Studying the Attitudes of Faculty Members and Students of Health Services Management towards the Problems of Internships in the Field at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd

Abstract

Background: Practical training of future health system managers is one of the key goals of field internship courses. This study aimed to identify the problems of holding field internship courses from the perspectives of faculty members and students of health services management.

Methods: This cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted in 2024-2025 using a census method on 40 undergraduate students and 11 faculty members of the Department of Health Management and Economics of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire (with confirmed validity and reliability). The questionnaire has two sections (demographic information section and internship problems section in 7 macro-level). According to the results of the Shapiro-Wilk test, parametric and nonparametric tests were used, as appropriate, in SPSS ₂₆ software for data analysis.

Results: According to the attitudes of both groups (faculty members and students), most of the challenges were related to the hospital issues and macro-level  factors. In students’ group, staff demotivation, unclear job descriptions for students in units, and students’ demotivation were reported as major problems. Also, the lack of legal requirements for training management students and the lack of briefing for the heads of operational units were highlighted as structural obstacles. From the perspective of the faculty members, the item ‘lack of logical connection between theoretical and practical courses’ was among the main problems, and the items ‘unclear role of faculty members in the field and the students’ lack of motivation were regarded as highly significant challenges. In comparing attitudes, both groups (faculty and students) concluded that most of the problems belonged to "faculty members and instructors" dimension with mean scores of (26.27 ± 6 and 28.25 ± 6.01), respectively, and the least number of problems belonged to the "faculty" dimension with mean scores of (2.63 ± 0.67 and 3.15 ± 1.21), respectively.

Conclusion: To improve the quality of internships, it is recommended to review the curriculum to integrate theoretical and practical training, design a motivational system for trainers and field personnel, and hold briefing workshops for all stakeholders. These measures can improve the effectiveness of internships and train more efficient managers for the health system.