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  Background & Aim: Transition from studentship to working life is a stressful and challenging event. The concept of transition is important in nursing education, management, and practice issues. However, despite its supreme importance, there are certain ambiguities about the concept of transition in nursing. The aim of this study was to analyze the concept of transition in the context of nursing in Iran.

  Methods & Materials: We used the three-phase hybrid concept analysis model including the theoretical phase, the fieldwork phase, and the final analytic phase in this study. In the theoretical phase, we conducted an online literature search to find relevant articles published prior to 2012. In the fieldwork phase, five novice nurses, two experienced nurses, and one head-nurse were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis approach. During the final analytic phase, we compared the findings of the first two phases to provide a clear and comprehensive definition of the concept of transition . 

  Results: The findings of the theoretical phase revealed that transition was a process phenomenon having defined attributes such as detachment, individual perception, awareness, and human response patterns. According to the findings of the fieldwork phase, transition was an interactive, evolutionary, and time-bound phenomenon that embodies attributes such as socialization, unavoidability, and competence and ability development. In the final analytic phase, a comprehensive definition was provided for the concept of transition in the context of nursing in Iran .

  Conclusion: This study provided a comprehensive understanding of the concept of transition from nursing studentship to working life in Iran. The findings of this study can be used to develop theories, instruments, and criteria for evaluation of novice nurses’ transition to experienced nurses .

  

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  Background & Aim: Depression is common among nursing and midwifery students. Problem-solving is a short-term intervention that can be used to treat psychological problems. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of problem-solving skills training on depression scores among nursing and midwifery students .

  Methods & Materials: This was a clinical trial. Nursing and Midwifery st udents (n=900) studying at Tabriz and Urmia universities were recruited in the study during 2 010-2011. The Beck Depression Scale was administered in both schools. Ninety two students who achieved a score above 10 in the Beck Depression Scale were selected. One school was randomly allocated to the intervention group and the other one was allocated to the control group. Students in the intervention group received six sessions of problem-solving skills training within three weeks. T he questionnaire was completed by the participants in both schools after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test . 

  Results: After the intervention, the Beck Depression Inventory score in the intervention group decreased from 18.60 to 13.41 (P<0.01). There were no differences in the control group before and after the intervention (P<0.01) .

  Conclusion: The problem-solving skills training program reduced depression scores. Providing information and using the problem-solving skills training are recommended .

  

 

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  Background & Aim: The aim of present study was to assess psychometric properties of premenstrual symptoms screening tool (PSST) to provide a fast and appropriate screening tool for women who suffer from severe PMS/PMDD and their clinicians .

  Methods & Materials: It was a cross-sectional study. The study included 404 female students studying at Semnan University who were randomly selected using stratified method. In order to assess psychometric properties, we used the exploratory factor analysis, convergent validity (evaluated by symptom checklist-90-Revised), criterion-related validity (calculated by comparing psychiatrist diagnosis and PSST). Sensitivity and specificity coefficients of optimal cutoff points were calculated by the ROC Curve and construct validity was evaluated by the PSST ability to separate PMS and PMDD groups from healthy group. Reliability was evaluated using the cronbach’s alpha and test-retest method . 

  Results: The p rinciple component analysis revealed that the PSST consists of four factors: interest reduction, interference in functions, physical and neurotic symptoms, and eating and sleep patterns. As an evidence of convergent validity, PSST scores showed significant correlations with the SCL-90-R’s dimensions. Agreement coefficient between psychiatrists and the PSST diagnosis was 0.314 for the PMS and 0.80 for the PMDD. This tool separated the PMS and PMDD groups from healthy group well. Optimal Cutoff point for separating females suffering from PMDD was 2.22. The sensitivity and specificity coefficients were 0.9 and 0.77, respectively. The cronbach’s alpha was 0.91 and the test-retest reliability was 0.56 for the total tool .

  Conclusion: The translated version of the premenstrual symptoms screening tool can be used as a valid tool for Iranian females. This instrument can be useful for rapid screening and identifying women who suffer from severe PMS/PMDD, especially in clinical settings .

  

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  Background & Aim: Midwives are responsible for providing health services to mothers and infants in crises. The aim of this study was to identify educational needs of midwifery students regarding mother and infant mortality prevention in crisis situations .

  Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, all 235 final-year BSc. and MSc. midwifery students were selected from four medical universities located in Tehran. Informed consent forms were completed and signed by the students. The students completed a researcher-made two-section questionnaire including demographic items and educational needs items regarding mother and child preventive services in crises. Data were analyzed in the SPSS . 

