Assessing Physician Confidence in Counseling Patients on COVID-19 Disease and Vaccination: A Survey of Physicians' Perspectives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Background: The COVID-19 vaccine has been available and well acceptable among the Saudi population since its introduction in 2020; however, concerns still remain regarding the confidence of doctors in giving such vaccines.

Research Question: How confident are physicians in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia about giving counseling and advice for patients regarding COVID-19 disease and COVID-19 vaccines?

Objective:  To determine how confident Saudi Arabian doctors are in their ability to advise patients on the COVID-19 illness and COVID-19 vaccines.

Aim: To assist the health authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in developing and implementing programs to improve doctors' skills and knowledge in giving advice to patients about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Bacterial contamination of stethoscopes.

Background: A stethoscope, an essential tool of the medical profession, can become a source of nosocomial infection.

Objective: To determine the frequency of bacterial contamination of stethoscopes as well as the practices used for cleaning them.

Methods: Cultures were taken from 100 stethoscopes used by different medical personnel in different hospital services.