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PURPOSE: Research methodology is an essential part of evidence-based medicine. Many educational programs include clinical research methodology within their curriculum. Moreover, students' preferences for learning methods are different than before, as they now prefer alternative methods, such as peer teaching. Peer-assisted learning enhances students' tutoring skills. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of peer teaching on enhancing clinical research skills. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Peer-assisted learning was evaluated during a four-week online research methodology course designed for medical students at King Abdulaziz University. A total of 121 students' and 38 tutors' attitudes and perceptions of peer teaching were evaluated using a self-administered questionnaire. The effectiveness of peer teaching was assessed using pre- and post-course knowledge tests. Chi-square was used to assess the association of qualitative data, and Mann-Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon rank test were used as nonparametric tests for the variables that were not normally distributed. RESULTS: The post-course knowledge score was significantly higher than the pre-test score. Students had a positive perception of peer-assisted learning. Over 90% of the students preferred peer-assisted learning to traditional teaching. Similarly, the tutors had significantly positive perceptions of peer-assisted teaching. Younger students who had higher post-test mean knowledge scores had a good perception of peer teaching. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrates students' and tutors' positive perceptions of peer-assisted learning as well as the effectiveness of peer learning. Medical schools should pay more attention to students and prepare them for peer-teacher roles.
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BACKGROUND: Intravenous epinephrine has been a key treatment in cardiopulmonary arrest since the early 1960s. The ideal timing for the first dose of epinephrinee is uncertain. We aimed to investigate the association of immediate epinephrine administration (within 1-min of recognition of cardiac arrest) with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) up to 24-h. METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients who underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We included the following patients: 1) ≥18 years-old, 2) non-shockable rhythms, 3) received intravenous epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 4) witnessed in-hospital arrest and 5) first resuscitation attempt (for patients requiring more than one resuscitation attempt). We excluded patients who suffered from traumatic arrest, were pregnant, had shockable rhythms, arrested in the operating room, with Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order, and patient aged 17 years-old or less. RESULTS: A total of 360 patients were included in the analysis. Median age was 62 years old and median epinephrine administration time was two minutes. We found that immediate epinephrine administration (within 1-min) is associated with higher rates of ROSC up to 24-h (OR = 1.25, 95% CI; [1.01-1.56]), compared with early epinephrine (≥2-min) administration. After adjusting for confounding covariates, earlier administration of epinephrine predicted higher rates of ROSC sustained for up to 24-h (OR 1.33 95%CI [1.13-1.55]). CONCLUSIONS: Immediate administration of epinephrine in conjunction with high-quality CPR is associated with higher rates of ROSC.
