College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q), along with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Action on Diabetes (AoD) honoured the inaugural 14 graduates of the Fundamentals of Diabetes Education programme recently.
The programme, funded by Maersk Oil Qatar, was launched in October 2014, aimed to develop expertise in the field of diabetes education in current healthcare professionals including nurses, nutritionists and pharmacists.
The programme is the first-of-its-kind in Qatar and was created specifically to meet the needs of the local healthcare professionals. More than a year in planning, the programme brought together local experts and stakeholders, to discuss what was needed for the country.
“One of the main issues we discussed was education, especially diabetes education,” said Herluf Nis Thomsen, AoD programme manager. “We looked at what that education should look like and the first thought was to look outside, to bring other courses developed in other countries. What we ultimately decided was to do something unique. We partnered with healthcare and education experts,and with local partners,we established a programme built in Qatar.”
“I have worked with CNA-Q for a long time and we have much in common. We care about people, we care about growing our people,” said Sheikh Dr Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, director of Public Health, Supreme Council of Health. “They are adding value for the future of Qatar.”
“I have always told my students that in the treatment of diabetes, education is as important as medication,” said Prof A Badi Abou Samra, chairman of Medicine and National Diabetes Centre, HMC.
“Education is not just the transferring of information, it is important to touch the heart of the patient. To move from thinking it is the doctor’s job, to heal them taking accountability for their choices to ensure they remain healthy.”