The community outreach health program
Medicine & U was started at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in March
2009 and continues to attract international health experts who share their
expertise to provide advice on a variety of common illnesses prevalent in
Qatar.
The
program focuses on common health issues widespread in Qatar such as diabetes, cardiovascular
diseases, obesity, hypertension and a range of other common diseases and
illnesses. The program, which runs annually from September through June, has been well received by locals and
ex-pats alike with ever increasing numbers attending the monthly sessions at
Education City /WCMC-Q. The aim is to provide the general public with interactive
basic health education in a simple, easy to understand format and in a friendly
atmosphere that promotes good health and healthy living.
Acting
Associate Dean for Medical Education Professor Marcellina Mian designed the Medicine & U program to introduce the general
public to the world of medicine with topics important to the health of the
community. She
continues to be an active participant in the activities.
At a
recent meeting, Dr, Mian advised families and child carers
to be alert to the dangers of accidents in the home in keeping with their
child’s developmental age.
“Children are vulnerable to a wide variety of injuries and accidents
around the home, in playgrounds and in any number of situations that may pose
danger. Parents need to be vigilant to
prevent these injuries and also know some basic first-aid techniques that can
be life saving”, Dr. Mian told the audience.
The Medicine & U public lecture series is
an integral component of the mission of WCMC-Q to provide quality education,
research and patient care and to provide the highest quality of care to the
community. Vice Chair and Professor of Neurology and Director of Neurology Clerkship
at WCMC-Q, Dr. Basim Uthman has been planning and hosting the programs since September 2009,
assisted by other faculty and staff from the Office of Curriculum Support and
Public Affairs. WCMC-Q faculty, faculty
from Hamad Medical Corporation and other internationally renowned specialists
have provided their expertise in helping to understand complicated health
issues for the people of Qatar.
Dr.
Uthman began the lecture series in April 2009 with a discussion of a common
neurological disorder; epilepsy. During
the lecture he summarized the scope of the problem and its impact on
society. Various presentations of
seizures and their causes were addressed and myths and facts in regards to
public opinions of epilepsy and patients with epilepsy were discussed.
In
working closely with speakers, a fact sheet and a press release is generated,
in Arabic and English, with highlights of practical information that attendees
and the audience at large can take home.
Following each lecture, Professor Uthman moderates a question-and-answers
session that addresses general concerns of the audience and all are invited to
participate. A certified translator
provides Arabic translations of the lecture and Q&A sessions real-time
WCMC-Q Director Assessment & Academic Achievement
Dr Mary Anne Baker coordinates the Medicine & U series.
There
have been sessions that focused on stroke in pregnancy, particularly in older
women, the prevalence of heartburn, the role of the pathologist when diagnosis
is uncertain, and schizophrenia
During Medicine & U 2013, Dr. Hina
Ghory focused on the need for emergency services in Qatar. Dr. Ghory is an Assistant Attending Physician
at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital and holds two separate academic appointments
as clinical instructor in medicine; one at Weill Cornell Medical College in New
York in the division of emergency medicine and the other at WCMC-Q in the
medical education department.
“Medical emergencies such as skin wounds
and amputations, burns, strokes and seizures, medication overdoses, choking,
allergic reactions and heart attacks are among the more common events that may
require initial out-of-hospital management. This is where basic training in
first aid is very helpful and is something that should be encouraged here in
Qatar,” Dr. Ghory said.
Professor Mark Pecker discussed problems with
high blood pressure and he warned that it posed among the greatest health risks
because most people remain unaware that they have this condition until it is
too late.
Uncomplicated high blood pressure often causes
no symptoms for many years, even decades, until it finally damages certain
critical organs, Professor Pecker said. He advised greater public awareness and
urged regular screening for hypertension, especially for pregnant women and the
obese. Poorly controlled high blood pressure ultimately can cause damage to
blood vessels in the eye, thickening of the heart muscle and heart attacks,
hardening of the arteries, kidney failure,
and strokes all with severe consequences.
Professor Pecker is Attending
Physician at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, Professor of Clinical Medicine Weill
Cornell Medical College and Professor of Clinical Medicine in Physiology and
Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medical College
Dr. Abdelmoneim Abdelhakam, senior
consultant in psychiatry at Hamad Medical Corporation, also delivered a talk
entitled “Brain, Mind and Body Connections”.
Dr. Abdelhakam discussed somatoform or
psychosomatic disorder, an illness that refers to several conditions that all
involve physical symptoms that have no physical cause, but rather are caused by
psychological factors.
“Somatization disorder causes pain, as well
as symptoms including headache, fatigue, and a variety of stomach problems
including nausea and diarrhoea, and sexual dysfunction. These symptoms all
begin before the age of 30, and patients generally will have a medical history
full of doctors and specialists and a variety of prescribed medications,” he
said.
Associate Professor of Public Health Dr.
Ziyad Mahfoud highlighted the dangers of
shisha smoking with a talk
entitled The Health Risks of Smoking Shisha: Facts and Fiction.
He warned that shisha smokers as compared
to non-smokers are at a higher risk of developing cancer (such as lung cancer),
respiratory illness, and periodontal disease. Shisha smoking has also been
linked to low birth weight.
“Tobacco
use and tobacco smoke produced during shisha smoking contain similar toxic
substances and known carcinogens; generally in stronger concentrations than
found in cigarette smoking. The charcoal and aluminium foil used in burning the
tobacco produce high levels of carbon monoxide and heavy metals that are also
dangerous to health,” Dr. Mahfoud said.
With growing public interest in this
outreach lecture series and the commitment of WCMC-Q in supporting the vision
of the Qatari leadership and partnering with Hamad Medical Corporation and
other Health Care Institutions of the country we plan to continue providing
Medicine & U lectures to the public.
WCMC-Q leadership believes that providing practical medical information
to the public leads to better-informed citizens and, hopefully, healthier
individuals.
“The Medicine & U lecture series is not
intended to provide medical advice for attendees of the lectures or readers of
the press release. We hope that the
knowledge gained will boost public awareness of common medical conditions
relevant to the society of Qatar and empower the residents of this nation to
seek appropriate and timely medical advice and lead healthier life styles,” Professor
Uthman said.
