DHCC-Harvard to host continuous medical education event in December

The leading international faculties participating will include Dr. Joseph Martin, the Dean of Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, Editor in Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. The three-day program, which will take place December 8-10th at the Dubai International Convention Centre, brings together leading clinicians at Harvard-affiliated institutions, as well as health care providers in the Middle East, to discuss the latest research on a range of topics. DHCC and HMI have organized the event in conjunction with the New England Journal of Medicine and the Emirates Medical Association and with the support of the Arab Hospitals Federation.

Dr. Harvey Makadon, Harvard Medical School associate professor of medicine and HMI director, built the concept behind this educational symposium. He said that the Practi-Med program is designed to help primary care physicians, nurses, and allied health care professionals build a foundation for enhanced health care delivery—and to use their new knowledge right away to have an immediate impact on their communities. "When primary care providers are present in a community, they are in a position both to prevent problems before they develop or worsen, and to provide ongoing care and monitoring after diagnoses are made and treatments are initiated," he said. "One of the objectives of Practi-Med is to enhance the prestige of primary care as a worthy goal for their professional development."

"There will be a leading international faculty from Harvard Medical School, the New England Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Imperial College of London, Brown University, the University of Toronto and OPIC," said Adel Saeed Al Shamsi, DHCC CEO. "This will be the first of the Continuous Medical Educational Events that DHCC is delivering after the signing of the joint venture agreement with HMI," he added.

The Continuous Medical Education event is called 'Practi-Med' and as the name suggests, it will focus on practical aspects of the medical sector, said Adel Saeed Al Shamsi. "This is the first in a series of HMI-DHCC Lifelong Learning Programs," he added.

Practi-Med Dubai will cover health care challenges common to the Middle Eastern countries, including the rise of cardiovascular and infectious disease, as well as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and the care of children and expectant mothers. The program will focus not only on these and other health issues, but also on ways to build sustainable diagnosis, prevention, and treatment systems that can have lasting benefits for health care delivery in the Middle East.

Al Shamsi also pointed out that efforts to transform the joint venture agreement into reality began right from the signing of the pact at the end of June this year.

Practi-Med Dubai is one of the first education programs resulting from the partnership between HMI and Dubai Healthcare City, and the first of a series of lifelong learning programs designed for health care professionals of the United Arab Emirates. The partners are collaborating on the design of an academic medical complex that will serve as a globally recognized location of choice for health care and a center of excellence for specialist medical services, medical education, life science research, and technology implementation in the Middle East.

"In the past two months, we have already met with top officials at the Harvard headquarters in Boston, USA. There is already a high-level global team of medical experts from Harvard that is operating out of Dubai on the DHCC project. Our joint venture agreement is of a great scope and the provision of Continuous Medical Education is just one part of it. We are delivering on that by organising the first such event in December," said Al Shamsi.

Practi-Med Dubai will be held at the Dubai International Convention Centre, which hosted the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, from December 8 - 10th, 2003. Updated program information will be accessible on the Internet following the event.

Those participating at the conference will be awarded a 'Certificate of Attendance' by Harvard Medical International, and will be eligible for 20 HMI-DHCC Continuing Education Credits.