Knowledge about cochlear implantation: A parental perspective.

Objectives: Cochlear implantation (CI) is used for children with severe to profound hearing loss who show little or no improvement using hearing aids. This study explored parental knowledge of their children's CI. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving the parents of 115 pediatric CI patients was conducted at King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Parents were interviewed by telephone using a 50-question validated questionnaire. Results: Most parents of children with CI reported being comfortable in using the internet (68.7%) and social media (40.9%) to obtain information regarding CI. Although most parents of children with CI relied on health professionals and websites as their main sources of information, they were also able to obtain necessary information at meetings for CI patients and health professionals. Parents of children with CI felt they had sufficient information regarding the impact of hearing loss (78%) and CI (71%) on speech understanding and language development; however, they had insufficient information regarding criteria for CI candidacy, available brands of CI devices, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Conclusion: Parents reported that health professionals were the ideal source of information regarding hearing loss and CI. Moreover, our study showed that parents should learn more about cochlear implant devices, the post-implantation process, and candidacy criteria.

Specialty Preferences and the Factors Influencing Them Among Pre-Clerkship Medical Students: The First Study from Alfaisal University-College of Medicine, Saudi Arabia.

AIM: To explore the specialty preferences and the factors influencing them among pre-clerkship (second-year and third-year) medical students at Alfaisal University-College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: An online, anonymous, cross-sectional, self-rating survey was administered. The survey explored socio-demographical data, specialty preferences and the factors influencing such preferences. A gender-wise statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-two students participated in the survey (n=252/308; response rate: 81.8%). The three main specialties chosen by males were general surgery (33.1%), pediatrics (7.9%), and neurology-ophthalmology (5.5%). Females also opted for general surgery (20.8%) followed by dermatology (11.2%) and pediatrics (8.8%). Gender-wise specialty preferences were noted: general surgery (p<0.028) and anesthesiology (p<0.045) by males, whereas obstetrics & gynecology (p<0.017) and dermatology (p<0.005) by females. Overall, the three major influences in choosing a specialty were "specialty interest" (86.5%), "specialty flexibility" (64.3%), and "anticipated income" (61.9%). Statistically significant differences were noticed between genders regarding the following factors: "specialty prestige" (p<0.005) by males and "culture-no opposite gender patients" by females (p<0.009). CONCLUSION: The overall two preferred specialties were general surgery (27%) and pediatrics (8.3%). Career counseling should be offered to students about each specialty's challenges/opportunities with an ultimate goal to match the country-specific demand and supply of physicians.