University Pre-Professional Program: A Transitional Phase from Didactic to PBL Pedagogy.

Purpose: The College of Science and Health Professions offers the University Pre-Professional Program (UPPP) to newly enrolled students. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in preparing students to become self-directed learners and to seek students' perceptions about student-centered teaching.

Methods: A quantitative quasi-experimental study that used a pre and post-test survey in two stages, before and after semester-4.

Measurement of Exam Anxiety Levels Among Medical Students and Their Association With the Influencing Factors.

Introduction Studying medical science is a demanding task, often leading to exam anxiety among medical students. This study aims to measure anxiety levels among medical students and their relationship with gender, age, grades, study time, year of study, and learning methods. Methods It is a cross-sectional study involving third- to sixth-year medical students, who filled in the questionnaire related to the personal data, studying methods, and the Westside Test Anxiety Scale, to estimate the exam anxiety levels before the final examinations of the academic year 2020-2021.

Awareness regarding COVID-19 and its effects on mental health among pre-professional health sciences students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for health sciences in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In light of the outbreak caused by the COVID-19 and its impact on the physical and mental wellbeing, we explored the consequences of this pandemic on the mental health among pre-professional health sciences students and their awareness regarding the virus. A descriptive observational cross-sectional study was conducted at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Jeddah and Riyadh campuses. Data was collected from 770 participants using an online questionnaire, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.

Impacts of Changing the Curriculum Design on the Examination Results of Anatomy and Physiology Course.

Introduction Innovating strategies have become a compulsion in all fields associated with improved outcomes. Similarly, an innovation was introduced in the curriculum design and content to be tested for the Anatomy and Physiology course at the College of Science and Health Professions (COSHP), King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), in the spring semester of 2020. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, until the spring semester of 2019, two examinations were conducted as continuous assessments (Midterm I and II), followed by a comprehensive Final examination.

Switching from face-to-face to an online teaching strategy: how anatomy and physiology teaching transformed post-COVID-19 for a university preprofessional program.

The College of Science and Health Professions offers a university preprofessional program. Like most medical schools in Saudi Arabia, the teaching delivery strategy in the university preprofessional program is on campus and face-to-face. During the month of March 2020, teaching activities of the spring semester were proceeding as normal; however, the sudden emergence of COVID-19 disturbed routine activities and compelled authorities to switch all teaching activities from face-to-face to online.

Assessing the Effects of Basic Medical Science Courses on the Knowledge and Attitude towards Antibiotic Usage among Pre-Professional Students in Saudi Arabia.

The curriculum of medical schools includes courses on antibiotics. Therefore, it is worth exploring information related to the knowledge and attitudes about antibiotics. In this cross-sectional study the questionnaire was administered to the undergraduates in two phases, before and after attending the basic medical science courses.

Approaches used for teaching anatomy and physiology in the university pre-professional program at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

Many medical schools offer pre-professional programs to undergraduate students. The main purpose of the university pre-professional program (UPPP) is to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills required to successfully cope with the academic demands of further education provided by professional colleges. The aim of this commentary article is to describe the role of UPPP at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in preparing students to continue studies at the College of Medicine (COM) and other health-related colleges.

Knowledge and Attitude Towards Antibiotic Usage: A Questionnaire-Based Survey Among Pre-Professional Students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences on Jeddah Campus, Saudi Arabia.

Knowledge and attitudes towards proper antibiotic usage among students in medical and other health allied fields play a vital role in limiting the pandemic of antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes toward antibiotic usage among pre-professional students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences on Jeddah Campus, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered cross-sectional survey of 347 first year students was conducted at the College of Science and Health Professions, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences using a validated questionnaire.

Cadaver Dissection Is Obsolete in Medical Training! A Misinterpreted Notion.

Cadaver dissection (CD) is considered a tool for studying the structural details of the human body. Lately, conflicting opinions regarding the utility of this modality in medical training have been published in medical literature. This review of the literature examines the status of anatomy teaching with CD in traditional, modern, and postgraduate medical training across the world.

Expression and Immunohistochemical Localisation of the Gβγ-activated and Calcineurin-Inhibited Adenylyl Cyclase Isoforms in Rat Articular Chondrocytes.

Objective: To determine the expression and localisation of the Gβγ-activated adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms 2, 4, and 7 and calcineurin-inhibited AC isoform 9 in rat articular chondrocytes.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Jumma Research Laboratory and Histology Laboratory, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, from 2009 to 2011.

Temporal expression of calcium/calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase isoforms in rat articular chondrocytes: RT-PCR and immunohistochemical localization.

A multitude of signalling cascades are implicated in the homeostasis of articular chondrocytes. However, the identity of these signalling pathways is not fully established. The 3, 5'-cyclic AMP-mediated signalling system is considered to be a prototype.

Anatomy education faces challenges in Pakistan.

Anatomy education in Pakistan is facing many of the same challenges as in other parts of the world. Roughly, a decade ago, all medical and dental colleges in Pakistan emphasized anatomy as a core basic discipline within a traditional medical science curriculum. Now institutions are adopting problem based learning (PBL) teaching philosophies, and since medical colleges in Pakistan first introduced PBL curricula that expose the basic sciences primarily in clinical contexts, the methods and extent of anatomy teaching have been topics of much debate.

Prevalence of byssinosis in spinning and textile workers of Karachi, Pakistan.

The authors measured prevalence of byssinosis in spinning and textile workers of Karachi, Pakistan, and examined association of the disease with demographic and environmental factors. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 3 spinning and textile mills and 3 colonies inhabited by spinning and textile workers. A precoded questionnaire was administered to the workers and followed by physical and clinical examination.

Critical evaluation of the claims made by pharmaceutical companies in drug promotional material in Pakistan.

Background: In Pakistan, there is no mechanism to monitor the drug promotional campaign by pharmaceutical industry despite the fact that there is enough evidence that irrational pharmacotherapy is increasingly encountered even in the developed countries due to unethical practices of pharmaceutical promotion. Objectives. To audit the drug promotional claims made by the pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan.