Qatar University College of Pharmacy (QU-CPH) has launched the first Middle East Conference on Interprofessional Education (IPE), the first in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
Details of the conference to be held from December 4 to 6 were outlined by QU vice president and chief academic officer Dr Mazen Hasna, CPH dean and chair of the conference advisory committee Dr Ayman El-Kadi, CPH associate dean for Academic Affairs Dr Mohammad Diab and CPH assistant dean for student affairs and chair of the organising committee Dr Alla El-Awaisi yesterday.
The IPE conference follows the selection of QU-CPH as host in March this year by the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education, the IPE world leader, based on its leading role in the Middle East in raising awareness and encouraging IPE into curricula. It is organised under the platinum sponsorship of the Supreme Council of Health, and the academic partnership of QU colleges of Arts and Sciences and Medicine, the University of Calgary in Qatar, and Hamad Medical Corporation.
Themed “New Frontiers in Healthcare Education”, the conference aims to bring together over 300 healthcare leaders from 13 countries - Qatar, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. They will discuss and exchange ideas and strategies to integrate an IPE approach into the curriculum and teaching methodologies.
The opening ceremony will be inaugurated by HE the Minister of Public Health Abdulla bin Khalid al-Qahtani, QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham, Dr Ayman El-Kadi, and Dr Alla El-Awaisi.
The keynote speaker will be CAIPE president Prof Hugh Barr who will present on “Celebrating Interprofessional Education Worldwide”.
The conference agenda will comprise two panel discussions on “Introducing, developing and sustaining inter professional education in the university environment” and “Examples from the Middle East, Healthcare Practitioners Experiences of Interprofessional Practices in Qatar.”
It will also include sessions in the form of panel, oral and poster presentations, as well as  workshops that address a wide range of topics such as “IPE Experiences from the Qatar University College of Pharmacy Interprofessional Education Committee”, “The impact of an IPE Workshop on student perceptions of other Healthcare professions”, “Diversity and Internationalisation in Interprofessional Education”, “Effect of IPE Workshops on Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Learning”, among many others.
Dr Hasna said: “It is a significant opportunity to bring healthcare experts from around the world to discuss, share experience and exchange ideas on the development of IPE curricula. This event highlights QU’s pivotal role as a driving force for innovation in health education that promotes inter-activity and collaboration among the various professions.”