Students’ Perception of the Pediatrics Course in a Saudi Medical School

ObjectiveIn the beginning of 2006 there were major changes to the structure of the pediatrics course that coincided with a sharp increase in the students’ number. We aimed to get the students and teachers evaluation of the different activities of the pediatrics course.MethodsStudents were asked, at the end of each cycle in 4 consecutive cycles from January 2006 to March 2007, to evaluate various course activities based on what they thought was more useful or effective through filling out a short questionnaire. Teachers filled out a similar questionnaire based on what they thought were more useful to the students.ResultsIn 4 consecutive courses 247 (65%) students filled the questionnaire. Overall, the students favored tutorial and small group case discussion sessions over lectures (P<0.0001). They also preferred emergency room and ward activities over nursery (P=0.02). Teachers felt that tutorial and small group case discussion sessions were more useful to the students than lectures, though the results were statistically insignificant.ConclusionsCase based activities (discussion sessions and tutorials) and activities providing more patient care responsibility were favored by students at the College of Medicine, King Saud University Riyadh.