Objective The authors aimed to assess the attitudes towards psychiatry of all Lebanese medical students, as well as the factors that could have led to these attitudes, whether favorable or not. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the authors ran a questionnaire among a sample of Lebanese medical students from all medical faculties, regions in Lebanon, and years of medical school, using the ATP-30 scale and the WHO-5 well-being index. The answers from the 607 participants were statistically analyzed on SPSS version 23.0. Results Among participants, 95.1% had a positive attitude towards psychiatry, reflecting a favorable outlook among Lebanese medical students overall. The average ATP-30 score in our sample was 111.95 out of 150 (SD = 12.55), which is in the range of countries of higher socio-economic level such as Germany and Switzerland. Also, 26.5% of participants reported that they consider psychiatry as a potential career choice. No demographic factor had any influence on the ATP-30 score. In the multivariate analysis, only two factors resulted in favorable attitudes: exposure to a patient with a diagnosed psychiatric illness in the student’s surroundings and a lower WHO-5 well-being index. Conclusion This study’s results do not fit into the traditional “developed vs. developing countries” paradigm. However, Lebanon still has a lot of challenges to face in order to provide quality mental healthcare.

Background: Little is known about gender disparity in the surgery specialty in Lebanon. Aims: To assess the status of female surgeons and possible gender gaps in surgery specialty in Lebanon. Methods: The study was conducted in May 2021. Data were retrieved from the Lebanese Order of Physicians website, indicating the number of physicians in the different specialties, their gender, hospitals, and locations. The c2 test of homogeneity was used to establish whether the gender distribution was equal. Results: Women only accounted for 21.84% (3,370) of physicians in Lebanon, with surgery having the lowest number of female physicians in (n = 65; 2.30%). Women accounted for 1.63% of all surgeons in Lebanese hospitals, there were more female plastic and reconstructive surgeons (n = 12; 7.14%), while neurosurgery, oncological surgery and vascular surgery had no females. There was no significant difference in gender between academic and non-academic institutions (χ2 = 2.164, P = 0.149), or between public and private hospitals (χ2 = 1.277, P = 0.234). Conclusion: The surgical specialty had the widest gender gap among all the medical fields in Lebanon. Therefore, the healthcare systems, including public and private hospitals, have a long and difficult road in narrowing the gender gap. Different strategies to incorporate women into surgery should be explored to assure equitable opportunities for all physicians, based on competency rather than gender.

Background: Patients' preferences towards their physicians constitute a crucial part of providing patient-centered care. Gender preference of patients towards gynecologists/obstetricians is controversial. Objective: Authors aimed to develop and validate a scale that specifically assesses gender preferences of patients towards physicians in the obstetrics and gynecology field. Materials and Methods: Epidemiological cross-sectional study in Lebanon conducted on 1192 participants. Questionnaire used consist of two parts: the first part sociodemographic questions and obstetrics and gynecology specialists overview and the second part was divided into males' and females' perceptions towards gynecologists. The new developed GPGO scale, consisting of 13 items, was only intended for females. Statistical analysis was performed to test the internal reliability, convergent validity, and construct validity. Overall, there were 1192 responses, 890 females and 302 males. In this study, we only included females’ responses. Results: Tests of assumptions of sample adequacy showed communalities higher than 0.3. Factor analysis of the 13 items in the GPGO scale revealed two main components. Items adequately loaded into its component. The scale’s Cronbach alpha, indicating internal reliability, revealed good reliability (0.861). Component 1 had acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach alpha= 0.745). Component 2 had high internal reliability (Cronbach alpha= 0.846). Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.877 (p<0.0001) and 0.898 (p<0.0001), respectively. Therefore, the scale shows adequate convergent validity. Conclusion: The resulting GPGO scale, that assesses the preference of patients towards gynecologists and obstetricians, is validated for use in females aged 18 years old and higher. The scale can be used in future studies for comparison or prospective follow-up.

Background Competency-based medical education has been emerging as a new educational model for learning. The development of medical education in Middle Eastern countries lacks basic literature in the area of medical education, particularly competency-based medical education (CBME). Aim Our objective is to validate a brief/rapid scale that informs us on the current perception of the acquiring of competencies of medical students and graduates from the Lebanese University, Lebanon. Methods A survey containing the Englander's common taxonomy for medical competencies-a set of 57 items-was distributed to medical students and graduates from the Lebanese University. Three parameters were used for the validation of this scale: construct validity using the principal component analysis technique, internal reliability using Cronbach alpha, and convergent validity using Pearson correlation. Results A total of 377 participants responded to the survey. Factor analysis, using Varimax rotation, showed appropriate loading of domains; loadings varied between 0.648 and 0.899. Construct validity showed for all competencies loaded appropriately in their respective domains; loadings ranged between 0.656 and 0.913. Cronbach alpha values were very good to excellent (0.868 to 0.932). Pearson correlation coefficients showed a good correlation with the total score and varied between 0.739 and 0.893 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion The Englander's common taxonomy scale is valid and reliable among Lebanese medical students and could be used for concise assessment of current and past medical education in faculties among Lebanese medical students. Using such scales can be used in assessing the improvement of medical education towards CBME.

This article has an error in author name. "Pascale Salemeh" should be corrected to "Pascale Salameh". In addition, the affiliation for Mirna N Chahine has been updated above.The original article has been corrected.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.