  Results: Mean score of the m aternal and neonatal prevention service dimensions were 70±21.5 ( out of 105 ) and 46.7 ± 9 (out of a 65), respectively. Most of the students (86.8% ) declared that their academic education did not prepare them for their roles in crises. Only 10.6% of the students had some courses on crisis and 11.5% of them had the experience of dealing with crisis. The students in the BSc. degree had more educational needs in both dimensions compared to the students in the MSc. degree (P<0.046). There were significant relationships between the age of students (P<0.001), their clinical experience (P<0.001), previous educational courses (P<0.001) and experience in crisis (P<0.05) with the educational needs. There was no significant relationship between the educational needs and the students’ universities ( P>0.05 ) .

  Conclusion: Educational curriculums should be revised regarding actions to be done on prevention of mother and infant mortality in crises .

  

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Background & Aim: Because of the importance of empathy and positive impact on the relationship between patients and health care providers, as well as the lack of valid instrument to assess student's empathy in health domain, this study aimed to examine the factor structure and reliability of the Persian version of JSE-HPS in the students of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 398 nursing and midwifery students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences were selected using stratified random sampling. The data collection instrument was JSE-HP. The confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate the factor structure of the instrument, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was applied to examine its reliability. The data analysis was done using LISREL version 8.8 and SPSS version 20.

Results: The results of the confirmatory factor analysis model showed given that fitness model parameters, including CFI, GFI, AGFI and NFI were approximately 1 and RMSEA index was less than 0.1, the fitness of three-factor model is appropriate. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total instrument was 0.63.

Conclusion: The current study confirmed the three-factor structure of the Persian version of JSE-HPS (20 items), included perspective taking, compassionate care and standing in patient’s shoes. Thus, this instrument is appropriate to measure empathy for patient in the health service provider students.

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Background & Aim: Needlestick injury is an occupational risk. Medical university students are more likely to prone to this kind of injury in comparison to other students due to their limited knowledge, skills and clinical experiences. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of needlestick injury in medical university students in Iran.
Methods & Materials: In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, 22 papers written by Iranian researchers published in Persian and English, were included without time limitations. The articles were found by searching Iranian (Magiran, Scientific Information Databases (SID) and IranMedex) and international (Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus) databases. Data were analyzed using meta-analysis method and the random effects model.
Results: The overall prevalence of needlestick injury among medical university students was 47% (95% CI: 39-55). There was no relationship between vaccine coverage, age of samples, and sample size with the prevalence of needlestick injury. The prevalence of needlestick injuries significantly decreased with increase in the publication years of articles (P=0.03), and significantly increased (P=0.049) with lack of reporting.
Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of needlestick injury in the students of medical sciences universities, it is of great necessity to design educational programs focusing on the proper use of sharp and cutting instruments as well as the importance of reporting and modifying professional behavior such as avoiding the reinsertion of needles in order to reduce the incidence rate of needlestick injuries.
 

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Background & Aim: Some studies across different disciplines have investigated students’ learning styles (LS) separately. However, few studies have investigated the LS of students of various educational disciplines in Medical Sciences. We aimed to determine the LS of students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences.
Methods & Materials: In this descriptive-cross-sectional study, 228 students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences were selected by cluster sampling in 2017. Data collection tool was the latest version of Kolb's learning style inventory. Finally, the data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical (Chi square) tests using the SPSS software version 18.
Results: In this study, 54.8% of students were female and 89.5% were single. 63.2% had the average scores higher than 16 and 52.2% were at second semester. The LS of students were assimilation (40.4%), divergent (21.9%), accommodation (19.3%), and convergent (18.4%). There was a significant relationship between the type of LS with the field of study (P=0.014) and average score (P=0.006), but there were no correlations between the type of LS with gender, age, marital status and academic semesters (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Considering that the assimilation LS was predominant within the students and given the fact that medical profession is a communicative, people-centered, and practical work, the faculty needs to emphasize the LS of students, and use various teaching strategies to strengthen and enhance the capabilities which are necessary for this group in educational and clinical settings.
 

