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Background: Hospitals need performance evaluation systems for development and competition in order to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their plans, processes and human resources. The objective of this research is to design an evaluation system at hospitals through the use of the Balanced Scorecard. Methods and Materials: In this comparative study, the selected countries consisted of Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand, and 34 public hospitals of Iran which were applying strategic planning. Performance evaluations were examined in terms of 6 aspects including mission, vision, strategies, perspectives, objectives and measures .A pattern was designed for performance evaluation of public hospitals in Iran and was validated using experts’ survey of DELFI method. Results: All countries had mission and vision as important aspects of their performance evaluation model while health effectiveness promotion was the most important strategy. High quality health services, resource development, innovation and guaranty in continuous services were other strategies. Perspectives of Balanced Scorecard included customer, internal processes, learning and development of staff and financial affairs. All of the countries had objectives and measures for each of the perspectives. Iranian hospitals had mission, vision, strategies and objectives but for them perspectives had not been defined and measures were not congruent with strategies and objectives. In the model, 4 perspectives were determined to describe hospital strategies and to use competition benefits as well. Conclusion: Applying measures of 4 perspectives including "Patients and Community", "Internal process and Productivity", "Growth and innovation" and "financial aspects" to doevaluation of Iranian public hospitals collates their performance, improves productivity of their resources and enhances patients and community satisfaction.

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Abstract Background: Study of the nursing and midwifery instructors and students viewpoints, as two important groups in teaching proccess, can be effect on codifying and evaluating of educational program and effectiveness in this courses. The purpose of this study was to determine the effective educational and evaluation program on clinical learning from the nursing and midwifery instructors and students’ opinion in Arak University of Medical Sciences, 2008. Materials and Methods: In a descriptive study in 2008, all students and clinical lecturer (n=84) were studied. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire consisted of three parts, demographic information, clinical education and evaluation program. Results: The age mean of the teachers and students respectively were 38±3.14, 22.2±2.18 years and the mean of theoretical and clinical history teaching of instructors, respectively, were 6.04±2.48 and 10./95±2.9 years. The most percents of instructors (91.3%) emphasized on considering the communicating skills education in education program. The most percents of students (85.2%) emphasized on considering the critical thinking and moral students support. Also, the most percents of instructors (78.3%) emphasized on step by step evaluation. While, the most percents of students (90.2%) emphasized on the effect of teachers evaluation and reflected the results to them. Conclusion: Hope to, this study results can be helpful to effective nursing and midwifery students’ lesson planning and evaluating.

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Abstract Background: Studies which related to effective factors on professors evaluation had a god improvement in academic department. Despite many researches in this area, most of the results have been unconvincing due to data heterogeneous. The aim of this study was to determind and analyze the scores of professors’ evaluation in Arak University of Medical Sciences base on some effective factors. Materials and Methods: This study was an analytical cross-sectional that was carried out on all Arak University of Medical Sciences academic members with census method, during 2001-2007. The scores of professors’ evaluation base on students’ viewepoint and others factors were used and analyzed in achieve of Education Development Center (EDC). Results: The scores mean of professors evaluation during this 6 years were various 15.03-16.45. Evaluation scores mean had significant difference. There were a V.S weak correlation between studens’ number and evaluation score mean. Conclusion: The results of professor evaluation by students were various during 6 years. It must be determine important variables such as class, effective factors on educational period, professors and time of education, and supplementary studies were done by considering these factors.

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Abstract Background: Tendency to use of portfolio for evaluating has been developed with the aim of optimum use of assessment culture. Present study was done to determine the effect of portfolio’s evaluation method on midwifery students’ learning and satisfaction in gynecology practical training. Materials and Methods: In this qusi-experimental study, all midwifery students in sixth semester (n=42), were randomly allocated to portfolio and routine evaluation group. Based on educational goals, portfolio groups prepared package which consists of a complete report of history, physical exam and method of patient management for women whom visited gynecology clinic and were evaluated by a portfolio’s evaluation checklist. During the last day of their course, post test, clinical exam and opinion form were taken. Results: The mean of age, score of pretest and gynecology theory were similar in both groups. The mean of pre and post test scores for students of both groups didn’t have significant difference for knowledge and comprehension levels. The mean score of application, analysis and cognitive higher levels questions in portfolio group were significantly greater than routine evaluation group (p=0.001, p=0.02, respectively). The mean of clinical exam score in both groups had a significant difference. In portfolio group, mean of diagnostic and therapeutic solution and Communication between theoretical and clinical leanings scores were more. Students’ overall satisfaction scores in two evaluation methods were similar. Conclusion: Portfolio evaluation provides the opportunity for more learning by increasing the student’s participation in learning process and helping them to apply theory in practice.

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Background: From an administrational point of view, patient satisfaction with healthcare, diagnosis, and rehabilitation services is highly important. The present study was done to evaluate the satisfaction of patients referring to the emergency departments of hospitals in Arak. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional one which was carried out using a questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software and the related tests. Results: Overall, over the first period, 72.9% of the patients were satisfied with the services, whereas this level of satisfaction reached 73.3% in the second period. By comparison, levels of satisfaction with the physical environment (86.2%), health condition (85.9%), speed and accuracy of care provider (69.6%), the quality of information provision (23.1%), behavior of guards and staff (60.2%), facilities (60.1%), drug availability (66.4%), discharge and costs (51.6%), and consideration of religious issues (86.6%) in the emergency departments over the first period reached 87.4%, 84.1%, 69.7%, 25.6%, 61.7%,67.9%, 50.9%, and 88.1%, respectively over the second period. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that patients’ satisfaction with emergency departments’ services was reasonable. The greatest dissatisfaction was related to costs, drugs, procedural problems, method of treatment, facilities, wait time, and insufficient information provision.

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