New WCM-Q webinar series examines roles of women in medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has launched a new series called ‘Women and Medicine’ to explore issues related to women’s health and discuss matters pertinent to women healthcare professionals in the clinical, educational, research and academic settings.

The groundbreaking four-module series focuses on the roles and experiences of women in the context of clinical care, education, research and academic life, and is directed by Dr. Aicha Hind Rifai, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry, and Dr. Krystyna Golkowska, professor of English. The series is offered as an online livestream.

Dr. Thurayya Arayssi, professor of clinical medicine and vice dean for academic and curricular affairs said: “The aim for the series was to throw light upon some of the medical issues affecting women that are often overlooked or misunderstood, either because they are symptomatically different or are understated and difficult to detect. This can lead to illnesses being misdiagnosed, diagnosed late or not diagnosed at all, which is clearly detrimental to health. We then expanded the concept to cover a more comprehensive range of issues affecting women in the context of medicine and healthcare, aiming to enhance our understanding of these issues and improve women’s experiences of medicine, including patient outcomes.”

The first of the four modules, entitled ‘Clinical Module 1: Women and Mental Health,’ was presented recently and examined the social determinants of women’s mental health, the opportunities to engage primary care workers and communities in mental healthcare work, and evidence-based methods for handling mental health problems due to domestic abuse. The module also demonstrated the use of simple assessment methods to be used in clinical settings to measure the mental health impact of domestic violence and reviewed a model of postnatal mental health promotion. The expert speakers for the module were Dr. Helen Herrman, professor of psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, Dr. Prabha Chandra, professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India, and Dr. Jane Fisher, Finkel professor of global health at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Herrman served as president of the World Psychiatric Association from 2017-2020 and is the current director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Mental Health in Melbourne.

Dr. Rifai, who chaired and moderated this first session said: “This webinar series offers participants a deeper and broader understanding of women and medicine and the diverse opportunities and challenges presented to the profession. Some of the key focal points of the discussions were the necessity of timely identification of mental health conditions that are more commonly seen in women or that have special impact on women’s lives, and to train healthcare workers in the assessment and management of these conditions.”

Commenting on the design of the series, Dr. Golkowska stated: “Nowadays, women play an important role in all areas of the medical profession, as physicians, allied health professionals, researchers, educators or executives. At the same time, women have unique needs as patients. Thus, understanding of how women impact and are impacted by medicine is vital to ensure their equitable access to professional opportunities in medicine and to protect their health, safety and wellbeing.”

The remaining three modules will be presented in the coming months. The series is accredited locally by the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Healthcare Professions – Accreditation Section and internationally by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).