Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
 | |
| Type | Private, nonprofit medical school |
|---|---|
| Established | 2001[1] |
Parent institution | Cornell University |
| Affiliation | Weill Cornell Medicine Hamad Medical Corporation Qatar Foundation |
| Dean | Javaid I. Sheikh, M.D.[2] |
| Vice Dean | Robert K. Crone, M.D.[2] |
Academic staff | 77 full-time, 602 affiliated[3] |
| Students | 318[3] |
| Location | , , 25°19′05″N 51°26′20″E / 25.3180°N 51.4389°E |
| Website | qatar-weill |
History
Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar (formerly Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar), was established in 2001 as a partnership between Cornell University in the US, and Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. WCM-Q is part of Cornell University and was the first US university to offer its MD degree overseas.
Teaching began in 2002 with the inaugural class entering the college’s two-year pre-medical program. The college’s first graduation ceremony was held in 2008 with 15 new doctors receiving their MD degrees.
WCM-Q’s building was officially opened in 2003, having been designed by the internationally renowned architect Arata Isozaki. It has four distinctively shaped lecture halls – two ovoids and two polyhedrons – and a technologically advanced e-library.
Students/Alumni
The school offers a six-year medical program with a single admissions. Students who complete undergraduate degrees elsewhere are able to apply to a four-year program. All students are awarded a Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University.[4]
As of May 2019, WCM-Q has graduated 384 new doctors, approximately half of whom are women and half are men. The college attracts undergraduates from all over the world, but particularly Qatar and the wider MENA region. The student body is diverse, comprising around 40 different nationalities.
Graduates of WCM-Q generally move onto residency courses at US teaching hospitals including Johns Hopkins, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic, but a significant number remain in Qatar to take their residencies at Hamad Medical Corporation, boosting national medical capacity. Alumni have also begun to return to Qatar from the US after completing residency training in order to practice at Hamad Medical Corporation and lecture at WCM-Q.
WCM-Q has 33 clubs, sports teams, and student organizations, some of which participate against other university campuses in Education City City.[5]
Admissions/Programs
WCM-Q has the same admissions standards as Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and admits students on merit alone. Candidates are selected based on academic scores, attitude and dedication to their studies and medicine, and interview. All teaching is in English and potential students are expected to have a high degree of proficiency in the language.
WCM-Q operates a six-year medical program for those coming straight from high school, or graduates with no scientific background. The six-year program comprises two years of pre-medical instruction, followed by four years of the medical curriculum. Students who satisfy all the criteria during the pre-medical curriculum are automatically promoted to the four-year medical curriculum.
Graduates who have previously completed a science-based degree elsewhere may be admitted directly onto the four-year medical curriculum. The curriculum is identical to that followed at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and graduates of WCM-Q receive the Cornell University MD degree.
The four-year medical curriculum consists of the following modules:
1. Essential Principles of Medicine (EPOM)
2. Health, Illness & Disease – I (HID-I)
Heart
Lung
Gastro-Intestinal
Renal
Endocrinology
3. Health, Illness & Disease – II (HID-II)
Neuroscience
Rheumatology
Dermatology
Infectious Disease
Hematology-Oncology
Reproduction
4. Area of Concentration (AOC)
5. Clerkships
Introductions to Clerkships
Anesthesia & Critical Care
Medicine
Neurology
Ob-Gyn
Primary Care
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Surgery
Healthcare & Public Health
Palliative Care
6. Electives
7. Sub-Internship (Sub-I)
In 2007, WCM-Q faculty realized some highly gifted local students needed some extra support to improve their English language skills and make the transition to a Western institution and style of education. For this reason, the 12-month Foundation Program was developed to provide predominantly Qatari students the time to acquire the language skills they need and to adjust to different methods of study. Successful completion of the Foundation Program allows students to apply for the six-year medical program.
Research
WCM-Q’s biomedical research program (BMRP) was established in 2008 and was the first of its kind in the Middle East. The aim, which has been successfully achieved, was to build a biomedical research infrastructure, developing a scientific and technical work force for the benefit of the region and to create a hub of biomedical research excellence. The research focus of the program is diseases which are prevalent in the Gulf region including - but not limited to - certain cancers and neurological disorders, and metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Each year the Division of Research hosts the Industry-Academia conference, which is designed to foster partnerships between academia and business and help bring innovations in the laboratory to the commercial market.
Community Development
WCM-Q’s mission statement includes the goals to improve healthcare and provide the highest quality of care to the community. To this end, WCM-Q established the Institute of Population Health, which has an increasing focus on lifestyle medicine and the importance of educating the general public about making good lifestyle choices in order to prevent lifestyle-related diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The college also runs a national health campaign, Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First, which aims to educate the community and encourage them to change unhealthy habits into healthy lifestyles. In order to do this the campaign uses a variety of media, including large-scale public events like the Color Run, schools’ programs such as Project Greenhouse, and even the promotion of fruits and vegetables to the general public via its not-for-profit Khayr Qatarna scheme.
Criticism
Universities with campuses in Education City, which include Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, and Northwestern alongside Cornell, have been criticized that they cannot uphold the same levels of academic freedom in Qatar that exist the United States.[6][7] In response, Cornell has said that its presence in Qatar “is the best way to promote understanding” and that their “collaborations across the globe” fulfill its mission of “teaching, discovery and engagement.”[8]
A 2017 opinion piece in Cornell's student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, called on Cornell's incoming president Martha E. Pollack to be more transparent about the relationship between the University and the Qatar Foundation, particularly in the context of the ability for Cornell employees to form a union, something that is illegal in Qatar.[9]
See also
- Weill Cornell Medicine, the school's main campus in New York City
- Duke-NUS Medical School, an American medical school located in Singapore
References
- ^ "Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar". Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ a b "Administrative Officials". Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ a b "Fact Sheet 2018-2019" (PDF). Office of Communications, Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "Medical Program". Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "Student Activities & Programs". Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Nick. "Texas university gets $76 million each year to operate in Qatar, contract says". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ^ "Roots of American universities grow deeper in Qatar, drawing criticism". Gulf News Journal. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ^ Ain, Stewart (September 3, 2014). "Cornell's Ties To Qatar Getting Fresh Scrutiny". The Jewish Week. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ^ Eddy, Xavier; Hanna, Christopher (April 22, 2017). "Letter to the Editor: On Weill Medical College in Qatar". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved May 20, 2019.