Physicians' professionalism from the patients' perspective: a qualitative study at a single-family practice in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Professionalism is a crucial component of medical practice. It is a culturally sensitive notion that generally consists of behaviors, values, communication, and relationships. This study is a qualitative study exploring physician professionalism from the patients' perspective.

Relationship Between Socio-Demographics, Study Skills and Distress Among Pakistani School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Purpose: The increasing prevalence of distress among students is of global concern. Several factors such as school and family environment and ineffective study skills could influence mental health. The study explored the rate of distress symptoms among school students' and its relationship with their study skills, stressors and demographic factors.

Stress coping strategies among medical students and trainees in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study.

Background: Stress is very common among medical students and trainees. Chronic stress has multiple negative mental and physical health consequences. This study explores medical students and interns' stressors and their coping strategies.

The relationship between study skills and depressive symptoms among medical residents.

Background: The cost of depression among residents is staggering as it extends into the quality and safety of patient care. Finding an explanation to resident depression by investigating the associated factors is therefore important. Study skills can be a possible factor, and a clear gap in the literature exists in this regard.

Primary care healthcare policy implementation in the Eastern Mediterranean region; experiences of six countries: Part II.

Primary healthcare (PHC) is essential for equitable access and cost-effective healthcare. This makes PHC a key factor in the global strategy for universal health coverage (UHC). Implementing PHC requires an understanding of the health system under prevailing circumstances, but for most countries, no data are available.

Validation of a new study skills scale to provide an explanation for depressive symptoms among medical students.

Background: Medical students are faced with enormous academic demands that may influence their emotional wellbeing. The high rate of depression among medical students and its negative impact is an impetus to find explanation for the factors associated with it. Study skills that students possess might be such a factor.

The pattern of social media use and its association with academic performance among medical students.

Background: There are concerns that the use of social media (SM) among medical students could affect academic performance. The objectives of the study were to investigate the pattern and reasons for SM use and their association with academic performance.

Methods: A stratified random sample, frequency distribution and comparison of categorical variables with Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used.

Health professions' students have an alarming prevalence of depressive symptoms: exploration of the associated factors.

Background: There is a need to better understand the depression phenomenon and to clarify why some students become depressed and others don't. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of depressive symptoms among health professions' (HP) students, and to explore the association between socio-demographic factors (e.g.

A One-Day Dental Faculty Workshop in Writing Multiple-Choice Questions: An Impact Evaluation.

Long training workshops on the writing of exam questions have been shown to be effective; however, the effectiveness of short workshops needs to be demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a one-day, seven-hour faculty development workshop at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, on the quality of multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model was used.

Student centered curricular elements are associated with a healthier educational environment and lower depressive symptoms in medical students.

Background: Any curriculum change is essentially an environmental change; therefore there is a need to assess the impact of any change in the curriculum on the students' perception of the Educational Environment (EE) and psychological well-being. The objectives of the current study are to (i) compare the EE perceptions of medical students studying in a System Based Curriculum (SBC) with those studying in a traditional curriculum (ii) compare the rate of depressive symptoms among the same students studying in both types of curricula (iii) determine whether there is a difference in the EE perception and depressive symptoms based on gender and year of study.

Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted in a Saudi Medical School from 2007-2011, a period in which the school transitioned from a traditional to a SBC.

Correlates of emotional intelligence: results from a multi-institutional study among undergraduate medical students.

Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to deal with your own and others emotions. Medical students are inducted into medical schools on the basis of their academic achievement. Professionally, however, their success rate is variable and may depend on their interpersonal relationships.

A history of childhood maltreatment among spouses predicts violence against women.

Background And Objectives: Violence against women (VAW) is a worldwide problem that adversely affects women physically, psychologically, sexually, and financially. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) the rate of self-reported physical violence from husbands among women who presented to outpatient clinics of a major teaching hospital (2) the variables associated with VAW and (3) the pattern and the consequences of abuse on the victims' health.

Design And Settings: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a 6-month period, commencing in December 2009 at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine for children: a parents' perspective.

Objectives: The present study aims to detect the frequency and types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies used for children and to explore parental motivating factors for using CAM for their children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Participants And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that involved 462 families selected through a multistage cluster-sampling technique covering Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. The sample was selected from 40 clusters, distributed proportionally according to the size of the population in the catchment area of primary health care centres (PHCCs).

The prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms from an Arabian setting: a wake up call.

It has been shown that medical students have a higher rate of depressive symptoms than the general population and age- and sex-matched peers. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among the medical students of a large school following a traditional curriculum and its relation to personal background variables. A descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Effective teaching in medical schools. Guiding principles.

Clinical teachers have high qualifications in their specialty, but some of them do not have training, or proficiency in teaching, and education. Therefore, they may face the challenge of effective teaching in their daily practice. The objective of this study is to present some basic guiding principles for novices and expert academic health professionals.

A practical discussion to avoid common pitfalls when constructing multiple choice questions items.

This paper is an attempt to produce a guide for improving the quality of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) used in undergraduate and postgraduate assessment. Multiple Choice Questions type is the most frequently used type of assessment worldwide. Well constructed, context rich MCQs have a high reliability per hour of testing.

Traditional healers in Riyadh region: reasons and health problems for seeking their advice. A household survey.

Objectives: The objectives were to study sociodemographic characteristics of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) visitors, rate of their visits, health problems, and reasons for the visits.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Setting: This study was conducted in Riyadh city and its suburbs.

Evaluation of three instructional methods of teaching for undergraduate medical students, at king saud university, saudi arabia.

Background: There is an international move from traditional curriculum towards the learner - centered, and patient-oriented curriculum. In spite of its advantages, problem-based learning requires a larger number of teaching staff and space. This study was done to compare the problem-based learning (PBL), lectures and modified PBL methods.

Prevalence and pattern of alternative medicine use: the results of a household survey.

Background And Objectives: Alternative medicine (AM) encompasses all forms of therapies that fall outside the mainstream of medical practice. Its popularity is on the increase. Because previous surveys were limited and not generalizable, we estimated the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with use of AM in the community.

The prevalence of abnormal results of annual investigations among diabetic patients with different risk factors.

Background: The basic theme of this study was to promote the use of risk approach and encourage selectivity in requesting laboratory investigations. The objective was to estimate the proportion of abnormal results obtained from routinely requested annual investigations among the whole study population, and the odds ratios of abnormal test results among patients with certain risk factors.

Patients And Methods: A total of 459 diabetic patients aged 12 years and over, attending the primary care clinics of a university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were included in the study.

Audit of prescribing patterns in Saudi primary health care: What lessons can be learned?

Background: The prescription of drugs is one of the most important factors in the rising costs of health services. The lack of proven benefit, and the definite cost and side effects of many prescriptions, have been found in many studies. The aim of the present study is to assess the prescribing pattern of primary health care (PHC) physicians in Riyadh city, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Towards evidence-based medical education in Saudi medical schools.

(EBME) [corrected] is an attitude of mind that entails the creation of a culture in which teachers think critically about what they are doing, look at the best evidence available and on this basis, make decisions about their teaching practice, and subsequently, undertake the necessary revision and change. More medical schools have opened in Saudi Arabia in the last few years than have existed over the last three decades. Currently, the education of health professionals is based on assumption and traditions and rarely on research findings.