Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

Medicalization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: a Historical-Critical Analysis

Amir Hassan Mousavi

Medicalization, in the sense of expansion of medicine in different aspects of human life and ultimately the transformation of medicine into a tool of social control and domination, is a common interpenetration in the literature. This concept, since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, has been an exclusive critique of modern medicine, meaning that branch of medicine based on biomedical paradigm. In this article, we argue that the conceptual shortcoming of this view and the reduction of medicalization to only one medical paradigm, lead to appear medicalization in the new outfit in the name of demedicalization and with more harmful aspects. By focusing on biomedical paradigm or biomedicalization, we neglected other types of medicalization like paramedicalization or CAMization, meaning expansion of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in different aspects of human life. This negligence makes the space to misuse of medicalization for more medicalizing issues. In the following, Iranian Traditional Medicine has been examined as one of the examples of CAM. By presenting historical examples, in the contrast of common understanding of many medical sociologists, we showed that medicalization is not an exclusive concept around modern medicine and its root go back hundreds of year, not just the last hundred year and not only in the western world.

Doctor in circulation; A study on the historical background of the establishment and expansion of the Health Corps in Iran

Elham Malekzadeh

After September 1931 and the end of World War II, the Pahlavi government turned its attention to the villages and the implementation of the second development plan, followed by rural health programs. With the formation of the Health Corps in 1954, as the seventh principle of the Shah and the Nation Revolution, all physicians and pharmacists in the service of the conscription system were asked to take charge of medical-health services in rural areas of the country.
The present article uses archival documents and library resources in a descriptive-analytical manner to answer the question: Was the Health Corps in Iran a result of indigenous action or the result of the second Pahlavi government's development plans with US recommendations in support of Third World countries? The results of the research indicate that the historical nature and examples confirming the patient's defiance and their treatment were rooted in the historical past of Iran. The creation of the Health Corps and its acceptance by the villagers, due to its indigenous and Iranian nature, was acceptable in the historical memory of Iranians. However, the process of international interactions and the development policies of the country and the government's reform, along with taking advantage of US support opportunities, expanded within the framework of the principles of the White Revolution in Iran and led to extensive activity. This, as the present article claims, explains the indigenous practice of this measure.

Recognition and Treatment of Eye Diseases in Andalusia

Alireza Rohi

Muslim ophthalmologists have made significant achievements in the field of ophthalmology in all Islamic lands and territories, especially in Andalusia. Andalusian scientists have written several works related to medicine and ophthalmology that introduce us to their activities in this field. The main purpose of this study is to review the activities performed in Andalusia regarding ophthalmology. Using the review method of libraries and referring to the sources and written works of Andalusian physicians and ophthalmologists, their most important activities in this field have been studied. A study of medical and ophthalmological works in Andalusia showed that Andalusian ophthalmologists created special innovations, the most important of which are the invention and manufacture of various drugs, various surgeries, understanding the anatomy of the eye, and use of various tools for treatment and surgery.

Prevalence of smallpox and the trend of smallpox Inoculation in Fars in the first Pahlavi period

Soleyman Heidari

One of the infectious diseases that was widespread in Fars province during the first Pahlavi era (1925-1941) was smallpox. This disease spread in the early days of the Pahlavi dynasty in the cities of Fars province and its epidemic reached its peak in 1318 AD. Important measures were taken to control the disease, including smallpox inoculation. The smallpox inoculators tried to control the disease by creating fixed and mobile posts and by injecting the patient with smallpox fluid or animal smallpox fluid. Despite the efforts of local authorities in the field of smallpox, there were several obstacles and problems to reduce and eradicate the disease. This study intends to study the prevalence of smallpox in Fars and the trend of smallpox to deal with it in the first Pahlavi period by relying on unpublished documents in the Documents Organization and the National Library of Iran as well as the archives of local newspapers and using a descriptive-analytical method. Findings showed that despite the widespread epidemic of smallpox in Fars in the first Pahlavi period and the high mortality rate, the trend of smallpox inoculation progressed well and the government succeeded in using existing facilities and common methods to help control the disease in the regions of Fars.

