Dr. Sana A . Al Mahmoud

Background The outbreak of the novel Corona Virus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly to many countries leading to thousands of deaths globally. The burden of this pandemic has affected the physical and mental health of the frontline health care workers (HCWs) who are exposed to high risk of infection and psychological stressors. Aims The aim is to measure the level of depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic to establish interventional strategies. Method A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to conduct the current study. The data of this study was recruited between 15 June and 15 July 2020 from healthcare providers who work in both public and private healthcare sectors in Riyadh and Eastern province in Saudi Arabia utilizing a self-administered questionnaire. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group (IRB Log No. RC20.06.88-2). Data were collected by using The Zung Sel...

Background: The conventional clinical practice component of undergraduate nursing education is insufficient preparation for contemporary professional nursing practice. The preceptorship program became a substitute for limited clinical training in nursing school. Few studies have been conducted to demonstrate its practice impact above that of conventional clinical training. Therefore, the preparation of nurse preceptors is vital to any of the preceptorship roles. The preceptor plays a significant role during the transition period from being a student to a competent nurse. He/she provides direct supervision, support, and guidance, and offers a role model to consolidate scientific knowledge, practice clinical skills, and develop professional attitudes and values. Objective: The objective of the study is to assess differences between the preceptors' knowledge pre- and post-training program, evaluate preceptor’s feedback regarding the training program, assess the effect of the traini...

Background The burden of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted widely on the healthcare providers physically and mentally. Many healthcare providers are exposed to psychological stressors due to their high risk of contracting the virus. Aims This study aimed to measure the level of anxiety among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. In addition, this study aimed to measure the level of anxiety based on demographic characteristics. Method A cross-sectional survey was employed to recruit a convenience sample of healthcare providers. A pencil and paper self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from demographic and generalized anxiety disorder GAD-7 data. However, this study received written informed consent from participants of the study. In addition, the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group (IRB Log No. RC20.06.88-03). Results A total of 650 participants were recruited, resu...

Background Prior to the availability of the current COVID-19 vaccine, the need to control the pandemic worldwide was focused on management of the disease using previously approved antivirals, including Favipiravir which inhibits viral replication through the RNA dependent RNA polymerase enzyme. Favipiravir’s efficacy against different viral infections has made it a potential treatment for COVID-19. We are aiming in this study to assess the therapeutic efficacy and safety of Favipiravir in treating critically ill patients admitted with COVID-19 to Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Methods This is a retrospective cohort study was conducted in five tertiary hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The studied sample was randomized from a huge pool of data collected primarily for critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to (ICUs) during the period between April 2020 to March 2021. Two groups of patients matched 1: 1 for age and body mass index (BMI) was enrolled in the study; one group received Favipiravir and another comparison group received other antimicrobial medications, not including Favipiravir. Results A total data of 538 COVID-19 patients were analyzed, 269 (50.%) received Favipiravir and 269 (50%) the control group received different treatments. More than two-thirds 201 (74.7%) were Saudi citizens, the majority 177 (65.8%) were males and the mean age and (BMI) were; (57.23 ± 15.16) years and (31.61±7.33) kg/m2 respectively. The most frequent symptoms of presentation were shortness of breath (SOB), fever, and cough, and the most frequent comorbidity was diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. In the supplemental therapy, corticosteroid, tocilizumab and chloroquine were statistically significant (P = 0.001) when combined in the FVP group more than in the comparison group. Severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was more frequent among Favipiravir group, while the overall mortality rate among the Favipiravir group was not statistically significant (p-value 0.4). Conclusion According to the study’s results revealing FVP is not superior to other antivirals, patients who received Favipiravir presented with more severe symptoms, more comorbidities, more complications, and is not effective in controlling the cytokine storm which negatively impact the efficacy of Favipiravir. FVP therapy had no influence on ICU and hospital length of stay in comparison with the control group as well as in the overall mortality rate among the FVP group was not statistically significant. further research is needed to understand how FVP along with other treatments can improve the length of stay among COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU.

Successful internship programs should be those in which teaching and learning are provided to help the new graduate nurse make the transition from novice to advanced beginner who can demonstrate acceptable performance and cope in real situations. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between nurse interns' clinical competence and their satisfaction regarding internship program at King Fand Hospital of the University (KFHU) in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fifty eight respondents participated in the study. The data of the study was collected using two separate instruments developed by the researchers, first one assessed clinical competence contains two parts and the second assess satisfaction levels among nurse interns. After obtaining the subjects' consents, the researchers distributed the questionnaires on studied tool I on hospital preceptors to assess the interns' clinical competence, they filled the questionnaire while were working in their work settings. ...

Background: The dependency in Saudi Arabian hospitals on expatriate nurses from various nationalities can create barriers between patients and nurses because of differences in religion, culture, social values and relatively short-term commitments. Objectives: It is important to explore the motivation of Sadui nationals for entering nurse training and the attractiveness of nursing as a career for them. Method: In order to study potential barriers to achieving the Saudisation goal of increasing the number of Saudi nurses, a survey of first-year nursing students was carried out to explore their motivation for entering nurse training, their perceptions of the attractiveness of nursing as a career for Saudi nationals, their future aspirations and the reasons they considered might cause students to drop out of training. Results: It was found that training to be a nurse was the first choice for over 60% of the sample. Overall, the students in the survey were very positive about nursing wit...

Although the Saudi Arabian society is considered to be protective, and a traditional society with many obstacles when woman employment in question; the nursing profession is considered a female-profession. In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia nursing is one of the fast growing fields. As more numbers of students enrolling for studying nursing, more emphasis is given to nursing as a career and during the score of the academic study. One aspect for studying the phenomenon of increasing Saudi female students in the field of nursing is a quantitative study of their perception of the practice environment of nursing. Expectations in general determine the amount of involvement and the amount of effort applied from the side of the employee (the nurse). This study, points upon the expectations of the nurses regarding the environment where they will practice their career. The study is an analysis of the responses provided by senior nursing students and the nurses doing their field training on an ei...

Successful internship programs should be those in which teaching and learning are provided to help the new graduate nurse make the transition from novice to advanced beginner who can demonstrate acceptable performance and cope in real situations. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between nurse interns’ clinical competence and their satisfaction regarding internship program at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU) in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fifty eight respondents participated in the study. The data of the study was collected using two separate instruments developed by the researchers, first one assessed clinical competence contains two parts and the second assess satisfaction levels among nurse interns. After obtaining the subjects’ consents, the researchers distributed the questionnaires on studied tool I on hospital preceptors to assess the interns' clinical competence, they filled the questionnaire while were working in their work settings . and assess...

Background: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is caused by non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema and occurs in critically ill patients. It is one of the fatal complications observed among severe COVID-19 cases managed in intensive care units (ICU). Supportive lung-protective ventilation and prone positioning remain the mainstay interventions. Purpose: We describe the severity of ARDS, clinical outcomes, and management of ICU patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in multiple Saudi hospitals. Methods: A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted of critically ill patients who were admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 and developed ARDS. Results: During our study, 1154 patients experienced ARDS: 591 (51.2%) with severe, 415 (36.0%) with moderate, and 148 (12.8%) with mild ARDS. The mean sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score was significantly higher in severe ARDS with COVID-19 (6 ± 5, p = 0.006). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed COVID-19 patien...