Some 20 residency programme directors from renowned medical schools and teaching hospitals, including Johns Hopkins University, Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, George Washington University and University of Rochester Medical Centre, have met with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q)’s students and faculty at the college’s annual medical education symposium.
The theme of the symposium is “Current Landscape In Graduate Medical Education”.
The event gave the programme directors the opportunity to engage with WCMC-Q students, faculty and alumni, learn about the college’s curriculum and facilities and tour Hamad Medical Corporation, WCMC-Q’s primary clinical training partner.
WCMC-Q dean Dr Javaid Sheikh opened the symposium with a speech about the mission of the college before keynote addresses were delivered by programme directors Dr Keith Armitage of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Dr Shannon Scott-Vernaglia of Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, and WCMC-Q graduate Dr Mohamed al-Hijji, now of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Dr Sheikh said, “It is a great privilege for WCMC-Q to be able to welcome programme directors from such esteemed institutions to our university. Their presence here gives us great encouragement that our ongoing mission to provide excellence in medical education and produce world-class physicians is meeting with success.”
Subsequent days of the symposium featured further keynote addresses by programme directors, student presentations of clinical cases, roundtable discussions between students, WCMC-Q faculty and programme directors, and a presentation of academic posters by students.
Associate dean for medical education Dr Marcellina Mian explained the benefits of the symposium, saying: “It’s an opportunity for the programme directors to learn about our school and its qualities so that when our students apply for a residency position, they will have a better chance of being chosen.”
She added, “The symposium also gives our students a better idea of what programme directors are looking for when they choose residents and what will be required of them when they become residents.”
Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatry residency programme director Dr Felicia Smith, who was visiting WCMC-Q for the first time, said: “It is great to see such dedication to delivering high-calibre medical education here at WCMC-Q. I am impressed by the students’ confidence and their knowledge - with these qualities, they will be able to perform well during interviews for residency placements and there is every indication that they will make great residents.”
WCMC-Q’s Class of 2013 achieved a 91% match rate with residency programmes in the US - the best match rate in the history of the college. Class of 2013 students matched at institutions such as New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.
Fourth-year medical student Mariam Gabrial has not yet chosen a programme to apply to but has decided she will specialise in paediatric medicine.
“For me, the symposium has been a great opportunity to learn about some of the specific programmes on offer and also to find out what the programme directors are looking for when they select residents. It was also very useful to find out what to expect from the application process and how to present ourselves as strong candidates for the best programmes,” she pointed out.