A study on the quality of study skills of newly-admitted students of Fasa University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Some students attribute their academic failure to such factors as low aptitude, unavailability of resources, and bad luck. However, we can dare to say that the most important factor playing a role in academic success is students' little acquaintance with learning and study skills. This study aimed at examining the quality of study skills in newly-admitted students of Fasa Medical University so that the results can be used in holding teaching courses in study skills. Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sampling was done of all the newly-admitted students in the first semester of 2012 academic year including 94 students of Medicine, Nursing and Laboratory Technology. The data were collected through a questionnaire, consisting of two parts. The first part included items on demographic information of the subjects (such as sex, field of study, number of hours dedicated to studying, student's rank in Konkour, and the National University entrance exam. The second part was composed of 19 special items on such domains as 'Time management', 'Concentration', 'Class note-taking', 'Studying' and 'Taking exams' with 4, 5, 4, 3, 3 items, respectively. The checklists were filled in using Likert Scale. The collected data was then analyzed using an SPSS 14, through which descriptive statistics as mean, standard deviation and multiple regressions were obtained. Moreover, the data were analyzed using Independent Sample t and ANOVA tests. Results: The results showed that the range of the students' study skills was 2.35, being rather below the normal level; the highest mean belonged to 'concentration' (2.56), but the lowest mean was that of 'time management' (2.05).Through ANOVA test, it was also shown that there was no significant difference between the students of Medicine, Nursing and Laboratory Sciences regarding their scores on ‘study skills’ as (p=0.646). In addition, through independent sample t-test, it was shown that there was no significant difference between the subjects’ ‘sex’ and ‘study skills’ as the p-value was 0.584. On the other hand, through multiple regressions, the results indicated that there was a significant difference between 'taking exams’ and ‘studying’ (p=0.003), between ‘class note-taking’ and ‘'taking exams’ (p=0.004), between ‘concentration' and ‘'taking exams’ (p=0.002), and between ‘time management’ and 'taking exams’ (p=0.001). Conclusion: Regarding the very important role of study skills in learning, it is recommended that 'study skills' and 'study habits' courses be included in the students' curriculum formally or implemented as workshops for students.