WCMC-Q Students Launch Community Services Program

February 2004

The blood donation event was set up in response to a shortage of supplies at the Hamad Hospital in Doha, and the HMC's mobile blood donor unit was stationed outside the east entrance of the Medical College throughout the morning.

The drive was an important contribution by tens of WCMC-Q students, faculty and staff to the welfare of patients in the wider community. Flyers were distributed around Education City to encourage employees and students at other institutions to join with WCMC-Q in this life-giving service, by coming to the Medical College to donate blood.

In other events, specially designed to reach young people in Education City, the community services club of the Student Council invited students from across Education City to join them at WCMC-Q for an evening of activities focusing on the dangers of smoking.

This was the opener in a preventive health campaign that is set to continue for some time. Identifying stress, as well as peer pressure, as key factors that lead young people to begin smoking, second year pre-medical student Kunali Dalal commented: "this is more of a preventive health campaign, and we are starting it at the point where most students begin to smoke. It's better to create awareness even before it starts."

Thursday’s events included lectures by HMC experts Dr. Ahmed al-Mulla, Director of the department of non-communicable diseases and head of tobacco control, consultant psychiatrist Dr. Taher Shaltout, and senior consultant in hematology and oncology Dr. Mohammed Osama Al-Homsi. The lectures were followed by a lively question and answer session, which covered topics ranging from the high percentage of smokers in Qatar (estimated at 37% of the population) to the dangers of smoking the ‘sheesha’ (hubble-bubble), a pastime that appears to be popular among the young.

The evening was rounded off by a skit, written and directed by first-year pre-medical student Ali Saad, and produced by Heba Haddad. "Hazy Dreams" took a light-hearted look at one man's struggle to stay off tobacco - despite the temptations; and a momentary relapse – despite the doctor's warnings. A trio of dancing cigarettes and a lively soundtrack added an unexpected twist to a jaunty script, eliciting a vocal audience response.

Ali explained that his purpose was primarily to end the evening with a little light relief: "my purpose was to entertain the audience. After all the talk about the side-effects of smoking, I wanted to end the campaign opener with something light-hearted."

The community services club is one of several sports and cultural clubs set up this academic year by the student body at WCMC-Q. The clubs are a means for first and second year pre-medical students to join together to organize events and competitions both within WCMC-Q and in cooperation with their colleagues in other Education City institutions.