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Background & Aim: The healthy nutrition education is one of the most important priorities in all life periods, especially in childhood. The teaching method is also considered one of the important factors for the effectiveness of education. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of lecture and role-playing methods on awareness of healthy nutrition in school-age children.
Methods & Materials: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 primary school students in Gonabad city in 2017. Participants were selected by multistage random sampling and allocated into two groups of role-playing and lecture. Students' awareness was measured by a self-structured questionnaire before, immediately and one month after education. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 16 by descriptive and inferential statistics. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The mean score of awareness for the role-playing group before, immediately and one month after the intervention respectively was 10.77±2.55, 14.1±55.15 and 14.50±1.10 and for the lecture group respectively was 11.07±1.85, 13.72±1.43 and 11.47±2.84 (the score range: 0-16). There was a significant difference in the mean score of awareness before, immediately and one month after the intervention between the two groups (P<0.001), and in the role-playing group, the increase in awareness score was more than in the lecture group.
Conclusion: Considering the greater effect of role-playing method than lecture on healthy nutrition education in school-age children, it is suggested that more attractive, dynamic and effective methods such as role-playing, in accordance with educational behavioral goals, be used in school nutrition education programs. In addition to enhancing educational efficiency, this will make the effects of education and learning more sustainable for students.
 

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Background & Aim: Clinical competence is the ability to perform professional tasks and coordinate cognitive, communication and psycho-motion skills in patient care, and empathy is one of the factors influencing clinical competence. Given the role of clinical competence in the quality of midwifery care, this study aimed to determine the effect of empathy skill training on clinical competence in midwifery students.
Methods & Materials: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 73 midwifery students and 438 pregnant women in 2015. A clinical competence questionnaire was used to assess the clinical competence of the students, which was completed in two ways by self-assessment and researcher assessment (after reviewing the student's performance for 3 times). Data were analyzed by chi-square test, independent t-test and paired t-test using the SPSS software version 16.
Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the mean score of clinical competence in the ways of self-assessment and assessment by the researcher before the intervention (P>0.05). Results from the post-intervention showed that there was significant difference between the two groups. However, the clinical competence score by the researcher assessment in the intervention group was significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.05). Also, the difference in the mean scores of the self-assessment of clinical competence before and after the intervention between the two groups was not significant (P>0.05), but the difference in the mean scores of the researcher assessment of clinical competence before and after the intervention between the two groups was significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Empathy skill training is an effective way to increase the clinical competence of students.
Clinical trial registry: IRCT 2016051127855N1
 

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Background & Aim: Rumination is a prevalent issue among medical science students, potentially affecting their academic performance. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Mandala therapy in reducing rumination among medical science students at the Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon branch.
Methods & Materials: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test, post-test design with a control group. A total of 40 medical students from the Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon branch, who exhibited signs of rumination participated in the study in 2023. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (20 participants) or the control group (20 participants). The intervention consisted of four 60-minute sessions of Mandala therapy. Data were collected using the Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow's rumination questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were performed using SPSS version 26 to analyze the data.
Results: Demographic analysis indicated no significant differences between the experimental and control groups concerning gender, age, or semester (P<0.001). The ANCOVA results revealed that the Mandala Therapy intervention significantly reduced the rumination scores of the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.005).
Conclusion: The results suggest that rumination levels in the experimental group decreased significantly following the intervention compared to the control group. Therefore, Mandala therapy may serve as an effective non-pharmacological approach for mitigating rumination among medical science students.
 

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Background & Aim: Electrocardiography (ECG) is the most widely utilized diagnostic tool in medicine. However, nursing students often have problems with interpreting ECGs, highlighting the need for revised training methods. This study aimed to assess the effect of ECG drawing assignments on nursing students' learning and their perspectives on this teaching method in the context of a critical care nursing course.
Methods & Materials: This quasi-experimental study involved 52 fifth-semester BSc nursing students enrolled in the fall and spring terms at Qom University of Medical Sciences. For the fall group, traditional lectures and Q&A sessions were conducted during the first half of the semester, followed by an assignment requiring students to draw common ECGs in the second half. In contrast, for the spring group, students drew ECGs during the first half of the semester. Learning outcomes were assessed through a written test, while students’ perspectives on the drawing assignments were evaluated using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22, employing Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests to compare groups.
Results: The mean score from the perspective questionnaire regarding ECG drawing was 14.86±3.34 (maximum score of 18). In most cases, students had positive or relatively positive views towards this teaching method. A significant difference was observed between the course exam scores of students when they engaged in drawing ECGs compared to when they did not (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Drawing ECGs can be helpful in enhancing learning outcomes in the critical care nursing course and may increase students’ motivation to learn.