Accreditation success for medical college

Dr. Javaid Sheikh (center), with Dr Jamal Al-Khanji (on his left) and Dr. Thurayya Arayssi (on his right) with members of the CPD team.

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) has been accredited as a provider of Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners (QCHP) of the Supreme Council of Health. 

The accreditation recognizes the quality and value of programs being offered by WCMC-Q for physicians and healthcare practitioners across the country. 

During the accreditation ceremony held at WCMC-Q on Monday 8 December, Dr. Jamal Al-Khanji, acting Chief Executive Officer of QCHP presented the certificate to Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCMC-Q. In attendance to celebrate the achievement were members of QCHP Accreditation Department, members of WCMC-Q CPD division, along with faculty and staff members of the college.

The Dean of WCMC-Q, Dr. Javaid Sheikh, said:  “It is a great honor and a privilege for WCMC-Q to receive accreditation to provide Continuing Medical Education to physicians and other healthcare practitioners in Qatar, and I extend my sincere thanks to all involved in the realization of this goal for their wonderful dedication and hard work.

“In an era of rapid technological progress such as ours, it is imperative that we constantly refresh our knowledge and skills to ensure our patients receive the maximum benefit possible from the constant stream of advances in the realm of medical science. The accreditation bestowed upon us by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners provides us with a strong platform from which we can help to share the expertise and knowledge of our faculty and staff with the rest of the healthcare community in Qatar.

“We now look forward to working ever more closely with our colleagues across the healthcare community to ensure that the healthcare available in Qatar continues to meet and exceed the standards of excellence that our patients expect and deserve, in line with the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.”

Dr. Al Khanji said “Weill Cornell has become an integral part of Qatar’s healthcare system, and as one of our main partners will help us to develop and improve our healthcare system to a very high level.”  

He went on to mention the important role WCMC-Q and other partners will have in assisting QCHP in Implementing a new system of continuing professional development that would be one of the most advanced in the world.

“There are only a handful of establishments that have accreditation and the process to achieve it is very difficult, very rigorous and based on international best practices.”

In order to gain accreditation, the Division of Continuing Professional Development, led by Dr. Thurayya Arayssi, Associate Dean of CPD, produced a 500-page self-assessment that provided evidence that WCMC-Q could deliver an effective and efficient education program for existing healthcare practitioners. The QCHP Accreditation Department also conducted a site visit, assessing the college’s resources and faculty qualifications.

It is expected that, WCMC-Q will provide a wide variety of educational activities to meet the needs of healthcare practitioners in Qatar and the region. WCMC-Q has already held several educational programs including its recently launched multidisciplinary Grand Rounds series of lectures, which are aimed at healthcare professionals featuring talks from world-renowned experts.