BACKGROUND The yield of bacterial cultures from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) is very low. Bedside inoculation of culture media with CSF may improve yields. OBJECTIVE To compare the culture yield of CSF inoculated onto culture medium at the bedside to that of CSF inoculated onto culture medium in the microbiology laboratory. DESIGN Cross-sectional comparative...

BACKGROUND The general proficiency in physical diagnostic skills seems to be declining in relation to the development of new technologies. The few studies that have examined this question have invariably used recordings of cardiac events obtained from patients. However, this type of evaluation may not correlate particularly well with bedside skills. Our objectives were 1) To compare the cardiac...

Physicians are called upon to teach students, residents, patients and their families in the clinical environment every day as part of clinical care. A fast-paced emergency department offers a unique set of challenges that require the physician to be an effective communicator. We present a top 10 list of ideas selected from the literature for the busy clinician to use on that next shift to impro...

Although Osler challenges us to study disease in the context of patients, family-centered care (FCC) challenges us to study disease in front of and alongside our patients. This article focuses on teaching in the presence of patients and families, at the bedside and during outpatient encounters, as part of the ongoing Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics series on skills and strate...

Hospitals have a responsibility to provide preceptors with the knowledge and skills required to provide bedside instruction to and evaluation of orientees. Formal preceptor preparation programs that provide practical information for immediate application are necessary for successful transition of orientees into patient care environments. Essential content includes the importance of socializatio...