The College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q), Hamad Medical Corp (HMC) and the Action on Diabetes partners recently celebrated the second cohort of 21 graduates from the Fundamentals of Diabetes Education programme.
The programme, funded by Maersk Oil Qatar under Action on Diabetes programme is aimed at developing expertise in the field of diabetes education for current healthcare professionals including nurses, nutritionists and pharmacists.The programme, introduced in 2014, is the first-of-its-kind in Qatar and was created specifically to meet the needs of local healthcare professionals by CNA-Q’s Corporate Services Department. “Developing diabetes expertise in healthcare professionals is important to our holistic approach to providing quality social investment through the Action on Diabetes partnership. Raising the bar through the healthcare providers supports the local infrastructure as well raises quality treatment patients receive,” said Lewis Affleck, managing director at Maersk Oil Qatar.
“Diabetes education is at the forefront of healthcare planning in Qatar, where approximately 20% of the population has been diagnosed or is at risk of developing diabetes.While traditional medications are effective in controlling the condition, more needs to be done to ensure proper education for people living with diabetes,” said Prof Abdul Badi Abou-Samra, chairman of Medicine at HMC.
The Fundamentals of Diabetes Education programme consists of 132 hours of interdisciplinary education on all aspects of diabetes and has been accredited by the Qatar Council of Health Providers for continuing professional development credit towards medical licensing in the future.
The resounding success of the programme has led the partners to look for further educational opportunities including additional certification programmes, and potentially a diploma programme offered through CNA-Q.
“The important role of offering professional development opportunities for industry professionals is expanding at our college. We  are proud to use our world-class equipment and instructors to help industry train their employees,” said Dr Ken MacLeod, CNA-Q president.
“I have worked with CNA-Q for a long time and we have much in common. We care about people, we care about growing our people,” said Sheikh Dr
Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, director of Public Health, Ministry of Public Health. “They are adding value for the future of Qatar. As we move forward to our next strategy, to discuss the types of training we will do, we need to tailor that education together.”