Introduction. In order to improve planning, educational methodology, and evaluation in medical education, well-proportioned, exact and prospective programs are needed. Without doubt, the main changes in medical education programs have resulted from researches performed in this area during the last decades.
Revision of medical education in Iran began by the Cultural Revolution Council by order of Imam Khomeini in 1981. The medical group of the Council revised the aims and plans of medical education and suggested a unified Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
Methods. Searching in the National Medical Papers Collection performed across two periods, (1979 till 1993 and 1994 till 1998) showed that 9981 papers have been published during 20 years more than half of them belong to the last five years and 83% to the last 10 years. Articles related to research in medical education were extracted and their sources and studied subjects were categorized.
Results. Fifty-six papers were published during the studied 20 years period 64 percent of these articles were presented within the last 5 years. The frequency of papers was higher in the fields of “Aim and planning” and “Student”.
Discussion. Research development in medical education needs special planning in which the importance of research and its role in self-improvement, independency and country development are defined. It should use existing abilities in order to grow creative powers in a suitable way. The resources of such reforming activity are available in Education Development Centers of the Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran.
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