Media Release
Ajman, Oct 14: “The complexity of medical education and healthcare systems is a ‘wicked problem’, and change will be a continuous iteration between evaluation and revaluation,” says Prof Hossam Hamdy, the chancellor of Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman, in his latest article published in ‘The Medical Teacher’. A world-renowned academician and pediatric surgeon, Prof Hossam Hamdy also argues that medicine is a social science and it is important for students to be embedded in the work environment from year one, day one.
“Academic Healthcare Systems will be the norm not the exceptional. The training of students will be in all healthcare related facilities in the community. Public-private partnership in education and research will spread and become more regulated and encouraged,” Prof. Hossam Hamdy says in his article, referring to the present and emerging trends in medical education.
He also states that medical admission to schools must have a different selection method for aspiring students, and that the curriculum must be more context related evaluating competencies and entrustability will be the norms. “Entrustable professional activities will be measured more frequently at different points of the students learning trajectory. Research and innovation will be integral to the students' learning experience,” he stressed, suggesting that medical students should be exposed to how researchers think and behave and be embedded early in a research environment.
“The medical college of the future will be using advanced technology which will be disruptive and transform existing educational models. E-Learning materials will be shared by consortia of collaborating medical colleges from all around the world. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will influence how students learn,” he says, explaining the transformations future medical institutions would undergo. “Next generation physicians should be competent in treating the next generation of patients while maintaining the health of the population,” he adds.
As a leading private medical University in the Middle East drawing students from more than 80 countries and employing faculty and staff from over 25 countries, the Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman has always been at the forefront of innovation in medical education and healthcare. Bagged Gold at the prestigious Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards, 2018. The Gulf Medical University Academic Health System (GMUAHS) is the only one of its kind in the region’s private sector, linking the healthcare, medical education and research. GMU has advanced teaching, training and research technologies. The Virtual Patient Learning (VPL) of GMU was developed by the University in partnership with Lifelike a Swiss Technology company. It is the most sophisticated simulator with the highest fidelity using artificial intelligence and
problem-based learning in medical education. Prof. Hamdy believes that with all these advances in technology and sciences and so long the patient, health professional, students and teachers are human, it’s all how they communicate, interact with and understand each other. That will change.