The College of Medicine (CMED) at Qatar University (QU), which is to open in September this year, will follow contextual learning or cross-disciplinary approach along with case-based learning (CBL), Dr Egon Toft has said.
Dr Toft, CMED dean and QU vice president for medical education, said, “We are creating a medical cluster within QU, whereby medical, pharmaceutical, public health, nutrition, biomedical and other health sciences can benefit from a seamless
integration.”
He added that the CMED will also implement in its curricula other international trends in medical education such as competency-based learning, as well as methods like the “flipped classroom”, technology-enabled curricula, and longitudinal integrated
clerkships (LIC).
The CMED combines an international curriculum and quality standards that prepare students for internationally accepted medical licensing examinations with locally relevant medical, professional and communication skills.
Students will be fully prepared to take one of the standardised international medical licensing tests before graduation, and after graduation they will become leaders in improving healthcare in Qatar and the region.
According to the dean, the CMED provides a patient-centred and CBL to its students which will allow them to have exposure to situations where medical cases with real patients are assessed very early in their studentship. This occurs most significantly in the last two and a half years, which they spend in clerkships, primarily at Hamad Medical
Corporation.
The dean also maintained that students will learn in small groups that emphasise teamwork, leadership and Arabic communication skills, giving them an added competitive advantage for practising in the region, especially in easily overcoming any language barriers in patient-physician communication.
The college has also a close and organic integration with the Qatari healthcare, which enables students to gain a deep understanding of the local specificities of the sector, and of cases common in the country and the region. They will also have the opportunity to develop a professional network within the medical field.
Research is also a key element in CMED academic programmes. It will be an integrated part of the study programme as quickly as possible by involving active researchers in the teaching process.
The CMED’s international advisory board comprises current and former leaders from international medical schools such as Stanford University School of Medicine, Perdana School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, University of Heidelberg’s Medical School, American University of Beirut, US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), and others.
Additionally, the CMED’s steering committee comprises national leaders in healthcare and education within Qatar such as QU president, Primary Health Care Corporation managing director, as well as several key members of HMC including the managing director among other officials. This ensures that while the needs of the local healthcare sector are the priority, international best practice is a key guiding element in how these needs can
be met.