Interpretive Structural Modeling of Competency-Based Skill and Professional Training in the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education
Keywords:
Skill training, professional training, competency, clinical education, interpretive structural modeling, educational technologyAbstract
Purpose: The objective of this study was to develop and analyze an interpretive structural model of the key factors influencing the success of competency-based skill and professional training in the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education.
Methods and Materials: This applied–developmental study employed a quantitative research design using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach. Data were collected in two stages: a comprehensive review of relevant national and international literature to identify the principal dimensions of competency-based training, followed by a field study using a structured expert questionnaire. Participants consisted of ten senior education managers with more than ten years of professional experience and specialization in educational management or human resource management. Expert judgments were used to construct the Structural Self-Interaction Matrix, which was then transformed into the initial and final reachability matrices. Hierarchical levels of variables were determined through iterative partitioning of reachability and antecedent sets. MICMAC analysis was subsequently applied to classify variables based on their driving and dependence power.
Findings: The results revealed that individual and developmental training functioned as the most influential driver of the system, while skill-based and clinical training emerged as the most dependent outcome. Professional and ethical training occupied a critical mediating position, and managerial and organizational training together with training based on emerging technologies served as dynamic linkage variables transmitting influence across the system. The MICMAC analysis indicated strong interdependence among all components, with no autonomous variables identified, reflecting a highly integrated competency-based training structure.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that sustainable improvement in competency-based professional training depends on a coherent structural alignment between individual development, ethical formation, organizational leadership, technological integration, and clinical competence, offering a strategic framework for guiding educational reform within the health sector.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Hossein Chenari; Ebrahim Salehi Omran (Author)
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