Utilization of blackboard among undergraduate medical students: where we are from the reality?

This study aimed to evaluate undergraduate medical students' perceptions to Blackboard [Bb] utilization learning management systems in terms of benefits and difficulties. The study was conducted at the College of Medicine, King Saud University. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the students. The questionnaire consisted of three parts including demographic information, utilization of Bb and difficulties while using Bb. A total of 808 questionnaires were distributed with 42% response rate. Among the participants, 224 [65.7%] were male and 116 [34.3%] were female students. Of them, 78.1% reported "disagreement and strong disagreement" on "Bb usefulness in communicating with the instructor". However, 74.1% students reported "disagreed and strongly disagreed" on "Bb usefulness in communicating with other students", whereas majority of the students [71.8%] did not use multimedia available in Bb system. Also, 61% students agreed that there is a "lack of formal training" on the use of Bb in the college, and 37.2% students agreed that the using "Bb system is a time consuming". However, 39.2% students did not know about the Bb systems add any additional burden on the students. The disagreement trend of male and female students concerned with the Bb utility and difficulties were almost same. The finding of the study showed a poor utilization of Bb learning features. Students faced technical difficulties while using Bb. The findings of this study indicate the need of compulsory students training of any newly introduced learning management systems including Bb in the educational institute

Views of family medicine trainees of a teaching hospital in Riyadh regarding their hospital rotations: a qualitative study

To explore Family Medicine Trainees views regarding the hospital component of their Family Medicine [FM] training program. This is a qualitative focus group discussion based study. Thirteen trainees, eight from final year of FM training program and five from third year of the same program participated in the study. The structure for discussion included a previously distributed and completed questionnaire that included three sections. The first section was evaluation of the satisfaction of trainees with the different hospital specialties rotations. The second section related to reasons for rating the different rotations as excellent and very good. The third section related to deficiencies in training for those rotations which received a score of 3-5. The items in the questionnaire were utilized in the focus group discussion. Two facilitators who were investigators facilitated the discussion. The data was qualitatively analyzed to identify emergent themes and subthemes that described the trainees' views. The trainees highlighted the following views: Teaching in the hospital component is not relevant to the needs of Family Medicine trainees. Duration of the hospital posts should be reviewed. Emphasis should be on out-patient clinics rather than in-patient. More emphasis must be given to procedural skills, minor surgery and teaching in clinical contexts. Hospital training component of the Family Medicine training program should be reviewed, as the structure and its implementation doesn't reflect the views of trainees regarding its relevance to their day to day practice

Barriers to feedback in undergraduate medical education: male students' perspective in central Saudi Arabia

To explore the views of undergraduate medical students regarding the presence and sources of barriers to effective feedback in their setting. 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. One hundred and eighty-six male undergraduate medical students participated in this study. Approximately 45% indicated presence of barriers to effective feedback. These include: absence of a clear system of feedback; inadequate skills of teachers for provision-effective feedback; and to a lesser extent, students' fear of insult due to feedback. Most participants showed their interest and readiness to receive more professional feedback in the future. This study has showed the presence of barriers as perceived by medical students, which could significantly minimize utilization of feedback in medical education. The reported barriers should be addressed to utilize the vital role of feedback in the learning process of undergraduate medical students.

ability of the pre-admission criteria to predict performance in a Saudi medical school

To evaluate the ability of preadmission criteria used in most health professional schools in Saudi Arabia to predict the in-program performance. This retrospective cohort study was conducted at King Fahd Medical City, Faculty of Medicine, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between July and September 2008. Four sets were used to examine the predictive power of preadmission variables. The variables are the academic abilities [high school grades], aptitude test, achievement test, and an interview. The criterion variables were the undergraduate grade point averages' [GPAs] of medical college students [n=193]. The correlation between admission variables and the GPA was examined using Pearson's correlation coefficient and regression analyses. Inclusion of all 4 admission tools in a regression analysis as predictors of GPA performance revealed that only the achievement test was statistically predictive of the GPA. Approximately 6.5% of variance in the GPA can be accounted for by the current admission criteria. The current admission criteria provide some insight into the predicted future performance of students. The inclusion of other valid and reliable admissions tools, such as the multiple mini-interviews and the questionnaire for candidate's suitability to follow a problem-based learning curriculum, should be considered

Teaching evidence-based medicine in a Saudi medical school: a pilot study

The teaching of Evidence Based Medicine [EBM] has been increasingly integrated into curricula at both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. The aims of this paper were to: i] describe King Saud University [KSU] experience of teaching EBM for medical students ii] explore students' satisfaction with the module, their practice of what was learned and obstacles faced. Six months after completing the module, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 43 female students. The majority [> 90%] of the students found the EBM module helpful in their clinical practice and favored it's inclusion in the FM rotation. About 38% of students found difficulty in searching the literatures for information and only 45% practiced EBM in other clinical rotations. The majority of the students [78%] found that the six weeks' duration was enough for the module. About 77.5% of the students thought that EBM was important for their career. It is reassuring to find the students satisfied with the EBM module. In view of the students' difficulty in literature searching and lack of practice in other clinical rotations which are going in common with others recommendations; it is suggested that EBM teaching to take place earlier in the medical school curriculum and to involve different specialties in it's teaching