RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To find out medical students' perceptions and attitudes toward medical leadership and management (MLM). METHODS: A total of 336 medical students from the 2nd to 6th academic years from King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), were included in this cross-sectional study. This study was conducted in January-February 2020. The students were asked about their perceptions, attitudes, and interests in the leadership of medical care and clinicians. A four-part questionnaire was used for collecting data. SPSS-21 was used for analysis. RESULTS: The participants included 172 (51.2%) males and 164 (48.8%) females. In total, 105 (31.3%) participants agreed that they had been very well educated about their perception, behavior, and interest in the field of medical leadership and clinic management, and 175 (52.1%) students agreed that clinicians should influence management decisions in a healthcare setting. Overall, 167 (49.7%) students agreed that management/leadership skills are important for clinicians. In total, 145 students (43.2%) desired to have more leadership training in medical school, and 129 (38.4%) students agreed to seek additional leadership/management training in their postgraduate research studies. When asked about their self-perception of good leadership skills, the students indicated that good leadership skills included integrity (47.9%), conflict resolution (46.7%), organization (44.4%), confidence (41.9%), communication (40.5%), self-reflection (40.2%), time management (33.6%), the ability to motivate others (36.9%), and the ability to keep calm under stress (33.3%). CONCLUSION: Many students were well aware of the MLM concepts. However, students agreed that management/leadership skills are important for clinicians, and there should be more leadership training in medical schools.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Poor Quality of Life (QoL) among medical students is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, psychological distress, and academic failure, which could affect their care for patients in the future. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Arabic WHOQOL-BREF tool among Saudi medical students and to assess the effect of gender, educational level, and academic performance on their QoL. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among medical students of King Abdulaziz University in February 2016, using the Arabic version of the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. RESULTS: Six-hundred-thirty medical students were included, where females constituted (51.1%). Cronbach's α coefficient for the overall domains of WHOQOL-BREF was 0.86. Students' self-reported QoL mean score was 3.99 ± 0.95, and their mean score for the overall satisfaction with health was 3.66 ± 1.06. The environmental domain had the highest mean score (67.81 ± 17.39). High achievers showed lower psychological health, while poor academic performance was associated with better psychological health and social relationship QoL scores (P < 0.013 and P < 0.014, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The WHOQOL-BREF is valid and reliable for assessing QoL among Saudi medical students. Although gender and academic year had no impact on the students' QoL, better-performing students reported lower psychological health and social relationships scores.
