Teaching methods in the healthcare management major

Area of Science:

• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Medical Management Education
• Student Learning Strategies

Background:

• Effective organization and management are crucial for quality higher education, student professional adaptation, and career success.
• The study focuses on the Healthcare Management major within medical universities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the utilization and student perception of various teaching methods in Healthcare Management programs.
• To compare teaching method preferences between two Bulgarian medical universities.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire survey of 198 baccalaureate students in Healthcare Management at Sofia Medical University and Plovdiv Medical University over two academic years (2004-2006).
• Data collected via a 51-question survey, analyzed using SPSS v. 13.0 and Microsoft Excel '97.
• Statistical analysis included alternative, non-parametric, and graphic methods with a significance level of P < 0.05.

Main Results:

• Lectures are the most frequently used teaching method (26.32% at SMU, 30.43% at PMU) and perceived as the easiest to learn from by students (27.56% at SMU, 22.75% at PMU).
• PMU students also found seminars, individual work, and discussions effective for knowledge acquisition.
• Lectures were overwhelmingly the most common method reported by SMU students (91.67%) compared to PMU students (8.33%).

Conclusions:

• Students generally prefer classical teaching methods, finding them familiar and frequently employed by instructors.
• Despite preference, classical methods may not foster student engagement, potentially leading to passive learning as noted by T. Popov.