The University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) recently co-sponsored a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training programme titled Interprofessional Immunisation Training.
More than 70 nurses, physicians and pharmacists from across PHCC centres in Qatar met on the UCQ campus to strengthen their own capacity to effectively deliver Qatar’s vaccination programme, a press statement noted.
Guest presenters included Dr Deborah White, dean of UCQ; Dr Khalid El-Awad, public health expert, PHCC; Dr Jessie Johnson, assistant professor, UCQ; Dr Amal Khidir, associate professor of Paediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q); and Dr Zachariah Nazar, assistant professor, College of Pharmacy, Qatar University (QU).
“Building vaccine and immunisation competencies for healthcare providers in Qatar is a significant and necessary goal,” explained Dr White. “It’s a public health responsibility to ensure that healthcare providers are trained how to give vaccines and that they provide appropriate and timely information to the public. UCQ is very excited to be engaged in this event and to make such an important contribution to the community.”
Launched at the invitation of PHCC, the event is part of an ongoing series of CPD opportunities organised by UCQ in order to enhance the interprofessional collaboration of healthcare practitioners in Qatar. Along with PHCC, UCQ partnered with WCM-Q, QU’s College of Pharmacy and the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners.
The topics discussed at the programme included patient and family-centred care and shared decision-making planning in the delivery of Qatar’s vaccination programme, fundamentals of immunity and vaccination, best practices in vaccination management and strategies to overcome obstacles that reduce vaccination uptake. Upcoming events in this series will also include practical workshops and clinical simulations to be led by UCQ
faculty members.
“This vaccination training course comes as a second collaboration between PHCC, UCQ, Qatar University and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar,” according to Dr El-Awad. “These organisations are working closely to enhance ties and advance evidence-based research and collaboration between service provider and educational institutions to improve patient care and outcome.
Interprofessional education methods have been adopted in this training course to ensure data sharing and efficient communication between nurses, pharmacists and physicians.
“It requires all care team members to engage with the patient and with each other. It also helps our organisation to improve staff communication, improve staff relationships and job satisfaction and, in the end, improve patient safety.”
Applications to UCQ’s programmes are open to Qatari nationals and residents of Qatar through April 1. More information about nursing programmes, the admission processes and criteria is available at www.ucalgary.edu.qa
Dr Deborah White (fourth from right) and Dr Khalid El-Awad (sixth from right) with other presenters and attendees at the recent Interprofessional Immunisation Training programme.
