Residents and teaching physicians' perception about bedside teaching in non-clinical shift in the emergency department of King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Bedside teaching (BT) is teaching in the presence of the patients which allows direct observation of the learner. It is a very crucial educational modality, which has declined significantly over the last decades. It is under-utilised and under-studied in Emergency Medicine. Although time constraints in the emergency department (ED) is associated with efficient and effective patient management; it exerts a negative influence on the time spent on bedside teaching. Objective: To determine the residents' and teaching physicians' (TPs') perception about BT in non-clinical shift regarding: Clinical knowledge, data gathering, procedure performance, communication and constructive feedback. Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional study was done at King Abdulaziz Medical City, ED. Two groups were formed: (learners N=30) and (TP N=20) total N=50. We used self-administered questionnaire and then the data was analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Demographic data and results were expressed by mean ±SD and percentage. Comparison was then made between the two groups by using T-test (P < 0.05). Results: There were 50 participants in this study and 100% filled the questionnaires. All 20 (100%) of TP have previous experience with BT vs. only 17 (58%) of the learners. The residents and TPs responded to benefits of the BT: on clinical knowledge with mean values of (4.63±0.41 vs. 4.76±0.37) respectively and on data gathering with mean values of (4.73±0.51 vs. 4.24±0.97) respectively. Forty-six percent of the learners and 20% of the TPs responded to the benefits on procedures; however, the mean values of (4.93±1.0 and 5.0±0.01) were reported from the residents and TPs respectively. Regarding communications, we got mean values of (4.65±1.25 vs. 4.18±0.46) respectively. In regards to giving constructive feedback, the two groups' perceptions gave mean values of (4.58±1.01 vs. 4.57±0.8) in the residents group vs. TPs. Conclusion: Based on the review of the learners and the TPs' perception, we concluded that BT in non-clinical shift is very effective to improve the learners' clinical knowledge, data gathering, communication skills and facilitates giving constructive feedback. However, the benefits regarding procedure performance is still an area that needs further investigation.