RIYADH - Al-Faisal University along with Harvard Medical International kicked off their medical education course with an opening ceremony at the Holiday Inn-Alqasr on Saturday. Prominent doctors are conducting the Basic Principles of Undergraduate Medical Education Course as speakers and facilitators. The speakers are senior members of Harvard Medical International. Including regional expertise, the team members are Dr. Khalid Bin Abdulrahman, Dr. Hasan Rajab, Dr. Thomas Aretz, Dr. Constance M. Bowe, and Dr. Paul Canguly.
The basic course is for undergraduate students. It is designed to provide potential faculty with the knowledge and skills to provide appropriate teaching, training, learning support, appraisal and assessment. Emphasis is on applying knowledge to new situations.
The workshop held a group meeting at first and later separated into sub-groups based on their fields, which were biology and anatomy, physiology and biochemistry and pharmacy, embryo and molecular biology and genetics, biostatistics and epidemiology and professional skills, and microbiology and biology.
Al-Faisal University is due to open in September 2008. Its aim is to promote training and harness research technology to augment the Kingdom's objectives in manpower development.
The College of Medicine of Al-Faisal University is affiliated to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center alongside the Security Forces Hospital Program.
The course has both Saudi and American Continuous Medical Education accreditations. Participants will be certified to receive continuing medical education credits by both Harvard Medical International and Al-Faisal University.
The College of Medicine will follow a problem-based, self-directed curriculum, in which patients and problems are studied from multiple standpoints. Problem based learning (PBL) will be integrated with appropriate clinical skills training and community-based experiences. Emphasis will be placed on critical thinking and problem solving.
By Fahd Al-Juraid
© The Saudi Gazette 2008
