Introduction:Only a few studies from Arab Muslim countries address do-not-resuscitate (DNR) practice. The knowledge of physicians about the existing policy and the attitude towards DNR were surveyed.Objective:The objective of this study is to identify the knowledge of the participants of the local DNR policy and barriers of addressing DNR including religious background.Methods:A questionnaire has been distributed to Emergency Room (ER) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) physicians.Results:A total of 112 physicians mostly Muslims (97.3%). About 108 (96.4%) were aware about the existence of DNR policy in our institute. 107 (95.5%) stated that DNR is not against Islamic. Only (13.4%) of the physicians have advance directives and (90.2%) answered they will request to be DNR if they have terminal illness. Lack of patients and families understanding (51.8%) and inadequate training (35.7%) were the two most important barriers for effective DNR discussion. Patients and families level of education (58.0%) and cultural factors (52.7%) were the main obstacles in initiating a DNR order.Conclusions:There is a lack of knowledge about DNR policy which makes the optimization of DNR process difficult. Most physicians wish DNR for themselves and their patients at the end of life, but only a few of them have advance directives. The most important barriers for initializing and discussing DNR were lack of patient understanding, level of education, and the culture of patients. Most of the Muslim physicians believe that DNR is not against Islamic rules. We suggest that the DNR concept should be a part of any training program.

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Student contributions to research have been shown to effectively reflect on their communication and critical thinking skills. Short-term research courses offer opportunities for medical students to advance their research experience in subsequent high-demanding long-term research opportunities. The purpose of the present study was to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a research-oriented series (ROS) on undergraduate students at Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia. The ROS was designed to comprise eight sessions. Each session addressed core principles and the practice of research concepts and was based on theoretical morning sessions supplemented by afternoon practical sessions delivered by experienced senior medical students and faculty members. Students were assessed comprehensively by the end of the ROS. The series was conducted twice, and 35 students were involved each time. A total of 70 enrolled students (35 men and 35 women) with grade point averages of >3.5 and <3.5 were asked to fill out an anonymous, online, self-administered questionnaire assessing their perception of knowledge, skills, and confidence after attending the ROS and evaluating their senior peers. Ninety percent of the medical students responded to the online survey and rated the ROS highly in improving their research knowledge, skills, and confidence. Male students reported significant gains compared with their female peers (P<0.05). Grade point averages did not play a role in student gains after attending the ROS. Qualitative responses were in support of three recurring themes favoring the unique learning environment in the ROS. In conclusion, the ROS offers a short-term systematic approach to fundamental steps and concepts of biomedical research.

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Introduction: Only a few studies from Arab Muslim countries address DNR practice. Our institute has a clear DNR policy. The knowledge of the existing policy and the attitude towards DNR of emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU) physicians were studied through this survey.