Eighteen medical students from nine different countries spent a week at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) as part of the International Exchange Program (IEP).

The programme, which is now in its fifth year, brought two students and one faculty member from each of the participating medical colleges to WCM-Q to learn about the college’s integrated six-year medical programme, view its cutting-edge teaching and research facilities, and meet students and faculty.

Following the success of previous editions of the programme, which is coordinated by the WCM-Q Division of Student Affairs (SA), the IEP this year was expanded from eight to nine participating colleges, including An-Najah National University of Nablus, Palestine, Dow International Medical College of Karachi, Pakistan, Kasturba Medical College of Mangalore, India and the American University of Beirut. Also included is the College of Medicine and Health Studies at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, the College of Medicine of Kuwait University, Al-Zahra Medical College of Basrah University, Iraq, the University of Jordan School of Medicine, Amman and Weill Bugando School of Medicine, WCM-Q’s affiliate college in Tanzania.

WCM-Q’s Vice Dean, Student Affairs, Population Health, and Lifestyle Medicine Dr Ravinder Mamtani said:

Bringing students and faculty from across the region and beyond gives us a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge of the many different ways that medicine is taught in different countries. We were delighted to be able to expand the programme this year to bring more students from more countries than ever before to WCM-Q to take part in what was an extremely enriching and valuable experience for all involved.’

During the eight-day trip, the international students had the chance to compare the WCM-Q curriculum with other medical curricula, observe clinical encounters with students during clinical rotations, examine varying educational methods, including problem-based learning, and to learn about various aspects of the country- and region-specific population health programmes.

The students also visited WCM-Q’s Clinical Skills and Simulation Lab where they saw hi-tech learning aids including a human-sized touchscreen display for visualizing the human anatomy.

The international students also had the chance to tour Education City and healthcare institutions around Doha, including Hamad Medical Corporation and two Primary Health Care Corporation facilities, Gharrafat Al Rayyan Health Center and Rawdat Al Khail Wellness Center.

Fifth-year Omani medical student Faris Al Farsi narrates:

The facilities and the curriculum here are fantastic but I think what has really impressed me most is the diversity of the students and faculty at WCM-Q. I think that being able to interact with and learn from people from all over the world has definitely been the most beneficial part of this trip for me as a trainee doctor.’

For other information, visit qatar-med.cornell.edu.