IntroductionInterest in workplace bullying has been steadily growing since the 1990s, focusing on understanding its driving factors, prevalence rates in different occupations and countries, its consequences, as well as the characteristics of the typical bully and victim. Currently, the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) is the most frequently used questionnaire to assess workplace bullying. Studies in the Arab world are scarce and to date the NAQ-R has not been validated in Arabic, the official or co-official language in around 25 countries in the Middle East and Asia. The aim of this study was therefore to develop an Arabic version of NAQ-R.Materials and methods447 participants aged 18–70 years were recruited through convenient sampling. Exclusion criteria were illiteracy and employment for less than 6 months. Participants were recruited from shops, banks, travel agencies and restaurants in an area in central Beirut around a tertiary care medical centre.A two-stage process was employed to translate the original version of NAQ-R to Arabic. This translated version along with validated Arabic versions of the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory II were distributed to participants.ResultsA 14-item two-factor NAQ-R, with subscales of person-related and work-related bullying, was supported. Reliability coefficients for total and subscale scores of the NAQ-R ranged from 0.63 to 0.90. The Arabic NAQ-R had good concurrent validity as indicated by significant correlations with depression and satisfaction with life (p < 0.05).ConclusionNAQ-R was translated to Arabic and adapted. The results revealed acceptable levels of reliability and construct validity. As for the underlying factor structure, it needs to be further supported.

The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among physicians and nurses at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon. A web-based survey was emailed to 518 physicians and 423 registered nurses in all medical departments at AUBMC. Of the 94 physicians responding to the survey, 61% have never referred a patient to a CAM practitioner yet 33% reported that they would refer if available. Sixty-two percent of physicians believed that incorporating evidence-based CAM therapies will increase patient satisfaction and 66% thought that offering CAM would attract more patients. Of the 80 nurses who responded, 78.7% have never referred a patient to a CAM practitioner, yet half reported that they would likely refer if a CAM practitioner was available. Fifty-seven percent of nurses surveyed believed that offering CAM would attract more patients while 59% thought that it would increase patient satisfaction. Most nurses were uncomfortable counseling patients about CAM modalities. Favorable attitudes towards CAM were reflected by the physicians and nurses as signified by the above-average attitude means towards CAM (M = 4.01, SD = .16 and M = 3.25, SD = .59, respectively). The study findings demonstrate that despite the physicians’ and nurses’ limited knowledge and their discomfort in counseling on CAM, they expressed acceptability and willingness in using and incorporating CAM therapies into clinical practice at AUBMC. This is the first study conducted in Lebanon that assesses both nurses’ and physicians’ perspectives on the use of all CAM domains in general within the same healthcare setting. This study not only provides baseline data but also highlights the knowledge gap and learning needs among physicians and nurses with regards to CAM.

Background The main objective of this study is the development of a short reliable easy-to-use assessment tool in the aim of providing feedback to the reflective writings of medical students and residents. Methods This study took place in a major tertiary academic medical center in Beirut, Lebanon. Seventy-seven reflective essays written by 18 residents in the department of Family Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) were graded by 3 raters using the newly developed scale to assess the scale reliability. Following a comprehensive search and analysis of the literature, and based on their experience in reflective grading, the authors developed a concise 9-item scale to grade reflective essays through repeated cycles of development and analysis as well as the determination of the inter-rater reliability (IRR) using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Krippendorff’s Alpha. Results The inter-rater reliability of the new scale ranges from moderate to substantial with ICC of 0.78, 95% CI 0.64–0.86, p < 0.01 and Krippendorff’s Alpha was 0.49. Conclusions The newly developed scale, GRE-9, is a short, concise, easy-to-use reliable grading tool for reflective essays that has demonstrated moderate to substantial inter-rater reliability. This will enable raters to objectively grade reflective essays and provide informed feedback to residents and students.