Objective: To test medical students’ perceptions of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on radiology and the influence of these perceptions on their choice of radiology as a lifetime career. Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter survey of medical students in Saudi Arabia was conducted in April 2019. Results: Of the 476 respondents, 34 considered radiology their first specialty choice, 26 considered it their second choice, and 65 considered it their third choice. Only 31% believed that AI would replace radiologists in their lifetime, while 44.8% believed that AI would minimize the number of radiologists needed in the future. Approximately 50% believed they had a good understanding of AI; however, when knowledge of AI was tested using five questions, on average, only 22% of the questions were answered correctly. Among the respondents who ranked radiology as their first choice, 58.8% were anxious about the uncertain impact of AI on radiology. The number of respondents who ranked radiology as one of their top three choices increased by 14 when AI was not a consideration. Radiology conferences and the opinions of radiologists had the most influence on the respondents’ preferences for radiology. Conclusion: The worry that AI might displace radiologists in the future had a negative influence on medical students’ consideration of radiology as a career. Academic radiologists are encouraged to educate their students about AI and its potential impact when students are considering radiology as a lifetime career choice. Advances in knowledge: Rapid advances of AI in radiology will certainly impact the specialty, the concern of AI impact on radiology had negative influence in our participants and investing in AI education and is highly recommended.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine attitudes towards and perceptions of plagiarism among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional, multicentre study was conducted between April and May 2018 and involved medical students enrolled in three medical schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The previously validated Attitude Towards Plagiarism questionnaire was used to evaluate approval (i.e. a positive attitude) and disapproval of plagiarism (i.e. a negative attitude) among medical students. Furthermore, this study evaluated whether attending medical writing courses or courses in medical ethics influenced medical students’ attitudes towards plagiarism. Results: A total of 551 students participated in the study (response rate = 73.5%). A significant association was found between mean negative and positive attitude scores and grade point average (GPA; P = 0.004 and 0.007, respectively). Students attending medical ethics courses had higher mean negative attitude scores compared to students who did not attend such courses (odds ratio = 2.369, 95% confidence interval: 1.540–3.645; P <0.001). Attending medical ethics courses was associated with a significantly more negative attitude towards plagiarism (P <0.001, each). Conclusion: The majority of medical students in Saudi Arabia included in this study indicated a highly negative attitude towards plagiarism. A higher GPA, the authoring of a published manuscript and attending courses in medical ethics were associated with negative attitudes towards plagiarism among medical students.

Background: The specific role of emotional intelligence (EI) in the field of plastic surgery has not been investigated. We aim to investigate the relationship between EI and the individual components of burnout among plastic surgery residents in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all plastic surgery residents (n = 37) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were invited to participate in a questionnaire based study in March 2018. The survey contained a validated measure of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey), validated measure of EI (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form), and evaluated residents’ demographics, professional and personal risk factors, and career satisfaction. Results: The overall rate of high burnout was 37.9%, with 72.4% residents reporting high level of emotional exhaustion (EE), 41% reporting high depersonalization (DP) and 41% reporting low sense of personal accomplishment (PA). EI has shown to have a significant negative relationship with EE (95% confidence interval CI, −9.061 to −1.374; P = 0.010), DP (95% CI, −5.747 to −1.974; P < 0.001), and a significant positive correlation with PA (95% CI, 1.398–5.439; P = 0.002). Significant risk factors for burnout included dissatisfaction with plastic surgery as a career choice, dissatisfaction with income, and dissatisfaction with the role in the operating room (P < 0.05). Conclusions: We found a positive correlation between higher levels of EI and sense of personal achievement, whereas a negative correlation was observed between higher level of EI and EE and DP among the residents in this study. Plastic surgery residents who are satisfied with their salary have lower EE and DP. Residents who are satisfied with their role in the operating room have a better sense of PA.

Few studies have reviewed the reduction of doses in Computed tomography (CT), while various diagnostic procedures use ionizing radiation to explore the optimal dose estimate using multiple exposure quantities, including milliampere-seconds, kilovoltage peak, and pitch factors while controlling the CT dose index volume (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP). Therefore, we considered optimizing CT protocols to reduce radiation and organ doses during head, chest, abdominal, and pelvic CT examinations. For establishing institutional diagnostic reference levels as a benchmark to correlate with national diagnostic reference levels (NDRLs) in KSA conforming to international guidelines for radiation exposure, 3000 adult-patients underwent imaging of organs. Dose parameters were obtained using Monte Carlo software and adjusted using the Siemens Teamplay™ software. CTDIvol, DLP, and effective dose were 40.67 ± 3.8, 757 ± 63.2, and 1.74 ± 0.19, for head; 14.9 ± 1.38, 547 ± 42.9, and 7.27 ± 0.95 for chest; and 16.84 ± 1.45, 658 ± 53.4, and 10.2 ± 0.66 for abdomen/pelvis, respectively. The NDRL post-optimization comparison showed adequate CT exposure. Head CT parameters required additional optimization to match the NDRL. Therefore, calculations were repeated to assess radiation doses. In conclusion, doses could be substantially minimized by selecting parameters per clinical indication of the study, patient size, and examined body region. Additional dose reduction to superficial organs requires a shielding material.

Background: The SaudiMEDs framework was founded and adopted by the Saudi Deans’ Committee in 2011 to ensure that Saudi medical graduates learned core competencies. Meanwhile, CanMEDs was established by the Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1996 and aimed to establish the abilities and skills of all aspects of medical practice, as well as to ensure the acquisition of basic knowledge related to medical education. The main purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences between both frameworks. Methods: In March and April 2017, 15 researchers conducted an extensive review of both the SaudiMEDs and CanMEDs frameworks using a semi-quantitative evaluation with color codes to determine the following: the exact similarities in both frameworks, the close similarities, and the unique differences. Results: According to the coloring system, most of the frameworks were similar. For example, Leadership, Communication and Professionalism were almost identical in both frameworks. There was some degree of similarity between both frameworks in “Collaborator”. Furthermore, the SaudiMEDs framework had a unique input which involved the most essential skills that undergraduate medical students must acquire. Conclusion: SaudiMEDs has great potential to improve the quality of Saudi medical graduates in a manner that fits our current and future needs. CanMEDs focuses mainly on outcomes and processes, while SaudiMEDs focuses more on outcomes. SaudiMEDs was not created to provide a copy-and-paste curriculum. The ultimate goal was to create an outcome-based curriculum that ensures the quality of Saudi medical school graduates.