Explaining the Healing Criteria of Iranian Gardens from the Perspective of Traditional Medicine

Vahideh RahimiMehr

Environment design has profound effects on mental, physical health, and behavior patterns. One of the architectural environments is medical centers that have changed in recent decades in developed countries. As purely physical and indoor environments have been replaced by indoor and outdoor environments. Outdoor gardens include healing gardens. Studies on traditional Iranian gardens show that these gardens are healing gardens. Outdoor gardens include healing gardens. Studies on traditional Iranian gardens show that these gardens are also healing gardens, so this study tried to investigate the healing criteria of therapeutic gardens in Iranian gardens from the perspective of traditional medicine to incorporate the attitudes of designing therapeutic environments in Iran towards the teachings of traditional medicine. In this comparative study, the method of data collection is documentary so that first, the impact of nature on man from the perspective of traditional medicine has been studied and then the criteria of healing landscapes in the Iranian garden have been studied from the perspective of Iranian traditional medicine using the sources of medical history and related articles. It seems that the general criteria for healing gardens in Iranian gardens are per the principles of traditional medicine and using the medical advice to patients can be more precisely designed for therapeutic gardens and used the Iranian garden model for design medical centers Because the criteria for the therapeutic gardens are general But according to the advice of traditional medicine practitioners can be more precise design according to the patients' temperament differences.

Dr. Abdollah Jalali, the founder of the first private hospital in Hamedan

Reza Karami

This article has no abstract.

Two Verses of Dignity; the Study of Verses of Caliphate and Trust with the Criterion of Human Digninty

Behin Arami Nia

“Koran” had affirmed “Human Dignity” but in other verse, it had mentioned “Caliphate/Substitution” and “Deposit” about human in comparison with other creatures that they had difficult and covered interpretations. “The choice of good and evil” as Human Dignity criterion, makes it easy and transparent.
“Deposit” verse says Human accepts Deposit and others refuse it because of 2 adjectives: “Zaloom” and “Jahool” from roots of oppression and ignorance. Interpretations are different in meaning this adjective and their relation to deposit. If deposit is choosing, it can make oppression and justice and knowledge and ignorance. Then “FAOOL” structure in Arabic can show potency of action/adjective. Thus, they mean potent for oppression and ignorance like justice and knowledge. It means choosing potency, not actual ugliness.
In “Caliphate” verse, angels say to God that Human creation tend to corruption and killing. God hadn’t refused it but had referred to an upper knowledge. If Caliphate is good choosing too along justice and knowledge, angels had seen properly contemporaneous ignorance and oppression and corruption and killing but they couldn’t recognize the difference between good free discretion and their algebraic goodness that is caliphate and moral similarity and free worship of God with Lordship essence.

Medical Astrology in Hippocrates and Galen's Medical Works

Gholamhossein Moghaddam Heidari

In the pre-modern period, astrology has been the practice of relating celestial bodies to lives and events on earth and the resulting tradition. One aspect of astrology was based on the knowledge of astronomy and mathematical calculations, and the other aspect dealt with soothsaying. We can talk about two types of astrology: natural astrology and judicial astrology. Natural astrology has admitted the idea of celestial influences of a general nature, such as would affect the weather or the environment of a patient, and thus his chances of healing. Judicial astrology aims to determine the particular effects of the stellar influences on a specific person, with a view toward forecasting the future.
But it is noteworthy that many sciences in the pre-modern period used astronomical results. Thus, understanding the knowledge related to climate, agriculture and medicine in the pre-modern era is not complete without understanding astrology. In this article, in the first part, we try to briefly describe astrology and its types and enumerate some features of medical astrology as part of natural astrology. In the second part, we will examine how astrology influenced the medical theories of Hippocrates and Galen in ancient Greece. And we show that medical astrology for them has been part of the natural process of explaining diseases and methods of prognosis and treatment and prevention.
Our method in this article is the hermeneutic-based author understanding method. In other words, in this article, we do not use modern ideas about astrology, but try to examine medical astrology based on the natural and judicial astrology, which were expressed in the same pre-modern era. Thus, we show that astrology was not only an important science in its time, but was also related to the various sciences of its time, so that the understanding of knowledge related to medicine in the pre-modern would be incomplete without understanding astronomy.

Introduction and Critique of the Paper "Medicine of the Safavid Era Relying on Western Travelogues"

Shahrbanoo Asadi

The Safavid period is considered one of the most important periods in the history of Iranian medicine. During this period, medical knowledge was developed many works in the field of medicine were written and several hospitals were established. In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the medical history of the Safavid period. The purpose of this study is to introduce and critique the paper "Medicine of the Safavid era relying on Western travelogues" by Saeed Agharezaei and Shiva Rezaei. This research is an analytical-critical study that uses library resources to review and evaluate the paper in terms of structure, content, and method. The paper has coherent writing and indicates the authors' efforts to explain the medical and health situation of the Safavid period from the perspective of Western tourists. In the structure of the paper, sometimes inappropriate references and writing errors are seen. Failure to mention the reasons for the migration of physicians to India, failure to determine the true location of hospitals, failure to mention the position of dental, veterinary and surgical knowledge, failure to mention epidemics and ambiguity of the pharmacology situation in the Safavid period can be enumerated content critiques. The results show that the paper, despite attempts to reveal various aspects of medicine in the Safavid era, has some structural, content, and method problems. Therefore, it is expected that the respected authors, by eliminating the mentioned problems, will be able to publish a more significant work on the history of medicine in future research.

