Tribune News Network
Doha
HAMAD Medical Corporation's (HMC) commitment to patient care and safety and graduate medical education has been acknowledged at an award ceremony honouring Dr Abdullatif al Khal, deputy chief medical officer and director of medical education.
The Physician International Award was presented to Dr Khal during a ceremony held in Florida as part of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) annual conference.
Dr Khal is the first-ever recipient of the prestigious award, which was created to honour an individual who has made outstanding contributions towards ensuring and improving the quality of graduate medical education for physicians in training. The award was presented to Dr Khal by Dr Thomas Nasca, president of ACGME.
The ACGME is a US-based organisation that accredits hospitals and medical centres with the aim of creating a safer and higher quality training environment for doctors in their residency and fellowship years. Five fellowship programme and 14 residency programmes at HMC have been accredited by the ACGME-I, the international arm of the ACGME. HMC is the first healthcare organisation outside the US and Singapore to achieve ACGME-I accreditation; additional residency and fellowship programmes will go forward for accreditation in 2018 and 2019.
Dr Diane M Hartmann, chair of the ACGME awards committee, said Dr Khal was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the award as a reflection of his exemplary contribution to preparing physicians to deliver safe, high-quality medical care.
"Dr Khal has contributed to international accreditation efforts on various levels. He was instrumental in bringing ACGME International accreditation to Qatar, helping to achieve HMC's vision of providing high-quality training programmes for its physician trainees. He has also contributed actively to the accreditation community, serving as an inaugural international member of the ACGME-I Review Committee International," said Dr Hartmann, who is also a member of the ACGME Board of Directors.
HMC's Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Abdulla al Ansari said the award further validates HMC's commitment to patient safety and high-quality healthcare.
"The whole Corporation is proud of this achievement and the wider clinical team in HMC should also feel honoured by this success. I would encourage all HMC staff to engage in their work with the same passion and drive as Dr Khal. This award further demonstrates our dedication to ensuring patient safety is at the forefront of the minds of new medical," said Dr Ansari.
Each year, HMC accepts approximately 150 new residents to its 21 residency programmes. At any given time, upwards of 700 residents are working across HMC's network of hospitals. Over 300 fellows are currently part of more than 60 HMC-sponsored fellowship programmes.