ARE WE READY FOR ARABIZATION IN MEDICAL EDUCATION?

OBJECTIVE: To obtain the views of faculty members of the College of Medicine, King Faisal University on Arabization of medical education. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, between January and June 2001 using a standardized 41-item questionnaire to obtain the views of faculty members in both basic science and clinical departments on issues relating mainly to scientific research. The responses were recorded on a 5-point scale: strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree. A couple of questions were used to probe the issue of publications in Arabic and translations into Arabic. RESULTS: The response rate of faculty was 67% (74 of a total of 110 faculty members). The participating faculty members included 22 professors, 27 associate professors, 23 assistant professors and 2 lecturers belonging to 24 departments (6 basic sciences, 18 clinical). Thirty- four members (45.9%) were in favor of Arabization and 40 (54%) were against. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty members form the backbone for the implementation of Arabization in medical education. The opinions obtained in this preliminary survey of the faculty of the College of Medicine at King Faisal University indicate that we are still far from achieving this goal in our medical education.