Psychotherapy in Ancient Iran and Mesopotamia (Based on Ancient Iranian Texts and Mesopotamian Tablets)

Katayoun Fekripour

Stress and psychological problems arose with the advent of urbanization. Ancestors generally knew disease as the result of interaction with external factors, including gods, demons, and spirits. The Iranians considered the disease created by the devil and the Mesopotamians considered the disease as a result of wrath of the gods on the sick person for various reasons. This study tries to show the knowledge of Iranians and Mesopotamians about mental illnesses and tries to answer these questions: What information about the treatment of mental illnesses has reached us through the ancient texts of the ancient Iranians and the tablets of the Mesopotamians? And was there also a difference between a physician and a psychiatrist? What similarities and differences can be seen in ancient Iranian texts and Mesopotamian tablets about these contents? In Iranian texts, we are a little familiar with the topic of psychiatry, but the Mesopotamian tablets, which are older, provide us with more details about mental illness. What is certain is that they did not know enough about mental illnesses because they were unfamiliar with brain function; As a result, they resorted to magic and sorcery to cure it. Psychotherapists had a high position in the Iranian and Mesopotamian society and were considered a clergyman. They worked with the physician to treat many ailments. This is a historical- descriptive research, and the subject matter has been gathered in a library way.

Investigation of Three Migration Periods of Roman Elites in the Formation and Survival of the Jundishapur Scientific Center Applying the Theory of migration by Everett S. Lee

Farhad Rashnopour

Jundishapur has been one of the oldest scientific and educational centers in Iran. A civil and intellectual field that emerged from the time of Sassanid Shapur (I), and gradually a scientific center emerged, especially in the medicine field. The splendor of the scientific center and the city of Jundishapur has been deeply correlated with the phenomenon of migration of Roman (Syriac-Nestorian) elites. Therefore, the causation and explanation of these migrations on the formation, life, and continuity of scientific center are significant to study. The present article attempted to investigate the dimensions of this issue from the perspective of historical sociology, relying on the theory of attraction and repulsion of Everett Lee. Thus, the present study tries to analyze three periods of elite migration from Rome to Jundishapur by using a descriptive-analytical method and relying on library resources and answer question of whether these migrations can be explained using the theory of attraction and repulsion? Findings indicate that in all three periods of the main migration of Roman elites to Jundishapur, Roman repulsions against Sassanid attractions have been very effective in the issue of residence and migration of elites. Religion has also been a crucial factor in the convergence and divergence of elites to migrate from Rome to Iran. The city of Jundishapur developed certain Syrian-Christian scientific and cultural features since its establishment. According to Everett Lee's migration theory, these characteristics had eliminated or downplayed the negative interventionist barriers and distance dilemma of elite migration from Rome to Jundishapur. Furthermore, the migration of elites from Rome to Jundishapur has been very effective in the survival of the city and the scientific center of Jundishapur

A Historical Study of the Role of Exercise and Physical Activity in Medicine from Perspective of Galenian Medicine

Parvin Asghari

Historical reports indicate that concepts such as health, well-being, personal and social development are closely related to physical activity, and the civilized nations of the world have always considered the importance of physical activity in the field of health and wellness. Among the ancient nations, the Greeks were most interested in exercise and physical activity, as it was an important part of ancient Greek medicine, and ancient Greek physicians, especially Hippocrates and Galen, focused on physical activity and proper diet as important components of a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, much of the basic information about the relationship between exercise and health was presented in the findings and medical texts of ancient Greece, which was comprehensively and practically proposed by Galen in the form of the theory of nature and the unnatural. The present study uses a descriptive-analytical method based on library information to answer the question of when humans with scientific and principled method found that exercise and physical activity have played a role in body health and the result of ancient Greek medicine, especially theory. Galen on the relationship between exercise and health in the form of abnormalities in ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, then the Renaissance to the present day, can play an important and effective role of exercise and physical activity in maintaining body health and disease prevention in different eras of human life.

