Saudi- Efforts to develop health care in focus 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said on Sunday that academic degrees coupled with practical experience would enhance quality and efficiency in an employee's output.

The minister was making the keynote speech at the First Colleges of Applied Medical Sciences Conference (CAMS 2012) at King Saud University.

CAMS 2012 aims to address the challenges and seize the opportunities in applied medical sciences education and bring people together for two days of education, networking and exhibits.

The minister stressed the development of human resources in the medical sector that would result in offering the best health services.

"We have to prepare our graduates and medical practitioners with a high degree of efficiency, competence and skills to run scientific experiments in many disciplines of health," he said.

He said his ministry would assist all universities concerned to support their efforts toward developing the health care system in the country.

The minister also opened an exhibition that ran concurrently with the conference. A preconference workshop was also held in the same auditorium.

Saud Ahmed Alanazi, one of the organizers of the conference, said three main topics were taken up for discussions during the three sessions of the conference. They included leadership strategies in applied medical sciences education, innovations in applied medical sciences curriculum design and implementation and feasible approaches in clinical education.

The conference, Alanazi said, was aimed at identifying current research and evidence related to applied medical sciences education and leadership, describing ongoing efforts to promote quality in applied medical sciences education and suggesting achievable partnerships to support clinical education experiences.

Al-Rabeeah also outlined the contributions made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah toward the development of education, health and training of manpower.

Participants in the conference included CAMS Deans, vice deans, department chairs, faculty staff, and clinical teachers.

The College of Applied Medical Sciences is accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties to provide continuing medical education and professional development activities.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Health for Curative Medicine Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi said there are 1,323 doctors working under the Medical Support Program in remote areas in the Kingdom. He said the program was introduced two years ago to reduce the number of referrals to hospitals in major cities in the Kingdom.

Following the Haj season, the ministry recruited 400 doctors to this program to work in places where medical specialists were not available. These medics were from countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan.