The educational value of ward rounds as a learning and teaching opportunity for house officers, medical officers, and registrars in Sudanese hospitals: a multi-center cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Ward rounds are a cornerstone in the educational experience of junior doctors and an essential part of teaching patient care. Here, we aimed to assess the doctors' perception of ward rounds as an educational opportunity and to identify the obstacles faced in conducting a proper ward round in Sudanese hospitals. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted from the 15th to the 30th of January 2022 among house officers, medical officers, and registrars in about 50 teaching and referral hospitals in Sudan. House officers and medical officers were considered the learners, while specialist registrars were considered the teachers. Doctors' perceptions were assessed using an online questionnaire, with a 5-level Likert scale to answer questions. RESULTS: A total of 2,011 doctors participated in this study (882 house officers, 697 medical officers, and 432 registrars). The participants were aged 26.9 ± 3.2 years, and females constituted about 60% of the sample. An average of 3.1 ± 6.8 ward rounds were conducted per week in our hospitals, with 11.1 ± 20.3 h spent on ward rounds per week. Most doctors agreed that ward rounds are suitable for teaching patient management (91.3%) and diagnostic investigations (89.1%). Almost all the doctors agreed that being interested in teaching (95.1%) and communicating appropriately with the patients (94.7%) make a good teacher in ward rounds. Furthermore, nearly all the doctors agreed that being interested in learning (94.3%) and communicating appropriately with the teacher (94.5%) make a good student on ward rounds. About 92.8% of the doctors stated that the quality of ward rounds could be improved. The most frequently reported obstacles faced during ward rounds were the noise (70%) and lack of privacy (77%) in the ward environment. CONCLUSION: Ward rounds have a special value in teaching patient diagnosis and management. Being interested in teaching/learning and having good communication skills were the two major criteria that make a good teacher/learner. Unfortunately, ward rounds are faced with obstacles related to the ward environment. It is mandatory to ensure the quality of both ward rounds' teaching and environment to optimize the educational value and subsequently improve patient care practice.

Shear wave elastography of the submandibular gland in healthy individuals.

OBJECTIVES: Shear wave elastography is a rapidly evolving new technique. The purpose of the present study was to determine the sonoelastographic features of the submandibular glands in healthy individuals. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 45 healthy individuals, whose submandibular glands were studied using shear wave elastography. The stiffness of both submandibular glands was measured and its relationships with the age, sex, body mass, body mass index (BMI), and height of the participants were assessed. RESULTS: The participants had a mean age of 31.82 ± 5.53 years, a mean height of 158.30 ± 7.16 cm, a mean body mass of 57.83 ± 8.84 kg, and a mean BMI of 22.99 ± 2.72 kg/m2. The mean shear elastic modulus of the right and left submandibular glands were 18.02 kPa and 19.09 kPa, respectively. Positive correlations were found between the elasticity of the right submandibular gland and the anthropometric parameters. CONCLUSION: The elastic modulus of the submandibular glands has been determined in healthy individuals and the data generated can serve as a reference for future studies of pathological conditions of these structures.