The rapid development of new drugs, therapies, and devices has created a dramatic increase in the number of clinical research studies that highlights the need for greater participation in research by physicians as well as patients. Furthermore, the potential of clinical research is unlikely to be reached without greater participation of physicians in research. Physicians face a variety of barriers with regard to participation in clinical research. These barriers are system-or organization-related as well as research-and physician-related. To encourage physician participation, appropriate organizational and operational infrastructures are needed in health care institutes to support research planning and management. All physicians should receive education and training in the fundamentals of research design and methodology, which need to be incorporated into undergraduate medical education and postgraduate training curricula and then reinforced through continuing medical education. Medical schools need to analyze current practices of teaching–learning and research, and reflect upon possible changes needed to develop a ‘student-focused teaching–learning and research culture’. This article examines the barriers to and benefits of physician participation in clinical research as well as interventions needed to increase their participation, including the specific role of undergraduate medical education. The main challenge is the unwillingness of many physicians and patients to participate in clinical trials. Barriers to participation include lack of time, lack of resources, trial-specific issues, communication difficulties, conflicts between the role of clinician and scientist, inadequate research experience and training for physicians, lack of rewards and recognition for physicians, and sometimes a scientifically uninteresting research question, among others. Strategies to encourage physician participation in clinical research include financial and nonfinancial incentives, adequate training, research questions that are in line with physician interests and have clear potential to improve patient care, and regular feedback. Finally, encouraging research culture and fostering the development of inquiry and research-based learning among medical students is now a high priority in order to develop more and better clinician-researchers.

A national competence framework has been developed by medical schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The framework has seven domains - approach to daily Practice, Dr and patient, Dr and community, communication skills, professionalism, Dr and information technology, Dr and research. The framework will guide curriculum development and assessment in the Kingdom and ensure that medical education adapts to changing needs. The creation of a national framework promises the delivery of equivalent standards between medical schools while at the same time guaranteeing the schools' autonomy.

Background: Medical education in Saudi Arabia is facing multiple challenges, including the rapid increase in the number of medical schools over a short period of time, the influx of foreign medical graduates to work in Saudi Arabia, the award of scholarships to hundreds of students to study medicine in various countries, and the absence of published national guidelines for minimal acceptable competencies of a medical graduate.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESIn the last two decades, the curriculum in medical education has changed so as to maintain its efficiency and effectiveness. Considerable changes are underway in many medical colleges worldwide. This study assessed the current status of the undergraduate curricula in the medical colleges of the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries, in relation to the SPICES (student-centered, problem-based, integrated, community-based, elective and systematic) model.METHODSA structured open-ended data form was used in the collection of information from the appropriate authorities in 30 medical colleges of the GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) in the year 2005.RESULTSOf 30 medical colleges, 13 (43.3%) were located in Saudi Arabia. The annual intake of students in the year 2005 in these 30 colleges was 3225, of which 64.15% were males. Twelve colleges (40%) followed the traditional curriculum, while the remaining (60%) followed a hybrid problem-based learning (PBL) curricula. Most of the colleges were moving towards the more desirable aspects of the SPICES model. The majority of the traditional colleges were planning to change their curricula to hybrid PBL curricula. Almost all new medical colleges were adopting the hybrid PBL curricula.CONCLUSIONDespite the diversity in the curricula followed in medical colleges in GCC countries, most of these colleges either are following or are moving towards the new trends in medical education curricula.

BackgroundSeveral studies have reported an association between improvements in hand hygiene and the reductions in rates of intestinal parasitic diseases. However, only a some have addressed its link to the frequency of influenza-like illness. The current study aimed to find the correlation between personal hygiene habits and the frequency of influenza-like illness.MethodsA cross-sectional study targeting 3000 participants conducted in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A systematic random sampling methodology was applied for participant from different part of Riyadh city using a computer generating system. The researcher first started by calling each participant. A full explanation was given to each participant in details (from the purpose of the research, consent to answer the questionnaire, to the explanation of the outcome definition). Each point of the questionnaire was explained to them to make sure they had excellent comprehension, and therefore, respond accurately. Descriptive statistics and Odds Ratio and its 95% confidence intervals were used to determine the association between frequency of influenza-like illness and the studied variables.ResultsTwo thousand eighty-two (69.4%) completed the questionnaire. The participants who spent 5–10 s in handwashing with soap and rubbing were at increased risk of more frequent influenza-like illness (odds ratio = 1.37, 1.08–1.75). Handwashing with soap and rubbing after handshaking is an independent protective habit against frequent influenza-like illness (adjusted OR = 0.59, 0.37–0.94).ConclusionThe decrease of the frequency of influenza-like illness could be done through the following: getting the influenza vaccine annually, washing hands with soap and hand rubbing not less than 15 s after getting out of the bathroom, before and after handshaking and before eating. Soap companies should invent soaps that take less rubbing time to kill bacteria, and subsequently may maximize compliance in the community.

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.

Learning disabilities (LDs) represent the largest group of disabilities in higher education (HE) institutes, including medical schools, and the numbers are continuing to rise. The worrying concern is that two-thirds to half of these students with LDs remain undiagnosed when they start their undergraduate education and may even graduate without having their disabilities diagnosed. These students struggle with their academic abilities, receive poor grades and, as a result, develop lower perceptions of their intellectual abilities than do those students without LDs. All these ultimately hamper their professional practice, employment, and career progression. Appropriate and adequate educational policies, provisions, and practices help students to progress satisfactorily. In Asian countries, public and professional awareness about LDs is low, supportive provisions are limited, legislations are inadequate, data are scarce, and equal-opportunity/widening-participation policies are not implemented effectively in the HE sector. This article discusses the issues related to LDs in medical education and draws policy, provision, and practice implications to identify, assess, and support students with LDs in medical schools, particularly in an Asian context.

The field of higher education has been progressing at a rapid pace in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the past decade, with doubling the number of government and private universities and colleges. Quality and accreditation are of great importance to higher education institutes world-wide. Thus, developing a generic model for quality management in higher education is badly needed in the country.