The Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute
for Postgraduate Education and Research has launched
a training and observership program for selected students
from the Sharjah campus of the Higher Colleges of
Technology (HCT). Six students came to Boston in June
to participate in four-week learning opportunities
at various Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.
Nouf Khamis Al Ali (left), Fatima
Asfandyar Al-Zaroni and Zulaikha Mohamed Abdulhameed
gave a presentation in the Kessler Health Education
Library at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The Higher Colleges of Technology is
comprised of 12 campuses located throughout the United
Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the largest institution
of higher learning in the UAE, and has graduated nearly
20,000 UAE nationals since it was established in 1988.
The HMS observership program allows
participants to fulfill the requirements in three
areas of study offered by the college. Zulaikha Mohamed
Abdulhameed and Fatima Ahmed Sultan, who are enrolled
in the Medical Laboratory and Technology program,
studied stem cell and bone marrow transplantation
at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer
Center. Amina Mohamed Abdulla participated in the
medical informatics program at Children’s Hospital,
with a focus on the use of electronic patient records,
as part of her pursuit of a degree in Health Information
Management. Fatima Mohamed Abdulla, Fatima Asfandyar
Al-Zaroni, and Nouf Khamis Al Ali, students in the
college’s Health Education program, learned
about innovations in patient and family education
through observerships at Joslin Diabetes Center and
Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Nouf Khamis Al Ali (left) and Fatima
Asfandyar Al-Zaroni.
“These observerships will play
a significant role in preparing graduates of HCT to
take up positions in the UAE health care system,”
said Robert L. Thurer, MD, chief academic officer
of HMSDC. “While there has been much emphasis
on the need for more well-trained physicians and nurses
in the Gulf Region, skilled professionals in the areas
of patient and family education, medical informatics,
and other health sciences are also an integral part
of building a sustainable health care system.”
(Originally published in HMI World:
(www.hmiworld.org)
July/August 2006)
