In general, the patients had a positive perception of medical students, with most patients acknowledging the educational benefit of student participation in patient care. As patients' perceptions of students' professionalism, confidence and respect for privacy were significantly related to acceptance of care, education on these aspects should be a priority in medical curricula.

Background: The SaudiMEDs framework was founded and adopted by the Saudi Deans’ Committee in 2011 to ensure that Saudi medical graduates learned core competencies. Meanwhile, CanMEDs was established by the Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1996 and aimed to establish the abilities and skills of all aspects of medical practice, as well as to ensure the acquisition of basic knowledge related to medical education. The main purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences between both frameworks. Methods: In March and April 2017, 15 researchers conducted an extensive review of both the SaudiMEDs and CanMEDs frameworks using a semi-quantitative evaluation with color codes to determine the following: the exact similarities in both frameworks, the close similarities, and the unique differences. Results: According to the coloring system, most of the frameworks were similar. For example, Leadership, Communication and Professionalism were almost identical in both frameworks. There was some degree of similarity between both frameworks in “Collaborator”. Furthermore, the SaudiMEDs framework had a unique input which involved the most essential skills that undergraduate medical students must acquire. Conclusion: SaudiMEDs has great potential to improve the quality of Saudi medical graduates in a manner that fits our current and future needs. CanMEDs focuses mainly on outcomes and processes, while SaudiMEDs focuses more on outcomes. SaudiMEDs was not created to provide a copy-and-paste curriculum. The ultimate goal was to create an outcome-based curriculum that ensures the quality of Saudi medical school graduates.

Background: Medical students even though being aware of the importance of well-balanced nutrition do tend to have laxity in practicing it themselves leading to poor nutrition. The aim of this study was to compare the awareness and knowledge of dietary habits among medical and non-medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in two universities in the Jeddah province, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) and King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah over 6 months. A self-administered online questionnaire was employed to assess the knowledge and attitude of the dietary habits among the students. Results: The number of students who responded positively to the survey was 386, the mean age was 21.5 ± 2.10. 310 (80.3%) of which were males while 76 (19.7%) were females by a ratio of 4.07:1. Most of the participants were single (95.9%); 238 (87.6%) participants lived with their family and 272 (70.5%) participants were in the college of medicine. Among the medical students, 41.9% did exercise “sometimes,” 57.4% identified breakfast as an important meal of the day, and 14.7% were smokers. Conclusion: In our study, we found that the medical students were having a higher level of awareness about the dietary and lifestyle habits but it was not reflected in their practice which needed to be taken care of.

Abstract-Academic accreditation of degree programs is becoming an important mean for many institutions to improve the quality of their degree programs. Many programs, in particular computing and engineering, offered by many schools have engaged in the accreditation process with different accreditation bodies. Accreditation bodies include ABET in USA, ABEEK in South Korea, JABEE in Japan, etc. Probably the most known accreditation body in the Unites States of America for engineering, computing, technology, and applied science programs is ABET. A key problem towards the satisfaction of accreditation criteria for most of accreditation agencies including ABET is the appropriate definition and assessment of program educational objectives for a specific degree program. Program Educational Objectives are important as they represent the ultimate mean to judge the quality of a program. They related directly to student outcomes and curriculum of a degree program. We propose a set of guidelines to help understand how program educational objectives can be defined and assessed. We relate and use examples from our practical experience acquired while working on the ABET accreditation of a Software Engineering program.

Few data exist revealing how the frequency of routine blood work for patients on maintenance hemodialysis therapy affects patient outcomes and the costs of care. Our objective was to determine the effect of changing the frequency of blood work from 4-to 6-week intervals on the achievement of anemia and chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) targets.

Nations prosperity in a dynamic global economy depends critically on the quality and quantity of knowledge, innovation and creativity skills generated and gained by their human assets. Creativity, innovation and quality systems are at the heart of successful strategies adopted by modern economies. In general terms they are meant for the creation and adoption of new knowledge to improve the value of products, processes, and services delivered to customers. The present study was carried out within a national research project funded by the ministry of education in Saudi Arabia, with the primary aim to enhance and to develop creativity and innovation among Saudi students at both school and university levels. The paper aims to assess creativity and innovation at the educational system from the perspective of its customers. From the literature review a theoretical research framework was developed and a survey questionnaire was designed for the purpose. Respondents were selected among gifted students who participated in the national competition on giftedness 2015 run by the ministry of education in the Hail region, north the kingdom. The survey was administered online using web 2.0 technologies. They were asked about their personal perceptions on creativity and innovation, their educational environments and programs, the support and management, and the future prospects the university would offer to them. Statistical analysis of the results will be presented and discussed. The study identifies practical recommendations towards the adoption of new strategies to enhance creativity and innovation among Saudi students.

Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that constitutes a high burden on both patients and caregivers. Although many studies have assessed the burden of MS caregivers worldwide, no such studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia. In this study, we aim to assess the burden of MS patients' caregivers in Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study included caregivers of MS patients (for >1 year) who visited the neurology clinic at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between July 2017 and December 2018. The study utilized the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) to assess the burden on MS patients' caregivers. In addition, the caregivers' demographic profile and certain information regarding the patient were also collected through an oral interview. Results There were a total of 219 respondents, of which 117 (53.4%) male caregivers. For ZBI, the majority of caregivers reported little or no burden (57.1%), followed by a mild to moderate burden (30.1%), then a moderate to severe burden (10.5%), and only five (2.3%) reported a severe burden. Conclusion Our results showed a limited burden of MS on the life caregivers of MS patients. We stress the importance of assessing the burden in MS patients and caregivers as routine practice with the other important measures such as quality of life and medication compliance. The finding of this study will help in encouraging medical centers to establish more specialized MS clinics that put into consideration the psychological factors, burden of the disease, multidisciplinary approach, and support groups, which are currently few in number.

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