DHCC and Harvard Medical International announce postgraduate training program

The HMI-DHCC Postgraduate Medical Education Program is designed to foster the development of a cadre of regional physician-specialists who will contribute to the advancement of medicine and health in Dubai, the UAE, and the broader Gulf Region. Most clinical fellowships will begin July 1, 2004.

"The initial phase of this effort focuses on training specialists through clinical and research fellowships and short-term observerships at the Harvard teaching hospitals in the Boston area," said Adel Saeed Al Shamsi, DHCC CEO. "Ultimately the program will be based in Dubai Healthcare City."

In this first year of the program, trainees will be accepted for a limited number of fellowships and observerships of varying durations depending on their area of specialization. While the structure of the program and requirements for admission will vary, trainees will participate in a rigorous curriculum through one of these pathways: clinical fellowships, research fellowships, and sub-specialty observerships.

According to Dr. H. Tom Aretz, HMI vice president for medical education, in the program's first year, the participating Harvard-affiliated institutions will include Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, B.I. Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Joslin Diabetes Center. In the future, additional institutions and international HMI partners will also participate in the program. A major strength of this program is the breadth and diversity of more than 8,500 members of the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the affiliated teaching institutions.

"The HMI-DHCC Postgraduate Medical Education Program provides physicians from the Gulf Region with a unique opportunity to interact with eminent scientists and physicians within the Harvard community," said Aretz. "The program's three pathways to professional development are designed to help the trainees acquire knowledge in a variety of learning environments."

Al Shamsi pointed out that the program is a key element of DHCC's efforts to make Dubai a regional leader in medical education. "The physicians and researchers who train in this program will form the core of a more highly trained, up-to-date health care community in the Gulf Region," he said. "Their learning will complement and strengthen clinical services at DHCC and, ultimately, benefit patients."

DHCC and HMI have already demonstrated their commitment to lifelong learning through Practi-Med Dubai, held in December 2003, which attracted more than 1,200 physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and students to hear about advances in disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment from an internationally renowned faculty. Al Shamsi said that the success of Practi-Med Dubai is indicative of the great enthusiasm felt throughout the region's health care community. "The tremendous response to Practi-Med Dubai reconfirmed our belief that physicians and nurses here and in other areas of the Middle East are very interested in establishing a culture of continual improvement in medical practice. Professional development on an individual level is a critical component of that," he said.