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QUALITY CIRCLES AMONG PHASE I MEDICAL STUDENTS

Trakya University Medical Faculty,

Edirne, Turkey

Zekeriya Aktürk, MD

Nezih Dağdeviren, MD

Erkan Melih Şahin, MD

Cahit Özer, MD

Title

and

Staff

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What are Quality Circles ?

• QC Circle is a small group in which people who work in the first line work place, continually improve and maintain the quality of products, services, job...

İntroduction

Workers

Work place Products

Students

LearningSchool

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The Objective of this Study

• Does student involvement improve learning quality ?

• What are the problems students face ?

• Include students into research activities• Introduce the growing specialty family

medicine to the doctors of tomorrow

Aim

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How did the Quallity Circle Work?

• Lecture about quality circles to phase I medical students (135 students)

• Volunteers: 26 students• 6 members for each meeting• At each meeting one circle leader• Facilitator: family practice department• Meetings once a week• Solutions suggested to the dean

Method

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Some of the Circle Members at Work

Members

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Another Scene of Circle Members at Work

Members

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What are the Problems in This Faculty?

• November 2000 - May 2001: 14 meetings • Problem pool: 50 problems

– 22 related with education – 28 related with accommodation etc.

Results

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What is the Importance of Each Problem?

• Likert scale to estimate the importance of problems

• Most important 10 problems:Results

Social activities 77 %

Hospital services for medical students 77 %

Computer laboratory and internet access 75 %

Lecture materials (resources) for each lecture 75 %

Lecture materials should be given prior to the lectures 75 %

Problems related with the dining hall 67 %

Cleanness of the lavatories 66 %

Content of education 60 %

Difficulty level of the exams 55 %

Conference timing 55 %

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Which Problems did the Circle Discuss?

• 7 problems discussed in 14 meetings

– The cleanness of the lavatories – Canteen services – Dining hall services – Physical status of the lecture rooms – Educational system – Establishing a breech club – Education resources

Results

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Could the Circle Create any Change ?

• Quality Evaluation Questionnaire– A questionnaire was developed to assess

different aspects of education– 21 item, 5 point likert scale

• 5 items removed with request of dean:– The competency of the educators– General manner of the faculty personnel to the

students– Availability of the educators– Availability of the managers– The quality of counseling services for students.

Evaluation

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Could the Circle Create any Change ?

• Quality Evaluation Questionnaire– December 2000: mean SD 2.80 0.52– May 2001: mean SD 3.20 0.58. – Significant difference: t=3.506, p=0.001.

Evaluation

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What were the Profits of Quality Circles ?

Positives

• Points of Success– Problems were solved– Student’s got motivated– Research facility for students– Student-family practice proximity was achieved– Quality as an issue started to be discussed at the

faculty

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What were the Barriers in Front of Quality Circles ?

Obstacles

• Faced Barriers– Deans attitute– Time restriction– Insufficient resources– No quality culture

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In Summary

• Quality Circles work • They are effective• Some difficulties were faced

– They were expected anyway• Deans attitute is changing• This circle ended with a quality team• Still more experience is necessary

Conclusion