education. It is recommended that the online method for teaching physiology, along with the face-to-face method, be used in AJUMS in critical situations to increase the quality of education.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This research was approved by the Ethics Committee of AJUMS (Code: IR.AJUMS.REC.1400.575). After providing the necessary explanations about the study to the participants and assuring them of the confidentiality of their information, written informed consent was obtained from them.

Funding
This paper was extracted from the thesis of Samaneh Shirzadeh at AJUMS (project number: EDC-0038). The study was funded by the AJUMS.

Authors' contributions
Conceptualization, Investigation, Resources: Negin Amini and Samaneh Shirzadeh; Methodology, Review &Editing, Project Administration: Negin Amini; Validation: Mahin Dianat; Formal Analysis: Abdolhossein Shakornia; original draft preparation: Samaneh Shirzadeh; Supervision: Negin Amini and Mahin Dianat

Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Deputy for Research and the Medical Education Development Center of AJUMS, as well as all the students for their support and cooperation.


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