DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in collaboration with American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), hosted the first Academic Health System (AHS) Continuing Education Symposium for Healthcare Educators in Qatar.
The four-day event, with workshops, plenary lectures and panels, brought together local and international healthcare professionals to facilitate discussions on professional development and life-long learning.
Over 250 people attended the event, including educators, researchers, physicians, nurses, paramedics, health service managers, quality personnel and allied healthcare professionals from HMC, ANCC and research-oriented healthcare institutions such as Sidra Medical and Research Centre, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, Qatar University, University of Calgary in Qatar, College of the North Atlantic Qatar and Zayed University, the UAE.
Professor Edward Hillhouse, Chief of Scientific, Academic and Faculty Affairs, HMC, said the symposium provided networking opportunity for healthcare professionals from various regions to gain from each other’s experience and knowledge and together devise newer, better ways of providing excellence in healthcare. “The continuing education of health professionals is vital for the health of our community, given accelerating advances in health information and technology globally,” he said.
He encouraged professionals to be proactive and commit to constant improvement based on seeking new knowledge.
“Physicians, nurses and allied health professionals must look at this gathering as a time to reflect on future challenges, how the healthcare industry will evolve over the coming years and how we will work together for the benefit of the patients.”
The event also served as a platform to mark a key achievement of HMC — becoming the first organisation in the GCC, and the third in the Middle East to be accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by ANCC.
Pam Dickerson, Chair, ANCC Commission on Accreditation, congratulated HMC. Through the accreditation, nurses become part of continuous professional development. They grow and learn as professionals, allowing excellence to permeate throughout the organisation as they work with other professionals and departments, Dickerson said.
Participants reviewed topics centred on adult learning theories and evaluation models, inter-professional education, educational design, teaching and learning strategies, curriculum design and planning for individual, professional and organisational outcomes, social media and needs assessment.
Some workshops covered technology-based learning tools, teaching using simulation, educating to achieve quality outcome, advanced communication skills and professionalism in medicine. The Peninsula