Sassanids and Their Attitude to Medical Knowledge

Hasan Kohansal Vajargah

The Sassanid Empire ruled in Iran between 224 AD and 651 AD. The founder of this dynasty, Ardashir I (241-224 AD), a Zoroastrian cleric, took two very important steps in the beginning; One was the creation of a central government and the other was the formalization of the religion of Zoroaster. The homogeneity and alignment of government and religion in the Sassanid administration had very important effects on the growth and development of science and knowledge, especially medical science, which began in the Achaemenid Empire (330 559 AD). The under-consideration question in this research is that despite the class system and the monopoly of learning science and knowledge in the privileged classes of society, what was the status of medical science in the Sassanid period? This study showed that medical science had the highest position in the teachings of Zoroastrian religion; Because with that, they took care of their health and performed their religious duties well, and with it, they overcame the devil. In Zoroastrian religious texts, the duties and characteristics of the physician, the types of diseases and how to treat and the rules related to ‘Tebabat’(medicine) are discussed. In addition to this, the encouragement policy of kings and Sassanid government, including; Expanding cultural and scientific relations with India, Greece and Rome, translating the works of foreign physicians into Pahlavi and archiving them along with the formation of a large library, inviting foreign physicians to work at ‘GondiShapur’ University and sending Iranian physicians abroad in order to acquire more medical knowledge and experience, they were very influential in the growth and development of medical science. The current study has been conducted in a historical method with reference to library sources and archaeological sources as well as new researches have been used to complete the topics. It seems that due to the spread of Iranian civilization in the Sassanid era and paying attention to science and knowledge as well as the creation of a medical city in the Sassanid period, medical knowledge had a great importance in this period and this knowledge was researching professionally.

Components of Good Governance in the Corona Era by Looking at the Approvals of the National Anti-Corona Headquarters (with Emphasis on the Legal and Managerial Dimension)

Fezzeh Salimi

Corona is a global crisis that has affected government systems. The transition from crisis to crisis requires prudent measures. Governance is a continuous process through which conflicting interests are harmonized and cooperative actions are taken. The latest theory in this concept is good governance, which is doubly important in times of crisis. Good governance is the product of the favorable participation of the three institutions of government, civil society and the private sector. The components of good governance are numerous from the perspective of the World Bank, the United Nations, and thinkers in this field. The National Anti-Corona Headquarters was established by the order of the Supreme Leader and based on the approval of the Supreme National Security Council in March 2020 to take appropriate decisions regarding the treatment of Covid-19 disease, including announcing closures and other restrictive measures in case of violation of health instructions. In this research, with a descriptive-analytical method, an attempt has been made to explain the components of good governance in this period according to the unique legislative approvals in this field, while determining the competence of the mentioned headquarters in regulating. From the authors' point of view, the approvals of the Corona National Headquarters as one of the sub-councils of the Supreme National Security Council are beyond the ordinary law and among the existing components; Efficiency and effectiveness, transparency and accountability and pivotal consensus were recognized.

From Nature to Nurture; A Brief Study of Comparative Law of Filiation of Children Resulting from Reproductive Methods with the Intervention of a Third Party

Mohammad Rasekh

Filiation is one of the important legal issues which has gone under developments during the history of legal system. Over the modern times, along with the emergence of new methods of reproduction particularly those with the help of a third party, legal regulation of filiation of children resulting from such methods has encountered with new challenges. To whom these children are to be filiated? According to one of the traditions, the mother filiation is based on gestation and the father’s one on gamete. The question, however, is that whether these two criteria can regulate the filiation of such children in a consistent and effective manner. A study of laws and regulations of various countries gives us a negative answer. Laws that merely rely on these two criteria for the determination of filiation of those children would give rise to vagueness, undecidedness and uncertainty in this regard. Therefore, the necessity of a new criterion, i.e. that of intention, has been put forth. In this paper, we intend to study efforts made by legislators and judges of different legal systems so as to reach an effective and consistent criterion in this area.

Legislative Developments of the Confidentiality Principle of Medical Information in Iranian and French Law

Shobeir Azadbakht

One of the key principles in medical ethics, which has significant social effects, is the confidentiality of medical information. Given the significance of this principle, the legal systems of different countries have considered and recognized the principle of confidentiality. The existence of the principle of confidentiality can be viewed for two groups of people: those who are alive and those who have died. Two different bases underlie the recognition of confidentiality for each group. In Iranian and French law, this principle is applied to protect the privacy of living persons. While, for deceased people, it is applied for the public interests of the community and to ensure the no-harm rule. The purpose of this article is to examine how the principle of confidentiality is contemplated for these two groups of persons in French and Iranian law. There is an explicit provision in French law regarding the living and the deceased persons. In Iranian law, however, the principle of confidentiality is only recognized for living persons; However, despite the silence of the Iranian legislator, the principle of confidentiality can be extended to the deceased people. Nevertheless, this article attempts to briefly examine the concept and basis of the principle of confidentiality and then describe the position of the two legal systems of France and Iran.

