MUSCAT -- Dr P Mohammed Ali, Chairman, Governing Council, Oman Medical College (OMC), dedicated here yesterday 23 new Internet workstations to the OMC's Department of Information Services. At the college's Bowshar Campus, it was indeed a joyous day for the students and faculty, said a student.
Earlier Dr Diana Beattie, Dean, Premedical Campus, welcomed the gathering and Sudhamani, Director, Information Services, highlighted the facilities available to the students to access medicine and pharmacy related information from sources worldwide. The students and faculty have direct access to the Sole Portal hosted by West Virginia University through which they are able to refer to a vast database consisting of thousands of E Journals, reference books and articles.
The college is also a part of the virtual library of WHO which enables students to get information online easily. The college, which has an academic partnership with the School of Medicine, West Virginia University, USA is well equipped on all fronts and is in the forefront creating doctors and pharmacists of high calibre in this part of the world.
The new Internet workstations will go a long way in facilitating the study and research activities of the student and faculty at the OMC, said students. Oman Medical College, founded in 2001, is a co-educational college dedicated to the training of medical doctors and pharmacists par excellence in Oman. This co-educational institution with campuses in Bawsher and Sohar, offers degree programmes in Medicine (MD) and Pharmacy (B Pharm).
A unique feature of the student population at OMC is that over 90 per cent are girls and to some extent, this is a manifestation of women empowerment in the Sultanate. The college has a mission to educate medical doctors and pharmacists to serve the health care needs of the international community as well as the people of the Sultanate.
The college was developed as a tribute to His Majesty's vision and has been a unique blend of private-sector initiative, foreign academic expertise, and Omani government support. The college looks to future with optimism and has many exciting programmes in store for the students' empowerment and their enlightened future.
By Hasaan Kamoonpuri
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
