Students' and teachers' perceptions of clinical assessment program: A qualitative study in a PBL curriculum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>"Examinations drive students' learning." This statement refers to what is assumed to be one of the strongest relationships in education. We explored in this research how and why students differ in their approaches to learning, how assessment affects deep learning, and which barriers stand in the way of good assessment and learning in the clinical years of a Problem Based Learning (PBL) graduate entry medical curriculum.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p><b>Method: </b>We conducted a qualitative, phenomenological study using semi-structured group interviews with students and semi-structured individual interviews with teachers and students. The transcripts were analyzed, and themes were identified.</p> <p><b>Setting</b>: The research was conducted at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from November 2007 to March 2008.</p> <p><b>Results: </b>A total of 28 students participated in 7 focus group interviews. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 12 teachers and 12 students. The analysis yielded four themes: summative assessment, formative assessment, continuous assessment of clinical attachments, and learning objectives.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study confirm that assessment affects students' perceptions of learning and how they learn. These effects are not uniformly positive. According to the students, the predominantly summative assessment program offers little inducement to engage in deep learning. They express a clear preference for formative assessment, which may foster a deeper approach to learning. Efforts to achieve more clinically relevant assessment with adequate balance between the various types of assessment are required. Research is needed to decide this balance.</p

Utilization and responsiveness of the asthma control test (ACT) at the initiation of therapy for patients with asthma: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to assess the responsiveness of the asthma control test (ACT) to detect changes at the initiation of therapy and its utilization in the initiation of asthma treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study was designed as a randomized clinical trial conducted in a primary care setting. The subjects were asthma patients who had not received controller therapy for at least two months. The patients were randomized into two groups: The Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA) group and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) group. Treatment in the SINA group was initiated at step1 when the ACT scores ≥ 20, step 2 when the score between16-19, and step 3 when the score < 16 began at step 3. The GINA group patients were started on step 2 when they had persistent asthma symptoms or step 3 when they had severely uncontrolled disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty-five patients were analyzed in each group. The improvement in ACT score after treatment initiation was significantly higher when the SINA approach was used (2.9 in the SINA group compared to 1.7 in the GINA group (<it>p </it>= 0.04)). The improvement in FEV₁was 5.8% in the SINA group compared to 3.4% in the GINA group (<it>p </it>= 0.46). The number of patients who achieved asthma control at the follow-up visit and required no treatment adjustment was 33 (73.3%) in the SINA group and 27 (60%) in the GINA group (<it>p </it>= 0.0125).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ACT was responsive to change at the initiation of asthma treatment and was useful for the initiation of asthma treatment.</p> <p>Trial Registration number</p> <p><a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN31998214">ISRCTN31998214</a></p

Exploring factors affecting undergraduate medical students’ study strategies in the clinical years: a qualitative study

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of clinical supervision, and assessment characteristics on the study strategies used by undergraduate medical students during their clinical rotations. We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period from November 2007 to December 2008. We conducted semi-structured focus groups interviews with students and conducted individual interviews with teachers and students to explore students’ and clinical teachers’ perceptions and interpretations of factors influencing students’ study strategies. Data collection was continued until saturation was reached. We used Atlas-ti Computer Software (Version 5.2) to analyse the data, apply the obtained themes to the whole dataset and rearrange the data according to the themes and sub-themes. Analysis of data from interviews with twenty-eight students and thirteen clinical supervisors yielded three major themes relating to factors affecting students’ study strategies: “clinical supervisors and supervision”, “stress and anxiety” and “assessment”. The three themes we identified played a role in students’ adoption of different study strategies in the “community of clinical practice”. It appeared that teachers played a key role, particularly as assessors, clinical supervisors and as a source of stress to students

Unconventional therapy use among asthma patients in a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

<b>Objectives:</b> Unconventional therapy (UT) is a therapeutic practice of alternative and complementary medicine that is not currently considered an integral part of modern medical practice. The aim of this article is to investigate the experience of Saudi patients with UT modalities in the treatment of asthma. <b> Materials and Methods:</b> We carried out a cross-sectional study of asthma patients referred to King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the year 2004. Information was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire administered through interviews. <b> Results:</b> Two hundred consecutive patients with a mean age of 52.3 years (&#x00B1;18.7) were included in this study. Sixty-nine (34.5&#x0025;) of those patients used some form of UT in the previous year. There was a tendency to use UT among the older age group (<i> P</i> = 0.029) and among those with longer duration of disease (<i> P</i> = 0.009). However, there was no significant correlation observed between the use of UT and gender, FEV₁ , or disease control. The most commonly used form of UT was recitation of Holy Quran (9&#x0025;), honey (24.5&#x0025;), herbs (23.5&#x0025;), cautery (12&#x0025;), and blackseed (10&#x0025;). There was no significant correlation between disease control and the use of modalities. <b> Conclusion:</b> Unconventional therapy is frequently practiced by asthma patients in Saudi Arabia, who commonly believe that UT will lead to improvement. The lack of evidence necessitates the fostering of a national project to address the practice of UT

Pulmonary rehabilitation: A regional perspective evidenced-based review

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an integral component of the comprehensive management plan of patients with chronic lung diseases by addressing their functional and psychological deficits. PR is generally recommended to symptomatic patients with chronic lung diseases who develop shortness of breath on their own pace at level ground while receiving optimum therapy. From a regional perspective, this review covers the description of a PR program, its establishment and outcome assessment

The Leadership Authenticity of Women in the Academic Setting

Purpose: Leadership characteristics and career development of women in a health sciences university in Saudi Arabia was investigated. This was also extended to leadership authenticity of women graduated from a master's in medical education (MME) program. Method: In this cross-sectional study, a self-administrated authentic leadership questionnaire (ALQ) was utilized where the data were collected at three campuses of a health sciences university. Results: The study sample consisted of 71 MME graduates and 75 academic leaders. Women represented 42.25% of the MME graduates, with an average age of 41.04 (±5.49) years. Among MME graduates, there were 17 (56.67%) women holding the positions of deans, associate deans, or assistant deans compared with 14 men (34.16%) with a p value of 0.59. There were fourteen (46.67%) women holding Doctor of Philosophy compared with 19 men (46.34%) either holding a clinical fellowship of a master's degree. There were no significant differences between the scores of women and men in the four ALQ domains. Among academic leaders. twenty (26.67%) women were academic leaders with an average age of 47.31 (±9.63) years; compared with 55 men (p = 0.53). Twelve (60.00%) women leaders were from professions other than medicine with a p value of 0.07. Seventeen (85.00%) women were appointed at a middle management position; compared with 43 (78.18%) men with a p value of 0.16. Women showed tendency for higher scores in all ALQ domains; however, it did not reach statistical significance. Discussion: Women received opportunities to be enrolled in the MME program and the authenticity of their academic leadership skills did not significantly differ from men. Women accounted for a quarter of academic leaders, with more appointments in middle management positions and a tendency toward a better authenticity of leadership skills