Investigating the Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Moral Sensitivity of Nursing Students

Maasoumeh Barkhordari-Sharifabad

Health care providers need moral sensitivity to provide effective ethical care Since spirituality is an integral part of morality, and spiritual intelligence is the basis of an individual's beliefs that affect his performance, this study was conducted to determine the role of spiritual intelligence in moral sensitivity of nursing students. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that was conducted in 2021. The target population was nursing students studying in the first semester of 2021-2022 in Yazd, of which 153 people were selected by simple random sampling. In order to data gathering, questionnaire of King's spiritual intelligence and Lutzen's moral sensitivity was used. The validity and reliability of the instruments have been determined in previous research. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation, frequency distribution) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation test and T test) by SPSS software version 16. Results indicated the mean of moral sensitivity (64.24 ±10.46) and the mean of spiritual intelligence of nursing students (53.90 ±34.13) were moderate. There was no statistically significant relationship between spiritual intelligence and moral sensitivity (P=0.245). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct studies to investigate the mediating factors that may affect these variables for a better and deeper understanding.

Presenting a Structural Model to Explain Compassionate Care of Nurses Based on Moral Identity and Compassion to Others' Lives

Mozaffar Ghaffari

Compassionate care is considered one of the important elements of patient-centered and oriented care that gives health to the patient. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of designing and explaining the model of compassionate care of nurses based on moral identity and compassion for the lives of others. The present research method was done according to path analysis. The statistical sample included 250 patients with covid-19 and 250 nurses working in the corona department of hospitals in West Azerbaijan province in 2021, which were selected by available sampling method. Rodriguez's compassionate care questionnaire, Black and Reynolds' moral identity questionnaire, and Chang's scale of compassion for others' lives were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using Pearson, Bootstrap and Sobel tests and also through SPSS and Amos software program, version 24. The results showed that the variable of moral identify in interaction with the mediating role of compassion for the lives of others in explaining the compassionate care of nurses. A total of 0. 41 of the variance of compassionate care was explained through model variables. The direct effect of moral identity (0. 47), compassion for the lives of others (0. 36) was observed and it was significant in explaining the compassionate care model. Also, the result showed that the indirect effect of moral identity was found to be significant through the mediation of compassion and also towards the lives of others (2. 96). Considering the variable mediating effect of compassion towards the lives of others in the relationship between moral identity and compassionate care of nurses, it seems that the growth or strengthening of compassion towards the lives of others and moral identity can promote the compassionate care of nurses.

HIV/AIDS Diagnosis and the Importance of Counseling and Confidentiality: A Case Report

Fariba Asghari

Confidentiality in AIDS patients is one of the necessities of medical ethics, which has attracted the attention of policymakers in the health field in the last few decades because, on the one hand, it increases the trust between patients and doctors. On the other hand, it encourages them to adhere to treatment and do necessary care to patients in order to prevent the transmission of the disease to others. However, it may lead to a breach of benevolence and others’ right to health and cause problems in providing health care. Here we discuss a practical solution for this problem through a clinical case presentation.

Relationship Between Nurses’ Ethical Sensitivity and Work Environment Index

Maasoumeh Mangeli

Providing nursing care based on ethical values requires nurses to have ethical sensitivity. Determining the factors related to moral sensitivity can help to identify strategies to promote this ability. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between nurses' ethical sensitivity and work environment index. This descriptive-correlational study was performed in the presence of 135 nurses of Vali-e-Asr Hospital in Shahr-e-Babak (Kerman province) in 2021. Samples were selected by consensus method. Lutzen Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire and Work Environment Index Questionnaire were used to data collection. Data analysis was performed by determining the Pearson correlation coefficient and regression test using SPSS26. T-test and ANOVA were also used to examine the difference in mean scores based on demographic and occupational variables. Findings showed that the status of ethical sensitivity and work environment index of nurses participating in this study is at a moderate level and there is a significant correlation between nurses' ethical sensitivity and work environment index (P=0/049 R=0/212). Also, the mean score of work environment index showed a significant difference based on the variables of position (P=0/008) and shift work (P = 0/012). The existence of a significant relationship between nurses' ethical sensitivity and their work environment index confirms the importance of the work environment and its related consequences. According to the results of the present study, by optimizing the working environment of nurses, we can expect their ethical sensitivity to improve.

