Participants at the Clinical Skills Centre.
Some 70 students are participating in the annual summer enrichment programmes conducted by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q).
WCMC-Q’s summer enrichment programmes are designed to provide prospective students with an opportunity to further explore their intellectual curiosity in a college setting. The programmes have been well received by students and schools who regard this as an excellent opportunity for interested and talented students to get the feel of college life and foster long-term career ambitions. The programmes are delivered by WCMC-Q graduates and faculty members.
The programmes provide selected students with an opportunity to explore a possible medical career with hands-on experiences that is similar to the programmes of study undertaken by current students. The Qatar Medical Explorer Programme (QMEP) aims to give a glimpse of what it is like to be a medical doctor through didactic thinking and problem-based learning.
The two-week pre-college enrichment programme (PCEP) aims to introduce prospective college students to experience the rigours of university life. It is aimed at students entering 11th and 12th grades and those who are graduating from high school with a solid foundation in basic and biological science, high proficiency in English and a desire to pursue medical studies.
Speaking about the programmes, WCMC-Q director of student recruitment, Noha Saleh, said this year there were 33 students in the QMEP and 36 in the PCEP. While most of the students come from Qatar, there are three students from Kuwait, the United States and Germany. “From previous experience, about 95% of the summer enrichment programmes students end up applying to WCMC-Q,” Saleh added.
The students are given a chance to explore past, present and future trends in medicine and they discuss issues in the profession from ethics to public health awareness in the Gulf region. It is also an opportunity to experience college life through a variety of presentations, basic science lab sessions and clinical skills workshops. It is hoped that after an intensive two weeks of workshops and presentations the students will be in a position to form a clearer picture about how their interests, strengths and areas of improvement can translate into a career in medicine.