'Healthcare Education and Research Week' set to launch in Dubai

HMSDC and DHFMR will bring to Dubai a host of research personnel and scientists from around the Middle East region and the Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Dr. Muhadditha Al Hashimi, Acting CEO of Tatweer, and Board member of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research (DHFMR) said: "As a unique model that integrates clinical services, medical education and research, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Center serves as an important pillar in contributing to Dubai's knowledge economy. Its mission is to provide the highest healthcare services to patient and focus on the development and achievement of healthcare professionals and future physicians in the region.

"The Healthcare Education and Research Week mark another important milestone in our plan to introduce new standards for healthcare services in the region. It will serve as an exceptional educational resource for healthcare professionals and drive strong clinical and health research programs."

The Healthcare Education and Research Week will open with the third annual Science Writers and Journalist Fellowship Program, a joint initiative of DHFMR, the Harvard Medical School Office of Public Affairs, and the Mohammed bin Rashid School for Communication. The event will be held at the Mohammed bin Rashid School for Communication at the American University Dubai (AUD) from 16-18 November.

The Fellowship program's immersion approach enables journalists to interview leading researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Middle East region, some of whom are currently supported by DHFMR. The journalists will discuss the process of transforming scientific research material into a prose or presentation style to engage a lay readership or audience and inform them about health issues that affect the regional population.

On 17 November, Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research will hold its fourth annual scientific conference 'Partners in Research', bringing together senior members of the Middle East's leading academic medical centers with younger researchers and scientists from the Middle East region. The participants will explore the value of creating collaborative research, and emphasize the role of translational research (bench to bedside medical research).

Presenters will include researchers who are collaborating with labs or research centers located at Harvard Medical School and other research centers in the Middle East.
The third program on 18 November will be a Graduate Medical Education Symposium organized by HMSDC at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai to address the high demand for quality graduate medical education programs within the region. The symposium will aim to stimulate discussion on Graduate Medical Education (GME) in the UAE and explore the need for a common framework, regulation and governance as well as professionalizing GME.

The 'Challenges in Healthcare in the GCC' conference on 19 November will be the Healthcare Education and Research Week's final program. Organized jointly by HMSDC, DHFMR and the Dubai School of Government (DSG), a research and teaching institution focusing on public policy in the Arab world, the conference will bring together regional and international leaders involved in the advancement of healthcare in the Middle East.

The conference will additionally focus on challenges facing the GCC countries such as increasing demand for accessible quality healthcare, developing and sustaining a highly trained and specialized workforce to meet rising healthcare costs, as well as the regional upsurge in preventable chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer and other issues. The conference intends to generate a regional discussion that contributes as a road map for the future of healthcare.

Dr. Ajay Singh, Chief Academic Officer of HMSDC, said: "Since our launch in 2004, we have constantly endeavored to bring global experts to Dubai through organizing conferences and continued medical education (CME) programs for enhancing medical education and research in the UAE and the region.

"We have received an enthusiastic response from healthcare professionals for the week's programs, and are confident participants will gain additional insight in their areas of specialty and benefit from the events."
The 'Healthcare Education and Research Week' in Dubai is designed to help healthcare professionals in the region and enable international medical experts to effectively contribute to graduate medical education in the UAE. In addition, it will help highlight the most effective ways to deal with the healthcare industry challenges in the region.

Established as part of the government's mission to develop excellence in healthcare delivery, medical education and life sciences research, HMSDC seeks to further the professional development of physicians, nurses, research scientists, and allied health professionals in the region through providing advanced continued medical education and industry-first training programs.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Center (AMC), with the integration of its entities, University Hospital - a 400 bed Teaching Hospital, Harvard Medical School Dubai Center Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research, Al Maktoum Harvard Medical Library, Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research, and Boston University Institute for Dental Research and Education-Dubai is a valuable community asset that aims to improve the health status of families in Dubai and the region and serve as a catalyst to healthcare advancements.