Future of Medical Education Journal

Future of Medical Education Journal

Satisfaction of Internal Medicine Clerkship Students with the Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Elham Khorasani 1
Monavvar Afzalaghaee 2, 3
Fatemeh Ghazavi Dozein 4
Elham Honarjou 5
1 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2 Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
4 Pediatric Resident, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
5 Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
10.22038/fmej.2026.90573.1702
Abstract
Background: The assessment of clinical skills is an integral part of medical education. Given the importance of student satisfaction as a key determinant of educational effectiveness, this study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction of medical students during their clinical clerkship with the implementation of the Mini-CEX in the General Internal Medicine Ward at Hasheminejad Hospital, Mashhad.
Method: This descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study involved 53 clinical clerkship medical students at Hasheminejad Hospital, Mashhad (2023–2024). The participants (58.5% male, 41.5% female; mean age 23.66 years) included all students assigned to the General Internal Medicine rotation. After obtaining written informed consent, data were collected using the validated Mini-CEX questionnaire developed by Habibi et al.
Results: Practical assessment scores ranged from 0 to 10. The highest scores were observed in the Professionalism domain (9.26 ± 0.72), while the lowest were in Clinical Reasoning (8.91 ± 0.68). Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between scores and gender. Overall satisfaction was high, with mean scores in all evaluated dimensions exceeding 8.
Conclusion: The results reflect the positive impact of using the Mini-CEX. Medical students in the clinical phase achieved acceptable scores and reported high satisfaction with the process. These findings support the continued use of Mini-CEX and the integration of student-led improvements.
Keywords
Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX)
Medical Education
Student Satisfaction
Internal Medicine
Clinical Clerkship
Clinical Reasoning
Subjects
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