RESUMEN
Background: The process of external academic accreditation involves quality control and auditing measures that focus on the design, delivery, and outcomes of education. It is a demanding and disruptive process in terms of effort, time, money, and human resources. Nevertheless, the extent to which external quality assurance and accreditation procedures affect students' performance at the end of the learning cycle has not been well studied thus far. Methods: A retrospective quantitative secondary data analysis was conducted in The King Saud University (KSU) undergraduate medical program, with a before-after comparison research design to assess the impact of external accreditation on students' mean grade scores during an accreditation cycle. Results: Overall, the data pertaining to 1090 students who attended 32,677 examination encounters were included in the analysis. The pre- and post-accreditation analysis revealed a statistically significant improvement in the students' mean scores-80 ± 9 (pre) versus 87 ± 11 (post), with a p-value of (p = 0.003) and a Cohen's d value of 0.591. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant difference in the students' mean passing percentages-96 ± 5 (pre) versus 96 ± 9 (post), with a p-value of (p = 0.815) and a Cohen's d value of 0.043. Conclusion: The actions involved in the planning phase and the journey through the self-study evaluation not only verify the program's competencies but also functioned as critical boosters for quality improvement processes and, hence, students' learning experiences.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND Traumatic spinal cord injuries are quite common; however, a rare form of incomplete spinal cord injury is Brown-Sequard syndrome. Brown-Sequard syndrome is defined by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes as "a rare neurological condition characterized by a lesion in the spinal cord which results in weakness or paralysis (hemiparaplegia) on one side of the body and a loss of sensation (hemianesthesia) on the opposite side." CASE REPORT A 33-year-old man was brought to the Emergency Department by Saudi Red Crescent with multiple stab wounds on the left upper thoracic and lower cervical regions. He was tachycardic, but otherwise vitally stable. His Glasgow Coma Scale score was 15. The patient presented with bilateral lower limb weakness, more on the ipsilateral (left) side, and contralateral (right) hypoesthesia from the level of the nipple below. Cervical and thoracic magnetic resonance imaging revealed ligamentous injury defect at the posterior dura and indicating a dural tear with minor cerebrospinal fluid leak. Focal hyperintense signal intensity was noted on the left side of the spinal cord, representing contusion. The patient was managed conservatively with daily physical therapy. Strength had improved substantially by the time of discharge and sensation was improving. CONCLUSIONS Brown-Sequard syndrome is associated with good prognosis. These patients require a multidisciplinary approach because it provides the best chance of recovery to pre-injury status. These injuries may cause disastrous neurological deficits; therefore, preventive strategies should be designated to decrease the incidence of such injuries.
