perception

ABSTRACT The lecture allows very little interaction and feedback from the students. Class Response System (CRS) can have a catalytic effect on teaching with lecture environments moving from silence and passivity towards dialogue and interaction. The present study was conducted to see the effectiveness of increasing the attentiveness of students in classroom theory lectures and to study the students’ perception of effectiveness of CRS in improved learning outcome. CRS was used in the lecture classes of Public Health for the undergraduate students of MD program of College of Medicine. Students anonymously clicked answers for the questions displayed on the screen. Correct answers were discusses with instant feedback after the CRS session. Likert scale was used to assess students’ opinion on the effectiveness of CRS for better learning. The average percentage of correct responses in the CRS sessions was 77.15 ±10.34. Statistically significantly more number of students got higher grades when CRS was used. 87% of students agreed that it aroused their interest in the class and 79.7% said that it made them more attentive during the lecture. 79.1% agreed that it encouraged discussion over the wrongly answered questions. CRS made the students attentive in the class and created a platform for the students to interact with the teacher and clarify their concepts in the class itself. It helped them in memorizing the key points in the lecture which helped them to recall it even when they studied on their own thereby helping them to get better grades in exams. Keywords: Class response system, concentration, clickers, perception, students.

Patient safety is a new and challenging discipline in primary care. Medical students need to understand and demonstrate appropriate patient safety skills in professional education. Pre-clinical students at Oman Medical College (OMC) have clinical skills training in primary care as well as in the hospital. The present study aimed to seek pre-clinical medical students' perceptions of their individual performance at a range of safety skills. A cross sectional study conducted at OMC. Data was collected by self-administrated questionnaire to a simple random sample of 50 medical students in pre-clinical years after finishing Family Medicine rotation. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Most participants (88%) agreed the importance of patient safety. Self- rated general knowledge on patient safety on good level (72%) compared to (27%) for the specific knowledge issues score. In medical error management 75% willing to report medical errors, more than half willing to disclose error to patient and faculty and 89% agreed introducing patient safety topic in undergraduate medical schools curricula. Students had a favorable opinion of their own safety skills. However, specific knowledge question revealed some misconceptions. Most participants recognized the importance of patient safety topic in curriculum. Students are fair and honest to report medical errors. They considered competent physician don’t make errors.

Abstract Objective To estimate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding complementary and alternative medicine to control of dyslipidemia and diabetes in the adult population. Background/Introduction Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the group of medical and health care practices and products that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine. CAM remedies can be an important component of health self-management in diabetes and dyslipidemia. Methodology A cross sectional survey based study was carried out at a public health awareness program organized by Oman Medical College in primary health care. All adult >18 years consent to participate in the study were included. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0). Data was expressed in frequencies and percentages and independent sample t-test was used. Result A total of 95 participants have filled the questionnaire, 71.6% were below 50 years and 58.9% were male. Self reported problems 55.8% were type II diabetes, 24.2% were hypertensive,12.6% had known dyslipidemia and smoker. 45.3% were taking medications only 31.6% were having physical activity. Most commonly used herb was garlic 32.6%, black seed and cinnamon 24.2% 26.3% were using it to control diabetes. Nearly half of survey respondents believed CAM can help them achieve better control high cholesterol and diabetes (48.4%) and has fewer side effects (50.5%).An independent samples t-test revealed no statistical significant difference regarding knowledge of CAM between males and females . Conclusion: Lack of knowledge in heart disease in the public can appear in the form unhealthy behaviors. Furthermore its insight may help to transform the gaps in public knowledge which can be filled by increasing health educational programs on Heart disease and Life style modification strategies. Study participants had adequate knowledge regarding risk factors of heart disease however the knowledge about CAM used is not appropriate. There is a positive attitude in public towards CAM used in diabetes and dyslipidemia and most commonly used CAM garlic, black seed and cinnamon.