LOC11:02
08:02 GMT
KUN0016 4 GEN 0257 KUWAIT /KUNA-TZD7
HLT-KUWAIT-HSC-FS
HSC seminars, their role in medical education, healthcare development
By Ali Al-Hamad (With photos)
KUWAIT, Aug 28 (KUNA) -- As there are many roles played by the Health
Sciences Center (HSC) in Kuwait University (KUNIV), one of its main tasks has
been the use of Faculty Seminars (FS) for overall enhancement of medical
education, in addition to healthcare development.
The HSC, as KUNIV's body of medical sciences, contains the Faculty of
Medicine (FoM), Faculty of Dentistry (FoD), Faculty of Pharmacy (FoP) and
Faculty of Allied Health Sciences and Nursing.
Over the past few years, the FoM has been responsible for organizing the
weekly, every Monday FS to allow HSC staff and other members of Kuwait's
scientific community to present their research or keep up-to-date with the
latest scientific breakthroughs.
In a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), FS Coordinator Prof. Abayomi
Akanji, from FoM's Pathology Department, explained that the main FS objectives
are to showcase all forms of relevant research, allow lecturers to present
their investigations to receive proper feedback from peers, function as a
network between HSC staff and other healthcare professionals, as well as
boosting international accreditation and performance in research and training
of Kuwait's medical society.
When it comes to future FS aspirations, he hoped to present a type of
research that is applied rather than purely esoteric to better serve the goals
of practical knowledge by sparking interest.
Other goals, he added, are to increase participation of medical
sciences students and members of Kuwait's private practice, plus develop
clinico-pathological-conferences (CPC) using real-cases in real-time through
the HSC's initiatives in telemedicine to invite international experts outside
Kuwait to give comments and suggestions online in real-time.
When asked about the most important FS, Akanji lauded all presentations due
to their productive nature, stressing that "the core clinical topics had the
best attendance, especially those that pertained to burning health questions
in Kuwait."
As for examples of FS dealing with "burning" issues in Kuwait, Akanji
highlighted the open interactive forum to discuss the future of medical
research in Kuwait, symposia on medical education curriculum to motivate
medical students and staff, health effects of hubble-bubble (sheeshah) smoking
in Kuwait, as well as obesity management.
Speaking about the role of FS in creating interaction between the lecturers
and general public, he added "Some members of the lay public contacted me and
lecturers for clarifications and advice on aspects of issues discussed."
Akanji, in conclusion, said "We were also able to publish the Expanded
Abstracts of the FS as a Compendium and a permanent record" to be distributed
locally, regionally and internationally to promote the HSC's capabilities.(end)
ayh