Quality of Educational Services for Medical Students in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences Based on SERVQUAL’s Evaluation Model

Abstract

Background: Being aware of the quality of educational services offered by universities can be a basis for planning, policy making and improving the quality of their educational services. Objectives: Hence, this research aims to evaluate the quality of educational services of the medical students in Iran. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the medical students, selected by simple random sampling. A total of 252 students completed questionnaires. The data collection tool was the standard questionnaire of SERVQUAL. Data were analyzed in SPSS software version 24 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: There was a negative gap between the students' expectations and perceptions of educational services (gap between the current status and the desirable situation) in each of the five dimensions of the quality of educational services (from maximum score of 5). The scores of gap for each dimension out of a maximum of 5 are as follows: accountability (-1.46), tangibility (-1.34), empathy (-1.25), reliability (-1.14) and assurance (-1.12). There was a meaningful relationship between the educational service gap and variables of gender, academic year, satisfaction with the field of study and university (P < 0.05). Conclusions:The present study revealed a negative gap in all five dimensions of quality of educational services. With planning, proper allocation of resources and actions such as holding workshops for the employees and faculty members, these gaps can be minimized. To this end, first, we must pay attention to the dimensions with the highest quality gaps; attention to one dimension can affect other dimensions.

Patient Satisfaction

“…Customer satisfaction can be improved by meeting customers' expectations regarding various aspects of the service (Rita et al, 2019). Therefore, service companies should consider improving the quality of their services to increase customer satisfaction (Gilavand and Maraghi, 2019). There are five core factors in customer satisfaction: process quality, interaction quality, environmental quality, price, and trust (Zarei et al, 2015a;Zarei et al, 2015b).…”

“…There is also increasing pressure to ensure that service quality affects product quality, product process quality, and service quality (ISO 9000, 2015;ISO 9001, 2015), which focuses on customer satisfaction (ISO 10001, 2007). Researchers have measured perceived service quality (PSQ) from the consumers' perspective (Gilavand and Maraghi, 2019). Customer satisfaction is a useful metric for measuring the quality of service organizations in which service quality should fulfill customer expectations (Rita et al, 2019).…”

Investigating the Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Worry, and Its Relationship with the Academic Performance of Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran

“…Medical jobs are among high-stress jobs, and doctors and medical students are exposed to all kinds of stress and psychological harms caused by their job, so some studies have revealed a higher prevalence of symptoms of psychological harm in medical students than in the general population or other fields of study (13). In Iran, the healthcare service system and the medical education system are integrated, and medical students, from the third year of study onward, are primarily engaged in studying and treating patients in educational hospitals under the supervision of their professors (14). The researchers mainly consider students' academic performance as an appropriate criterion for assessing the achievements of universities, and students' mental health can play a significant role in achieving these goals (8,10).…”

The Quality of Services of Iran University Hospitals Based on SERVQUAL's Evaluation Model: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The SERVQUAL's evaluation model, the quality of provided services is determined by examining the gap between expectations (desirable status) and perceptions (current status) based on five dimensions such as physical dimension, assurance dimension, responsiveness dimension, reliability dimension, and empathy dimension. This model has been used in several studies to evaluate the quality of hospital healthcare services provision ( 6 , 7 ). For example, in recent years, the SERVQUAL model has been used to measure patients' satisfaction with the quality of healthcare services provided in Turkish hospitals ( 8 , 9 ), Saudi Arabia ( 10 , 11 ), Poland ( 12 ), Cyprus ( 13 ), Albania ( 14 ), India ( 15 , 16 ), Pakistan ( 5 , 17 ) and Ghana ( 18 ).…”