General description of the emergency physician respondents in Kuwait
| Total (n=104) | Experience <11 years (n=50) | Experience ≥11 years (n=54) | P value* | |
| Age | 38.83 (±9.5) | 32.12 (3.88) | 45.03 (8.87) | <0.001 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 90 (86.6%) | 39 (78%) | 51 (94.4%) | 0.014 |
| Female | 14 (13.5%) | 11 (22%) | 3 (5.6%) | |
| Nationality | ||||
| Kuwaiti | 21 (20.2%) | 18 (38%) | 3 (5.6%) | <0.001 |
| Non-Kuwaiti | 83 (79.8%) | 32 (64%) | 51 (94.4%) | |
| Qualification | ||||
| MBBS | 30 (28.8%) | 21 (42%) | 9 (16.7%) | |
| Masters | 59 (56.7%) | 24 (48%) | 35 (64.8%) | 0.202† |
| MD, MRCP/MRCS | 15 (14.5%) | 5 (10%) | 10 (18.6%) | |
| Specialty | ||||
| ER | 68 (65.4%) | 32 (64%) | 36 (66.7%) | |
| Internal medicine | 12 (11.5%) | 2 (4%) | 10 (18.5%) | |
| Surgery | 10 (9.6%) | 4 (8%) | 6 (11.1%) | |
| Family medicine | 3 (2.9%) | 3 (6%) | 0 | |
| Others | 11 (10.6%) | 9 (18%) | 2 (3.7%) | 0.007† |
| Position | ||||
| Assistant registrar | 6 (5.8%) | 6 (12%) | 0 | |
| Registrar | 86 (82.7%) | 40 (80%) | 46 (85.2%) | 0.020† |
| Senior registrar | 8 (7.7%) | 4 (8%) | 4 (7.4%) | |
| Specialist/consultant | 4 (3.8%) | 0 | 4 (7.4%) | |
| Discussion about palliative care | ||||
| No patients | 73 (70.2%) | 34 (68%) | 39 (72.2%) | |
| 1 to 5 patients | 23 (22.1%) | 11 (22%) | 12 (22.2%) | |
| 6 to 10 patients | 6 (5.8%) | 4 (8%) | 2 (3.7%) | 0.726† |
| 11 to 15 patients | 1 (1%) | 1 (2%) | 0 | |
| >15 patients, families | 1 (1%) | 0 | 1 (1.9%) | |
| Self-assessment of his knowledge in: | ||||
| 1-Pain | ||||
| Excellent | 3 (2.9%) | 1 (2%) | 2 (3.7%) | |
| Very good | 15 (14.4%) | 8 (16%) | 7 (13%) | |
| Good | 42 (40.4%) | 21 (42%) | 21 (38.9%) | 0.311† |
| Weak | 29 (27.9%) | 10 (20%) | 19 (35.2%) | |
| None | 15 (14.4%) | 10 (20%) | 5 (9.3%) | |
| 2-Other symptoms | ||||
| Excellent | 4 (3.8%) | 2 (4%) | 2 (3.7%) | |
| Very good | 21 (20.2%) | 10 (20%) | 11 (20.4%) | 0.683† |
| Good | 58 (55.8%) | 28 (56%) | 30 (55.6%) | |
| Weak | 14 (13.5%) | 5 (10%) | 9 (16.7%) | |
| None | 7 (6.7%) | 5 (10%) | 2 (3.7%) | |
| 3-Counselling | ||||
| Excellent | 6 (5.8%) | 2 (4%) | 4 (7.4%) | |
| Very good | 29 (27.9%) | 15 (30%) | 14 (25.6%) | |
| Good | 41 (39.4%) | 20 (40%) | 21 (38.9%) | 0.402† |
| Weak | 18 (17.3%) | 6 (12%) | 12 (22.2%) | |
| None | 10 (9.6%) | 7 (14%) | 3 (5.6%) |
*A value of p<0.05 is statistically significant.
†Fisher’s exact test.
MBBS, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery; MD, Medical Doctorate; MRCP/MRCS, Membership of the Royal College of Physicians/ Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons.