Aspiring doctors get a taste of life at WCMC-Q

July, 2014

High school students with ambitions of becoming doctors spent two weeks at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) taking part in the annual summer enrichment programs.

A total of 66 students in grades 10, 11 and 12 from high schools in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Canada joined two summer programs run by WCMC-Q that aim to give talented young people a taste of life as a medical student.

The two programs – the Qatar Medical Explorer Program (QMEP) and the Pre-College Explorer Program (PCEP) - allow students to explore the prospect of a career in medicine through a challenging two-week series of lectures, interactive clinical skills workshops, presentations and basic science lab sessions. The students also have the chance to discuss key issues in modern medicine with WCMC-Q faculty, such as public health challenges facing the Gulf region, medical ethics and cutting-edge new treatments and technologies in the medical field.

The QMEP program is aimed at students entering 10th and 11th grade, while the PCEP is for those entering 11th and 12th grade. Both programs culminated with a group research project in which the students studied a medical issue and presented their findings to their colleagues on the final day. This year’s QMEP group drew students of 16 different nationalities from 23 schools, while the PCEP group brought together students of 14 nationalities from 19 schools.

The aim of both programs is to give students an accurate impression of life as a medical student at the college, explained WCMC-Q’s Director of Student Recruitment and Outreach, Noha Saleh.

“We want to show the visiting students what it’s like to study here, to inspire them, and to fuel their dreams of becoming a doctor,” she said. “But we also have a duty to show them that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to study medicine, so they can make an informed decision about whether a career in the field is a good fit for them.”

This year the two programs both attracted 33 students each and began on Sunday July 6, before ending with a joint completion ceremony held at WCMC-Q on Thursday 17 July, to which the families of the participating students were invited.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Rachid Bendriss, Assistant Dean for Student Recruitment, Outreach and Foundation Programs at WCMC-Q, said: “The level of commitment shown to the program by this group of students has been extraordinary and the feedback from the faculty here at WCMC-Q has been extremely positive. They were very impressed by your intellectual curiosity, your critical reasoning skills and the spirit of cooperation and teamwork you showed to one another.

“I want to thank all of you for engaging so positively with the program, and I hope that you have been as inspired by the prospect of studying at WCMC-Q as we have been by your energy and enthusiasm.”

Each student was presented with a certificate of completion at the ceremony, and certificates of excellence were awarded to the most outstanding student on each program. The winner of the Certificate of Excellence for the PCEP program was Hala Majeed of the International Indian School Al-Jubail in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, while the QMEP Certificate of Excellence was won by Ahmed Hanafy of Interlake High School in Bellvue, Washington in the United States. JO Achievement Awards were won by Abdullah Hamza Shaar of the Omar Bin Al-Khattab Educational Complex for Boys in the QMEP program, while the PCEP JO Achievement Award was won by Najla Al-Thani of Al Arqam Academy, Doha.

Najla said: “I have wanted to be a doctor for years, but of course I had some doubts and uncertainty because it’s a big step. I’m so glad I attended the program because it has given me a much clearer idea of what it really takes to become a doctor and it has completely confirmed for me that this is what I want to do with my life.”