Learning strategies of medical students in the surgery department, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

rning strategies of medical students in the surgery department, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Original Research (1335) Total Article Views Authors: Alzahrani HA, Alzahrani OH Published Date August 2012 Volume 2012:3 Pages 79 - 87 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S34780 Received: 07 June 2012 Accepted: 24 July 2012 Published: 23 August 2012 Hasan A Alzahrani,1 Owiss H Alzahrani2 1Department of Surgery, 2Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Objectives: To identify medical students' perceptions of their learning strategies including, learning habits, resources, and preferred teaching methods, in the Department of Surgery (DOS) of the King Abdulaziz University-Faculty of Medicine (KAU-FoM), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study which was designed to identify students' perceptions of their learning in the DOS of the KAU-FoM. A questionnaire was administered to a random group of 549 medical students, to explore student perceptions of their learning strategies including methods of learning and learning resources. Results: The majority believed that clinical session attendance is always important compared with lectures (88.9% vs 21.9%). Nevertheless, clinical sessions were selected as the third source of learning after learning from assigned textbooks and previous examination model answers. The majority (74.1%) believed that self-instruction at home is the preferred method of learning. Conclusion: Student perspectives should be taken into consideration prior to any future reforms of curriculum. Reforms should adopt a “think globally; act locally” educational strategy based on learner needs.