A total of 38 Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) students have completed different specialised diploma programmes in clinical audiology, clinical optometry and auditory verbal therapy.
The programmes were developed in collaboration with the Canada-based University of Toronto. The initiative utilises the best minds from around the world to provide evidence-based continuing education to healthcare professionals.
“Our latest batch of graduates under the HMC-University of Toronto initiative demonstrates HMC’s continuing commitment towards building local capacity to deliver the highest standards of hearing healthcare in Qatar,” said Dr Khalid Abdul Hadi, programme director and head of HMC’s Audiology and Balance Centre.
He spearheaded the Qatari-Canadian initiative in 2009 to meet the increasing demand for specialised hearing care in Qatar and the region.
Dr Hadi, a hearing health expert, was responsible for developing the programme on universal newborn hearing screening that has been adopted by Qatar as a national health policy. Since its establishment in 2003, Qatar’s National Programme for Early Detection of Hearing Loss has benefited thousands of children and helped ensure that those at risk of hearing disorders receive the care and support that they need from an early age.
In 2004, HMC established the Audiology and Balance Centre with different specialties for hearing and balance care.
In all, there were 15 diploma in clinical audiology graduates, 14 diploma in auditory verbal therapy graduates, and nine diploma in clinical optometry graduates. They comprise members of staff from HMC’s Audiology and Balance Unit and Ophthalmology Department, as well as candidates from within Qatar, the GCC and other Arab countries.
The graduation ceremony was attended by Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, HMC’s deputy chief medical officer and director of medical education; Dr Nabila al-Tamimi, programme director and head of HMC’s Optometry Section; Dr Vitaly Kisilevsky, medical director of Vestibular Laboratories and Services at the University of Toronto; Adrian Norfolk, Canadian ambassador and other dignitaries.