[Impact of a communication skills audiovisual package on medical students' knowledge]

Over the last decade more emphasis is being put on teaching communication skills [CS]. Use of videos and role-play was suggested to improve CS. This article will present the impact of an audiovisual package on promoting the knowledge of medical students in CS. Seventy-five second year medical students - distributed into eight groups led by four facilitators - critiqued a video clip immediately before and after the introduction of a communication skills audiovisual package. The skills taught included opening the interview, questioning, facilitation, clarification, reflection, confrontation, summarizing, and preparation of the patient for the physical exam. The students, also, role-played the reviewed scenario. The students' pre- and post-intervention responses were analyzed using a standardized grading form. There was a significant improvement in students' knowledge [p < 0.000] after the introduction of the intervention in all the CS taught except closed ended questioning. This improvement was consistent among the four facilitators. Reviewing video scenarios and role-playing improved the knowledge in core communication skills among second-year medical students assessed by a video-based written examination

experience with postgraduate education in Lebanon

Lebanon suffers from a surplus of physicians and shortage of properly trained generalists. Almost none of the general practitioners [GP] who account for almost 40% of the physicians have received any residency or vocational training. All have been certified to practice medicine without any re-certification or continuing medical education requirements. The Lebanese Society of Family Medicine pioneered the development of postgraduate educational programs. In this paper, the process followed in developing these programs, the experience in their implementation and the shortcomings are presented

Asthma in primary care

Asthma is a chronic disease that cannot be cured but can be effectively controlled. Control is achieved through education of the patient, monitoring of symptoms and pulmonary functions, environmental modification and pharmacologic therapy. The latter should aim at providing control with the least amount of medications. Any form of asthma more severe than mild intermittent requires the use of long term anti-inflammatory medications