DOHA: The University of Calgary – Qatar (UCQ) recently hosted an interactive discussion on Qatar’s Academic Health System (AHS).
The AHS, which is a partnership among leading academic and research institutions and healthcare providers in Qatar, is an internationally recognised model for pioneering research and medical discoveries and for making them available to patients.
The student-led event, developed by a cohort of Bachelor of Nursing students from UCQ, was attended by nearly 100 UCQ students, faculty and staff.
Professor Edward Hillhouse, Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) assistant chief of Medical, Academic and Research Affairs, and chief policy advisor on Academic Health Systems, delivered the keynote address.
In his remarks, Professor Hillhouse discussed the importance of the AHS in transforming healthcare, education and research in Qatar, and highlighted the key role that nurses will play in the developing system.
“A key principle of the AHS will be the delivery of care through multidisciplinary and inter-professional teams which will include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and various allied health professionals,” he said.
“Training our future healthcare providers, especially nurses, to work collaboratively in inter-professional teams is an integral tenet of the AHS model that will help facilitate improved healthcare outcomes for patients.”
The event included an engaging panel discussion, with students and audience members eager to learn more about the developing AHS, how it will transform healthcare in Qatar, and ways in which they can become engaged in its development.
Current AHS partners include Hamad Medical Corporation, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar University, University of Calgary - Qatar, Primary Health Care Corporation, College of the North Atlantic - Qatar, and Sidra Medical and Research Center.
AHSs bring together academic and healthcare providers to form a single partnership, working towards a shared vision.
Qatar’s AHS will educate a multi-cultural workforce and future clinical, operational and scientific leaders; it will encourage the practice of evidence-based healthcare and furthermore support social responsibility.
The Peninsula
