Discussion
Reading habit is an essential life skill. It not only increases
knowledge, but it also builds maturity and identity, sharpens
our thinking, and increases awareness in all daily life issues 1.
Acquiring knowledge through reading is crucial for learning
process of a medical student. In clinical practice, it is
important as it relates to clinical competencies.1
Medical students spent on average 5.7 h per week (median
3 h) on reading lecture hand outs and 4.9 h per week on reading
pocket books (median 4 h), which was nearly similar to the
results of similar study performed at King Saud Medical college
2009.8 A study of reading habits of medical clerks at John
Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002–2003 revealed
that medical clerks reported for an average of 10.8 h per week.9
Medical students were reported in another study to read for an
average of 10.8 h per week and relied solely on medical textbooks.
10 One study reported that internists read for an average
of 4.4 h per week.11
The most useful source rated by students in the current
study was pocket books followed by lecture hand outs and focused
on them more than online updated sources. While online
sources are easily accessible and provides up to date information,
it may not be the most efficient source for students to obtain
critical information. However, students need to be
encouraged and motivated to use these online sources. The
same result was obtained by the study performed at King Saud
University.8 Meanwhile, online sources were the most useful
source rated by students of John Hopkins University School
of Medicine.9 Another study reported that the medical journals
were the most useful source.11
All students reported problems with reading. Time was a
barrier stated by majority of the students that hinders the reading
process. Medical students face a huge volume of different