Impact of Patient-Centered and Self-Care Education on Diabetes Control in a Family Practice Setting in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic and complex medical disease that leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Patient-centered diabetes education that emphasizes active patient involvement, self, and shared care constitutes a substantial and essential component of the comprehensive diabetes management approach. Objectives: To assess the impact of patient-centered diabetes education sessions on the prescribed treatment plan in controlling diabetes and other related cardiovascular risk factors.

Does physician distraction lead to diagnostic and management errors? An exploratory study in the primary care setting.

Objectives: There is an increasing concern about diagnostic errors and their impact on patient safety. Physicians' diagnostic ability is significantly undermined by certain distractions that can carry potential negative consequences such as diagnostic and management errors. This study aimed to examine the effects of distracting factors for physicians during consultation and their consequent effects on diagnostic accuracy and disease or condition management.

Patient's Desire and Preference for Provision of Information Toward Greater Involvement in Shared Care.

Objectives: To determine the perceptions of patients on whether they receive sufficient information about their medical problems, their preferences to obtain information, and factors that may influence their preferences.

Design And Settings: Cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted in a primary health-care center affiliated with the National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Patients And Methods: Patients attending the center between October and December 2010 were interviewed using a questionnaire developed to meet the objectives of the study.

Shared clinical decision making. A Saudi Arabian perspective.

Objectives: To determine preferences of patients regarding their involvement in the clinical decision making process and the related factors in Saudi Arabia.  

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a major family practice center in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between March and May 2012. Multivariate multinomial regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with patients preferences.

Problem-based learning in undergraduate medical education in Saudi Arabia: time has come to reflect on the experience.

Background: Problem-based learning (PBL) is being increasingly used in many undergraduate medical schools worldwide due to its recognized advantages.

Objectives: To explore views of medical students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) about the appropriateness of the PBL concepts and process. Differences in students' views were examined as well.

Reprioritizing current research trends in medical education: a reflection on research activities in Saudi Arabia.

Background: There are numerous national efforts to determine and develop research priorities of medical education in Saudi Arabia. These priorities were first proposed in 2010 by "Dr Al-Khuli's Chair for Developing Medical Education in Saudi Arabia". The proposed priority domains were: curriculum, students, faculty, and quality assurance and accreditation.

Learning outcomes and tutoring in problem based-learning: how do undergraduate medical students perceive them?

Objectives: To explore opinions of undergraduate medical students regarding learning outcomes of the instructional strategy of Problem Based Learning (PBL). In addition their views were sought about the role of tutors and qualities of effective tutors.

Method: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire based study which was conducted in two colleges of Medicine, Central region, Saudi Arabia during the period of 1st of April to 30(th) June 2012.

Research methodology workshops evaluation using the Kirkpatrick's model: translating theory into practice.

Background: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of academic programs can enhance the development, effectiveness, and dissemination of comparative quality reports as well as quality improvement efforts.

Objectives: To evaluate the five research methodology workshops through assessing participants' satisfaction, knowledge and skills gain and impact on practices by the Kirkpatrick's evaluation model.

Methods: The four level Kirkpatrick's model was applied for the evaluation.

Development of the clinical learning evaluation questionnaire for undergraduate clinical education: factor structure, validity, and reliability study.

Background: Teaching and learning of clinical skills for undergraduate medical students usually takes place during the clinical clerkship. Therefore, it is of vital importance to ensure the effectiveness of the rotations within this clerkship. The aims of this study were to develop an instrument that measures the effectiveness of the clinical learning environment, to determine its factor structure, and to find first evidence for the reliability and validity of the total scale and the different factors.

Cigarette smoking among female students in five medical and nonmedical colleges.

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smoking, knowledge about the ill effects of smoking on health, and the influence of family members' smoking habits among Saudi female students.

Methods: This is a type of cross-sectional study. A sample of 1,070 female students was selected by a nonrandom and convenient sampling method from five colleges (Medicine, Business and Administration, Computer Sciences, Education, and Languages and Translation) of King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

What determines the selection of undergraduate medical students to the specialty of their future careers?

Background: It is important to understand the factors that influence the undergraduate medical students' specialties choice for the post-graduation.

Objectives: To identify the number of undergraduate medical students who decided their post-graduate specialty career, factors that may influence their decision to select a particular specialty, and their career specialties preference.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to achieve the objectives.

Importance and process of feedback in undergraduate medical education in Saudi Arabia.

Feedback is an essential element in the process of students' learning and development. This study aimed to explore the views of medical students regarding the importance and process of feedback in their medical education. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in our college of medicine.

Barriers to feedback in undergraduate medical education. Male students' perspective in Central Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To explore the views of undergraduate medical students regarding the presence and sources of barriers to effective feedback in their setting.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Department of Medical Education, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from April to June 2010. A self-administered questionnaire was used to explore the objectives of the study.

Sleep disorder among medical students: relationship to their academic performance.

Background: Medical students are exposed to a significant level of pressure due to academic demands. Their sleep pattern is characterized by insufficient sleep duration, delayed sleep onset, and occurrence of napping episodes during the day.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of sleep disorder among medical students and investigate any relationship between sleep disorder and academic performance.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of tobacco smoking by medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Tobacco consumption is associated with considerable negative impact on health. Health professionals, including future doctors, should have a leading role in combating smoking in the community.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to assess the prevalence of smoking among medical students of newly established medical colleges in Riyadh city, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as well as to assess students' attitude, practice and their knowledge on the risk factors of tobacco consumption.

Perception among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, regarding alcohol and substance abuse in the community: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: This study was conducted to examine the perception and views of medical students regarding the extent of alcohol and substance abuse in the community and the possible predisposing factors for this problem.

Methods: It is a cross-sectional study involving samples from two medical colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The students who decided to participate in the study without the offer of any incentives filled an anonymous, self administered questionnaire which had been designed to meet the purpose of the study.

Medical students' evaluation of their exposure to the teaching of ethics.

Background: The subject of Biomedical Ethics has become recognized as an essential integral component in the undergraduate curriculum of medical students.

Objectives: (1) To review the current Biomedical Ethics Course offered at the College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS). (2) To explore the perception of medical students on the different components of the course.

Quality issues in continuing medical education in Saudi Arabia.

The issue of continuing medical education (CME) in Saudi Arabia is no longer quantity but rather quality. Quality Management (QM) of the current huge number of CME activities is essential to ensure its merits and outcomes. Sound evaluation is the cornerstone of any QM process to CME.

Appointment system in primary care: opinion of consumers and providers.

Background: The appointment system in primary care is widely used in developed countries, but there seems to be a problem with its use in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: (1) To explore opinions and satisfaction of consumers and providers of care in Primary Health Care regarding walk-in and the introduction of the appointment system. (2) To examine factors which may affect commitment to an appointment system in PHC.