The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in great need for well trained primary health care physicians. The Department of Family and Community Medicine had been providing different training programs over the past 15 years.

These programs included Master Degree, Diploma, Arab Board and King Saud Fellowship for Family Practice. Recently the Saudi Board of Family Practice has been well established.

This is a training program for four years to produce competent family physicians.

Saudi Board of Family Medicine Booklet of Information.

Training Program

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in a great need of well trained primary health care physicians. With the implementation of primary health care programs, there is an obvious need for specialized training in this specialty. Such training will produce competent family physicians who can be both providers of services and trainers in the field. It will also raise the standard of services provided, and establish a more recognized career.

Objectives

The aim of the Saudi Board of Family Medicine is to graduate competent Family Physicians who should be able to:

1.     Adequately and appropriately diagnose and treat common problems faced in primary health care field and recognize the need for referral.

2.     Demonstrate the appropriate attitude of a caring physician; for good relationship with patients, families and community, meeting their needs and recognizing their expectations.

3.     Provide effective, comprehensive and continuing health care for individuals, families and the community through the development of problem - solving skills.

4.     Apply the principles and practice of health services planning, organization, and administration, research and quality assurance at the level of the primary health care delivery system.

5.     Serve, through a system of referrals/consultations, as a point of entry into the secondary/tertiary health care systems.

6.     Determine the disease patterns of the community and subsequently implement and evaluate the most cost-beneficial prevention and/or health promotion programs.

7.     Provide continuous health education to both individuals and the community at large to enable the individual, the family and the whole community to improve its health status.

8.     Recognize the social, cultural, psychological factors in relation to health and disease and apply principles of medical ethics.

Admission Requirements

To be accepted in the training program, the candidate has to fulfill the following requirements:

1.     A medical degree from a recognized university.

2.     Successful completion of rotating internship.

3.     Passing an admission examination and an interview.

4.     Provision of two (2) recommendation letters from consultants confirming the suitability of the candidate for training in the field of family medicine.

5.     Provision of a letter from the sponsoring organization approving that the candidate can join full time training for the whole period of the program (4 years).

6.     Signature of an obligation to abide by all the rules and regulations of the training program and the Saudi Board of Family Medicine.

7.     Registration as a trainee at the Saudi Council for Health Specialties.

Training Requirements

1.     Training is a full time commitment. Residents shall be enrolled in a continuous full time training for the whole period of the program.

2.     Training is to be conducted in institutions accredited for training by the Saudi Board of Family Medicine.

3.     Training shall be comprehensive and includes inpatient, ambulatory and emergency room care.

4.     Trainees shall be involved in direct patient care with gradual progression of responsibility.

5.     Trainees shall abide by the training regulations and obligations set by the Saudi Board of Family Medicine.

Structure of Program

This is a four-year program of structured training in family medicine and related specialties. It is divided into two stages:

1.     Junior Residency for 36 months (R1-R3):

This consists of rotations among various medical and surgical specialties to develop clinical skills required for the practice of family medicine.

The rotations include the following:

a)    First and second years - R1, R2: The period includes the following rotations:

·         Introduction to Family Medicine. ……..….  1 month

·         Medicine. ………………………………….……..  6 months

·         Pediatrics. ………………………………….…….  4 months

·         Obstetrics. ………………………………….……  3 months

·         Surgery. ……………………………………….…  3 months

·         Family medicine. ………………………………  3 months

·         EMS. ……………………………………………….  2 months

·         Leave. ………………………………………….…  2 months

·         Total ……………………………………………...  24 months

b)    Third year - R3: This year includes the following rotations:

·         Community Medicine. ……………………….  3 months

·         Psychiatry. ………………………………………  3 months

·         Dermatology. …………………………………..  1 month

·         Ophthalmology. ……………………………….  1 month

·         ENT. ……………………………………………….  1 month

·         Elective. ………………………………………….  2 months

·         Leave. ……………………………………………   1 month

·         Total. …………………………………………….   12 months

2.     Senior Residency (Fourth year -R 4):

During this period, training shall be conducted in primary health care centers. Training shall focus on clinical communication, direct patient care under supervision, consultations.

The principles and practice of public health will be merged into training at this stage to produce competent family physicians with a preventive attitude.

Content of Program

The program consists of several sessions in the form of lectures, seminars and workshops. A half day weekly activity is run by residents and supervised by trainers in family medicine as part of the program. The program also includes several clinical rotations and a research project. Details of training during clinical rotations are described in the training manual.

Vacations, holidays and on call

1.     Residents are entitled for four weeks vacation annually and a maximum of 10 days for both Eid holidays and emergency leave.

2.     Sick and maternity leave shall be compensated for during or at the end of training.

3.     On call duty shall be an average of one every three to four nights (minimum of 7 calls per month, 24 hours per call except when working in emergency room). Residents are expected to perform regular duty the day after call and ensure continuity of care for their patients.

Evaluation

a)    End of rotation evaluation:

At the end of each training rotation, the supervising consultant/team shall provide the training committee with a written evaluation of residents' performance during that rotation.

b)    In-training examinations:

The program shall incorporate an annual written examinations, as part of the evaluation process of residents and a clinical examination at least for senior residents.

c)     Annual overall evaluation:

This includes:

·         Summation of end of rotation evaluations for the year (50% of total mark).

·         Result of annual in-training examination (50% of total mark).

d)    Promotion:

·         Annual promotion (e.g. R1 to R2) depends on annual overall evaluation.

·         Promotion to senior residency depends on annual overall evaluation, passing first board examination.

Board Examinations

A.    First Board Examination:

·         This examination is held at least once per year in one or more of the training centers.

·         It is a written examination, and includes family and community medicine and related specialties.

·         Candidates are allowed to sit the examination after successful completion of second year of training.

·         Passing the first board examination is a pre-requisite for promotion to senior residency.

·         Candidates are allowed a total of three attempts. Those failing the third attempt will be dismissed from the program.

B.    Final board examination:

·         This examination is given to candidates after successful completion of training, as evidenced by an acceptable final-in-training evaluation.

·         It is held at least once per year in one or more of the training centers.

·         The final examination consists of:

                                          i.    Written Part:  designed to evaluate knowledge and clinical judgment. Only successful candidates in this part are allowed to sit the clinical/oral part.

                                         ii.    Clinical/oral part:  designed to test clinical skills/abilities and judgment in the field of family medicine. Candidates are allowed a maximum of five attempts to pass this examination within a period of five years after completion of training.

C.    Certification:

Candidates passing the final board examination are awarded the certificate of the Saudi Board of Family Medicine.

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