ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Learning environment might be defined as anything that can affect the learning directly or indirectly. During the era of accreditation and quality assurance, we are badly in need to evaluate our program strength and pick possible areas for curriculum reform. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of medical students in the University of Bahri (UB) about the educational environment and analyze the variation of this perception with gender, level of study, type of intake, type of certificate, and accommodation. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, UB, in Sudan during July-August 2017, enrolling 347 students. Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was used as a survey tool for this study. RESULTS: Overall DREEM average score of 125.2997/200 is perceived. This score is distributed in all DREEM subclasses. CONCLUSION: Having some negative perceptions is a huge burden on policymakers, administration, and all stakeholders to revise the whole educational environment at the UB with special efforts needed for curriculum revision, faculty development, mentoring, and other skills development.
ABSTRACT
The infection by Helicobacter Pylori (HP), a gram-negative bacillus, is more prevalent in the developing countries, and more often among younger people reaching up to 10% of the population in comparison to only 0.5% in more developed world. Generally HP is asymptomatic in children. This study aimed to determining the prevalence of Hp among Sudanese children and to recognize associated epidemiological features. It was a prospective cross sectional study at Gaafar Ibn Aouf children hospital (GCH) in the period between December 2010 and May 2011. GCH is the largest specialized referral hospital in Khartoum and in the Sudan. Those who were diagnosed before as Hp positive were excluded. Full history, Physical examination was performed. A blood sample was taken from every patient and serum was kept at -20°C to be tested for Hp IgG antibodies through ELISA kit (Monobind; Inc., California, USA) as directed by the Manufacturer, and 20 U/mL for antibodies was considered significant and positive. Using SPSS Version 21, categorical variables were compared with Chi-square test where P < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. This current study included 128/312 (40.1%) children admitted to the hospital who were +ve for HP (56.3% = male). The prevalence of HP is 56.3% among Sudanese children Prevalence of HP increased with age and was directly related to mother and father level of education, socioeconomic status and positive family history.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Clinical teaching at outpatient settings is an essential part of undergraduate medical students' training. The increasing number of students in many medical schools and short hospital stays makes inpatient teaching alone insufficient to provide students with the required clinical skills. To make up this shortfall, outpatient clinical teaching has been implemented by our Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King Khalid University, KSA, throughout the academic year 2015-2016. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of clinical teaching at outpatient settings on the academic performance of our students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this comparative retrospective study, the effects of outpatient clinical teaching of obstetrics and gynecology on the academic performance of student was assessed through an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). During their course on obstetrics and gynecology, 58 students had their clinical teaching both at inpatient and outpatient settings and constituted "study group". The remaining 52 students had clinical teaching only at inpatient settings and were considered "control group". Students in both groups sat for OSCE at the end of week 8 of the gynecology course. Students in both groups sat for OSCE at the end of week 8 of the gynecology course. Four stations were used for assessment: obstetric history, gynecological history, obstetric physical examination of pregnant women, and gynecological procedure station. Twenty marks were allocated for each station giving a total score of 80. The OSCE scores for study group were compared with those of the control group using Student's t-test; p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The total mean OSCE score was statistically significantly higher in the study group (62.36 vs. 47.94, p < 0.001). The study group participants showed significantly higher scores in the gynecological procedure station (16.74 vs. 11.62, p < 0.0001) and obstetric examination station (16.72 vs. 10.79, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Clinical teaching at outpatient settings leads to an improvement in students' performance in OSCE. There is evidence of remarkable improvement in the mastery of clinical skills as manifested in the students' scores in physical examination and procedures stations. These results will encourage us to have clinical teaching in other disciplines at outpatient settings.
