Evaluation of three instructional methods of teaching for undergraduate medical students, at King Saud university, Saudi Arabia

There is an international move from traditional curriculum towards the learner - centered, and patient-oriented curriculum. In spite of its advantages, problem-based learning requires a larger number of teaching staff and space. This study was done to compare the problem-based learning [PBL], lectures and modified PBL methods. Thirty-three fifth year medical students who were taking the Family Medicine rotation participated in the study at the College of Medicine, King Saud University. Three instructors participated in the teaching of three topics to the three groups of students. Students acted as control for themselves across the three instructional methods, namely; lectures, PBL and modified PBL. The main outcomes were students' recall of knowledge, problem solving skills and topic comprehension. In the initial assessment, there was a significant difference in favor of PBL and the modified PBL regarding comprehension of the topic as tested by the short answer questions [p = 0.0001], problem solving skills as tested by the modified essay question [p = 0.002]. Non-significant results were observed at the second stage of assessment. The modified PBL method was the preferred one for 39% of the students, followed by the PBL [36%] and lastly the lectures [25%].This empirical study suggests some advantages for the PBL method and the modified PBL over the lecture method. Larger studies are needed to confirm our results of this important issue as the modified PBL is an affordable option for schools that can not meet the staff and space requirements of the PBL curriculum

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

Herbal medicine in the treatment of diabetes mellitus

The use of herbs is common among diabetics. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of the use of herbs among diabetics and which herbs are used. Additionally, to investigate the effect of some demographic characteristics on the use of such herbs. A cross sectional study was conducted on diabetic patients attending the outpatient clinics in 4 major hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These were: King Khalid University Hospital, King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Prince Salman Hospital and Riyadh Medical Complex over a 3-month period which started in September 1999. Patients were interviewed by trained medical students through a predesigned questionnaire that contains items that are related to diabetes and the use of herbs by diabetics. Two hundred and ninety six diabetic patients out of 300 were interviewed giving a response rate of 98.6%. Fifty-one subjects [17.4%] reported using some form of herbs. The commonest herbs used were myrrh, black seed, helteet, fenugreek and aloes. Approximately 73% of herbs users did not inform their doctor regarding their use of herbs. No statistically significant relationship existed between demographic characteristics and the use of herbs. The use of herbs is not rare among diabetic patients. Doctors caring for diabetic patients should encourage them to talk regarding the use of herbs as it may effect the outcome and the management of their disease

look at the diabetic patient compliance in Riyadh district

This study was undertaken to investigate the degree of compliance in diabetic patients in the Riyadh District. Data were collected from 170 patients randomly selected from different hospitals using a standard interviewing questionnaire. Eighty four% of patients were Saudis and 67.6% were females. The mean age was 71.1 +/- 11.8 yeas and 44.1% were obese. The occurrence of diabetic complications was seen in 45.3% of the study population.as far as compliance toward treatment is concerned, over half of the patients [60.6%]demonstrated poor compliance while 23.5% complied moderately and only 15.9% appear to be good compliers. Educational status and positive family history of diabetes proved to have significant influence on patients' compliance. On the contrary, over half of the patients have shown a good compliance towards dietary regimen with which age, educational status and family history of the disease have shown a significant impact [p < 0.05].in conclusion, the significant degree of non-compliance among diabetics which has been revealed in the present work could be attributed to the combination of literacy and misunderstanding of nature and management of the disease