Drug utilization and antibiotic use in the primary health care centres in Sharjah

Drug utilization and antibiotic use in the primary health care centres in Sharjah were studied before and after an intervention by the Antibiotics Control Committee. Prescriptions and patient records were reviewed and analysed based on World Health Organization methodology. Before intervention, the average number of drugs per prescription was 2.8, the average consultation time was 10.8 minutes, the average dispensing time was 89 seconds and 92% of visits resulted in a prescription, of which antibiotics constituted 45%. Following intervention, the percentage of prescriptions with antibiotics and the percentage of visits resulting in a prescription were significantly reduced

Teaching medical students for whom English is a foreign language

Many medical schools use English as the medium of instruction which can create an additional load for students, that of language as well as content. The language aspect of the learning task is frequently neglected, with the result that students sometimes fail to achieve. In this paper we examine specific problematic aspects of language and learning for medical students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University and suggest what teaching strategies medical teaching faculty could use to improve student learning

Problem-based learning in the faculty of medicine and health sciences, United Arab Emirates Universty

Problem-based learning [PBL] has been introduced in some medical curricula in order to increase learner curiosity and to overcome the difficulty of information overload. Since its introduction there has been controversy over its advantages and limitations. There have been particular criticisms that PBL is unsuited to medical schools in the Middle East. This paper describes the introduction of PBL to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the United Arab Emirates University, and discusses the responses of students and faculty to this important innovation. The main advantage for students was the ability to work in small groups and the early introduction to clinical issues. The disadvantage, only in female students was increased anxiety on what they needed to learn. For faculty the main advantage was a clearer view of the students' strengths and weaknesses and the disadvantage was the insecurity of acting as a facilitator rather than a teacher