Identifying and Prioritizing the Educational Needs Professors of Medical Sciences in the Field of E-Learning with the Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach

Background: Professors in universities and educational institutions hold a crucial role in crafting educational approaches utilizing cutting-edge technologies. They need to possess significant expertise in e-learning and tackle the obstacles associated with delivering education and utilizing Information and communication technologies within higher education. To effectively navigate these challenges and adaptations, professors need to equip themselves with new educational techniques through training and readiness to adeptly incorporate emerging technologies into their teaching practices, thus enhancing the educational journey for students. By identifying, understanding, and ranking professors' requirements and preferences, effective and diverse educational initiatives can be tailored to meet their needs. Objectives: This research aimed to recognize the educational needs of medical science professors in the field of e-learning from the experts' point of view and prioritize these needs utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Methods: This practical study was conducted in 2022 using a process-oriented approach and AHP. The main stages included the creation of a hierarchical structure, comparative judgment, and determining priorities. In the first step, 13 criteria were identified, which were derived from scientific articles and previous research. In the second step, the pairwise comparison matrix was used for comparative judgment, and the weight of each criterion was calculated. The third step involved determining priorities based on the weight of each criterion and the inconsistency ratio. The participants of this study included professors of basic and clinical sciences from different faculties. Results: The results of this study demonstrated that from the point of view of experts and participants, among the 13 criteria, the skills of virtual teaching (with weights of 0.146 and 0.148), electronic content production (with weights of 0.093 and 0.092), and holding online training courses (with the weights of 0.092 and 0.100) formed the three main needs of medical science professors in the field of e-learning and had the highest degree of importance and necessity compared to other criteria. Conclusions: Identifying the educational needs of medical science professors for organizing and designing necessary programs to enhance knowledge, skills, and empowerment will lead to improving the quality of e-learning, and eventually, reducing professors’ concerns in this area.