WCMC-Q Promotes Health Care Advances at Qatar Health 2010

To help highlight advances in health care, medical education, and
research, WCMC-Q opened a booth and sent representatives to answer
questions and share information with the wider community.

To help highlight local advances in health care research and technology, WCMC-Q recently participated in Qatar Health 2010, the second-annual international health exhibition organized by Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar’s premier health care provider. In addition to sending its experts to discuss the latest in health care, the college opened an information booth to questions from international professionals and members of the local community.

Participation in Qatar Health 2010 is part of the WCMC-Q’s strategic partnership with HMC as it contributes to the highest health care standards in Qatar, says Dr. Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q.

“WCMQ-Q shares the triple mission of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York: a dedication to excellence in education, patient care, and biomedical research,” he says, “and this supports fulfilment of the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, who aspires to create a true knowledge-based society in Qatar as a stepping stone to sustainable development.”

A five-day event held at the Doha Exhibition Center, Qatar Health 2010 covered 16 different medical tracks involving the participation of more than 110 internationally renowned speakers. Tracks covered a variety of disciplines encompassing research, medical, scientific, clinical, administration and management topics—most targeting doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.

Among speakers at the congress was Dr. Arash Rafii Tabrizi, assistant professor of genetic medicine in obstetrics and gynecology at WCMC-Q, who spoke on laparoscopy in gynecologic oncology. His lecture highlighted the minimally invasive surgical technique that enhances the treatment of gynecological cancers.

Nada Hassen, from public affairs department at WCMC-Q, fields
questions from an expo visitor.

“Through this discussion with the community, I would like to demonstrate that most cancer surgeries can be laparoscopic, providing tremendous benefit to patients,” Dr. Arash Rafii Tabrizi says. “This surgical technique is essential as it reduces the recovery period and the delay to supportive therapy such as chemotherapy and radiation, which are critical factors in patients’ prognosis.”

Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, associate dean for global and public health and professor of public health at WCMC-Q, talked on the use of evidence-based complementary medicine in the primary care setting. He spoke on the prevalence and use of complementary and alternative medicine and explored evidence around commonly used techniques such as acupuncture and mind-body medicine.

“Based on my discussions with practitioners and medical students here in Qatar there appears to be a great deal of interest in evidence based approach to complementary and alternative medicine,” Dr. Mamtani says. “Depending on where you live, a good percentage of people seek out these practitioners, and in this region there is quite a bit of use of herbs, nutrient supplements and other therapies such as cupping—the evidence for and against these kinds of therapies is now increasingly documented in many peer-reviewed journals.”

WCMC-Q’s information booth at Qatar Health 2010 served to clarify its mission of working with students and researchers as well as local partners such as HMC to improve health care standards throughout Qatar and the region.

“The participation of WCMC-Q faculty and researchers at Qatar Health 2010 is additional evidence of our strong ties with Hamad Medical Corporation, our partner in educating future generations of doctors in Qatar,” Dr. Sheikh says. “I would like to thank Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari, managing director of HMC, for the commendable, tireless efforts behind Qatar Health 2010. We have joined hands to shape the medical future of Qatar by educating new generations of doctors and researchers who will contribute to the enhancement of health care in Qatar, which will benefit the Qatari people and the region in general.”

By Emily Alp