Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in co-operation with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), recently organised two intensive workshops to help prepare HMC dentists to successfully complete the requirements for the college’s Faculty of Dentistry (MFD) membership examination.
The preparatory workshops were held under the supervision of Dr Ghanem al-Mannai, chairman of the Hamad Dental Centre.
The two workshops, which were held at HMC for the fourth time, are part of an agreement between HMC and RCSI that was developed with the aim of offering specialised dentistry training to Qataris interested in furthering their education and advancing their paediatric dental qualifications.
The training programme is the first of its kind in the Middle East, HMC has said in a statement.
Dr Khalifa al-Ansari, senior consultant and vice-chairman of the Hamad Dental Centre, said: “This five-day intensive training programme began on April 28 and was attended by 65 dentists from both the public and private sectors. The programme is designed to help these clinicians refine their knowledge in all aspects of the dentistry profession. It aims to prepare members of our clinical teams to pass the admittance test for membership into the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (MFD examination), the next intake for which is scheduled for October 2019.
“As part of the training, a group of professors from RCSI presented on a range of scientific subjects related to dental surgery. At the end of the workshop, participants were able to obtain 19.25 CPD points.”
The dentists who have been enrolled in this programme in recent years have achieved a high level of success in their MFD examination, the statement notes. Some have already joined the specialised Paediatric Dentistry Fellowship Programme offered in co-operation with the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.
Dr al-Ansari added that the internationally accredited RCSI MFD postgraduate dental education programme allows Qatari dentists to receive specialised training in their own country without the need to travel abroad. This also allows them to obtain accreditation from a well-known international institution.
Dr Jamal al-Abdullah, senior consultant, chief of Pedodontics and head of the Paediatric Dentistry Residency Programme at HMC, said the training included specialised workshops and has enabled eight residents to prepare for the Irish Fellowship Diploma examination, which will take place in April 2020. Each year, four Qatari dentists are accepted into the programme and there are plans to extend enrolment for this programme to the children of residents as well as international students.
“We have agreed to partner with Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar and Sidra Medicine to support postgraduate dentistry students as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen our resources in this field and to allow these professionals to pass the RCSI examinations. Also, the internationally accredited Postgraduate Dental Education Programme offered by HMC in collaboration with RCSI is in line with Qatar’s National Oral Health Strategy,” added Dr al-Abdullah.