The effect of Depression in Medical Students and Residents on Their View Point about Euthanasia

Leila Razeghian Jahromi

An increase in the incidence of chronic and incurable diseases and the lack of facilities to care for patients raises the issue of prioritization in the allocation of facilities and the selection of patients to use the facilities and the choice between life and death. Discussion of termination of life and cessation of treatment is one of the challenges in the field of medicine and ethics. The demand for euthanasia has increased in recent years, and future physicians will face this issue. This cross-sectional study was performed on 200 interns and medical residents in 1400. All participants completed the Demographic Information Questionnaire, Beck Depression Questionnaire, and Attitude to Euthanasia Questionnaire. In the present study, 67.5% of participants agreed with euthanasia. The mean score of attitudes to euthanasia was higher in men than women (P = 0.023) and higher in single people (P = 0.045). As religious beliefs increased in individuals, the mean score of attitudes toward euthanasia decreased and opposition to it increased (P> 0.001). Positive attitudes toward euthanasia were associated with depression and its severity (P> 0.001). Depression and its severity are significantly associated with more physicians' desire for euthanasia. On the other hand, the stronger the religious beliefs, the greater the anti-euthanasia. Support for euthanasia in men and single people was also higher than in other groups.

Identification and Analysis of Organizational-Professional Factors Affecting the Trust Between the Patient and the Physician

Maghsoud Farasatkhah

In the health system, professional problems and organizational obstacles cause patient fatigue, physician exhaustion, and ultimately interpersonal issues between the patient and the physician, including lack of mutual understanding and erosion of trust. Therefore, trust, as the central core of social capital, plays a significant role in the quality of interpersonal and intergroup interactions. The trust between the patient and the doctor and its general expansion requires a set of organizational considerations and professional principles in the health system. The purpose of this qualitative research was to analyze organizational and professional factors affecting trust between the patient and the physician. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews in the health service centers located in Tehran. Using purposeful sampling and snowball, a total of 39 participants were interviewed until theoretical saturation was reached. Using the systematic approach of grounded theory (GT) and ATLAS.ti software, the data were categorized and analyzed in three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The findings show that the professional-organizational components effecting on trust between physicians and patients include three components of "adaptable professional management", "adaptable insurance" and "adaptable policy" and nine sub-components as described in the article. These components are the composing elements of the structure and infrastructure of professional development in health system, which can restore the relationship and interaction based on trust between the patient and the physician in health system. The other strategic researches are needed to develop strategies and executive policies to increase the trust between the patient and the physician.

A Critique on Increasing the Numbers of Medical Sciences Trainees

Roghayeh Gandomkar

One of the duties of the government is to train and provide the expert workforce to provide quality health services to society. During the last four decades, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education has prioritized one of the policies to increase the number of medical science students or to improve the quality of education based on the needs of society. Following the approval and initiation of the policy to expand the number of medical sciences students and considering its proponents and opponents, in this article, various aspects of increasing students include the supply of workforce in response to the demands of society and the challenges of ensuring the quality of education has been discussed. Previous studies show this is a multifaceted issue that requires comprehensive mixed-method studies taking into account all the influencing factors such as the high tendency of health workers to immigrate, low retention in less privileged areas, economic problems and other factors. In addition, expanding the numbers requires infrastructure, concise planning to provide high-quality education, and monitoring of the educational system and learners in terms of achieving the desired competencies. In case of not paying attention to ensuring the quality of education in all three dimensions of input, process and output, the increase of numbers will ultimately be counterproductive and will lead to jeopardizing the safety and health of patients.

With or Without Hijab This Is Not the Problem.

Fariba Asghari

Many debates and news regarding not providing healthcare services to female patients based on wearing hijab were raised following the woman, life, freedom movement in Iran. In this editorial, the author first has an overview of the cases in which the doctor is ethically allowed to choose her patient, then recommend not to refuse patients based on wearing hijab, putting forward this argument that it can enhance social polarization and make discrimination in access to health care based on hijab a matter of concern to the society which in turn can cause distrust in the medical profession especially in Iran’s current situation. In addition, this editorial emphasizes that the Council of Medicine as the patient advocate should prevent the government limiting the access of women without hijab to health care services.