Teaching Medicine in Gaza:the Oxford Companionship

MEC Seminar, St. Antony’s College

February 23rd 2018

Richard Guy

Consultant Surgeon

Oxford University Hospitals

Sir Iain Chalmers

UN Relief & Works Agency

Gaza 1969-70

1978-92 Director National

Perinatal Epidemiology Unit

Oxford

1992 Director UK Cochrane

Centre -> Cochrane

Collaboration

Editor James Lind Library (www.jameslindlibrary.org)

“Everything I have done professionally

has its origins in my experience in Gaza in

1969 and 1970”

Professor Colin Green

Royal Navy Officer 1952-56

Veterinary Surgeon

Scientist

Established Palestinian Faculty of Medicine Al Quds University 1994

Foundation for Al Quds Medical School (FQMS) 1996

Founded International Medical Education Trust (IMET 2000)

Awarded Millenium Medal by Yasser Arafat for “services to Palestine” 2004

Sir Terence English FRCS

Pioneer heart transplant

surgeon

Ex-President of the Royal

College of Surgeons

Honorary Patron of

Medical Aid for Palestinians

(MAP)

Mr Nick Dudley FRCS

28th December 1938 – 20th March 2016

Teaching in the West Bank 2006-2015

Palestinian Medical Students

Top 5% of school leavers

Extremely bright

Didactic lectures

Online teaching – static and dynamic

Minimal clinical teaching

Barriers to clinical education

Difficulties getting to clinical environments (barriers/permits)

No dedicated teaching hospital/facilities

Little senior supervision

Textbook knowledge vs applied knowledge

Difficulties leaving the country

Volatile context

Travel to class interrupted (n=50)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

More than once per week

Once per week

Once every two weeks

Once per month

Less than once per month

OxPal survey, 2012

%

• 360 sq Km – approx 25 x 7

miles

• population 2 million

• unemployment >40%

• median age 17.4 yrs

• 2.6% > 65 yrs

• fertility rate 5.03 children

• religion 99.3% Sunni Muslim

2014

Al-Shifa Hospital

Dr Khamis Elessi Mr Nick Maynard Dr Anwar Alshaikhkhalil

Bedside Teaching in Gaza

Clinical Stations

Clinical Teaching Assistants

Year after Interns – usually top 6

Key to sustainability of our teaching

Year 6 we teach them

Interns already selectedthey attend training day with us

shadow us in teaching

Following year Clinical Teaching Assistants

Training day and week with us

Dr Bettina B⍤ttcher

Prof Max Gibbons: Hunterian Oration

Barriers to Clinical Education

www.oxpal.org

Future Teaching in Gaza

Involve both Universities – IUG & Al-Azhar

Develop the role of the Clinical Teaching Assistants

Increase postgraduate teaching

Mix clinical teaching with seminar-based teaching

Refine the clinical stations

Keep going!

“We have on this land that which makes life worth living”

Mahmoud Darwish