Challenges of Developing Religious Competencies in Medical Education in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Background and Objectives: Competency-based medical education focuses on empowering the medical students with capabilities required to act effectively in their field work, in accordance with the needs and demands of the service sector. The remarkable rise in the interconnection between medicine and religious issues in recent years has intensified the need to addressing religious competencies in medical education. However, there is little evidence of such a tendency in the Iranian medical universities. We investigated the barriers and challenges faced by medical education system for the development of religious competencies. Methods: This qualitative study was carried out by conventional content analysis method. The participants were ۱۸ faculty members and instructors from ۷ Iranian medical universities, selected through purposeful sampling. The experts' opinions were obtained through deep semi-structured interviews and analyzed by MaxQDA (version ۱۰). Results: The results revealed the challenges of developing religious competencies in five main categories including conceptual challenges (lack of clarified concept of religious competencies,  and the predominance of secular approach), motivational challenges (lack of intrinsic/ extrinsic motivation), methodological challenges (lack of appropriate teaching/ learning methodology and inadequacy of assessment mechanisms), institutional challenges (the absence of supportive and facilitating organizational culture, lack of necessary infrastructures, discordant content and resources, and improper policies), and finally contextual challenges (sociocultural conflicts and macro social structures). Conclusion: Religious competencies development in Iranian medical education is in need of close attention to multiple factors affecting it, some of which are outlined in this article. It seems that a multifaceted look is needed for a comprehensive plan in this regard.