BackgroundWorldwide, patients are the cornerstone of bedside teaching of medical students. In this study, the authors aimed to assess patients’ acceptability toward medical students in teaching hospitals of the Faculty of Medicine of Kuwait University.MethodsNinehundred and ninety five patients were approached in 14 teaching hospitals; 932 patients agreed to participate (refusal rate is 6.3%). A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.ResultsIn general, higher acceptance of students by patients was found when there is no direct contact between the patient and the student (e.g., reading patients’ files, presenting in outpatient clinic, observing doctors performing examination or procedures) compared to other situations (e.g., performing physical examination or procedures). Pediatrics patients showed higher acceptance of students compared to patients in other specialties, while Obstetrics/Gynecology patients showed the highest refusal of students. Gender of patients (especially females) and students appeared to affect the degree of acceptance of medical students by patients. Majority of the patients (436; 46.8%) believed that the presence of medical students in hospitals improves the quality of health care.ConclusionPatients are an important factor of bedside teaching. Clinical tutors must take advantage of patients who accept medical students. Clinical tutors and medical students should master essential communication skills to convince patients in accepting students, thus improving bedside teaching. Also, using simulation and standardization should be considered to address scenarios that most patients are unwilling to allow students to participate.

Summary Background This study aims to compare medical students’ educational outcomes in performing knee arthrocentesis through searching and using YouTube videos versus traditional supervisor‐led sessions. Method Seventy‐one medical students were randomly assigned to three groups. Group A had a traditional supervisor‐led clinical session, where the supervisor demonstrated the procedure. Students in group B were provided with links to YouTube videos of knee arthrocentesis that were deemed to be of high educational quality, whereas group C searched and learned from any YouTube video that they found themselves based on the learning objectives provided. Student performance was first examined following the learning sessions, and then again after receiving feedback on the performance. Results Prior to feedback, statistically significant higher mean scores were noted for group A in the identification of an appropriate puncture site (p = 0.015), puncture site sterilization (p = 0.046), wearing sterile gloves (p < 0.001) and direction of needle insertion (p < 0.001). The overall mean scores (maximum possible score is 21) before feedback for groups A, B and C were 17.9 ± 1.9, 14.9 ± 2.0 and 15.4 ± 1.8, respectively (p < 0.001). The overall mean scores after feedback for groups A, B and C were 21.0 ± 0.0, 20.9 ± 0.3 and 21.0 ± 0.0, respectively (p = 0.037). Conclusion Students performed equally whether they were provided with videos or found their own; however, without appropriate learner feedback from an instructor, YouTube videos cannot replace traditional supervisor‐led sessions for learning knee arthrocentesis.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of universal precautions among Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, medical students in their clinical years. Subjects and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire including 9 knowledge and 9 practice questions of universal precautions was used. A score was calculated for both knowledge and practice. These scores were dichotomized into less than median score (poor) and more than median score (good). 244 students were invited to participate. Results: Of the 244 students, 220 (90.2%) accepted to participate. Of the 9 knowledge questions about universal precautions, 7 were answered correctly by more than 60% (range 64.8–90.4) of the students. All questions regarding the practice of universal precautions were answered correctly by over 60% (range 61.8–96.4) of the students. The prevalence of poor knowledge was 38.2% (84/220) and poor practice was 27.7% (61/220). Grade point average was significantly (p = 0.008) associated with the knowledge status of the respondents; however, it was not significantly associated (p = 0.397) with practice of universal precautions. Furthermore, neither the knowledge status nor any of the sociodemographic variables were significantly associated with the practice of universal precautions. Conclusions: A substantial number of students of the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, in their clinical years appeared to have poor level of both knowledge and practice of universal precautions. Efforts are needed to optimize the level of knowledge and practice among students to minimize the risk of preventable infections.

BackgroundEducational environment of an institution affects the quality of learning. We aim to assess the educational environment of the undergraduate curriculum of Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University (FOMKU).MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out during April 2014. The validated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was e-mailed to 607 students. Mean scores of the main domains of the questionnaire, and for each item, were calculated, and their association with the students’ background information was measured using Student’s t-test (P-value of ≤0.05 was considered as the cut-off level of significance).ResultsOf 607 students, 117 (19.3%) completed the questionnaire. The total mean score for DREEM was 108.7/200 (54.3%). The mean score for students’ perception of teaching, perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of atmosphere, and social self-perception were 25.2/48 (52.5%), 24.6/44 (55.9%), 18.4/32 (57.5%), 26.2/48 (54.5%), and 14.3/28 (51.0%), respectively. The highest mean score for an item of DREEM questionnaire was for “my accommodation is pleasant” (3.48±0.75), while the lowest was for “there is a good support system for students who get stressed” (0.88±0.86). The total mean score was not significantly different between the two phases of the curriculum, or among males and females; however, few significant differences among the main domains and items were noted.ConclusionBased on the learners’ perspectives, the educational environment of FOMKU, was suboptimal. Medical educators in Kuwait should improve this environment in order to advance the quality of the delivered curriculum.

BackgroundTeaching sessions for medical students during ward rounds are an essential component of bedside teaching, providing students with the opportunity to regard patients as actual people, and to observe their physical conditions directly, allowing a better understanding of illnesses to be developed. We aim to explore medical students’ perceptions regarding medical and surgical ward rounds within the Faculty of Medicine at Kuwait University, and to evaluate whether this teaching activity is meeting the expectation of learners.MethodsA pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from 141 medical students during the 2012–2013 academic year. They were asked to provide their current and expected ratings about competencies that were supposed to be gained during ward rounds, on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). Mean scores were calculated, and the Student t-test was used to compare results. P < 0.05 was the cut-off level for significance.ResultsOnly 17 students (12.1%) declined to participate in the study. The students’ current competency scores (for competencies taught within both disciplines – medical and surgical) were significantly lower than the scores indicating students’ expectations (P < 0.001). The best-taught competency was bedside examination, in both medical (mean: 3.45) and surgical (mean: 3.05) ward rounds. However, medical ward rounds were better than surgical rounds in covering some competencies, especially the teaching of professional attitude and approach towards patients (P < 0.001).ConclusionBoth medical and surgical ward rounds were deficient in meeting the students’ expectations. Medical educators should utilize the available literature to improve the bedside teaching experience for their students.