Thank you for your interest and support of the work of the Itqan Clinical Simulation and Innovation Center. The leadership of Hamad Medical Corporation, and the clinical staff who organize trainings at Itqan have supported extensive growth over our first three years of operation. We are very proud of what Itqan has become in this short time with the support of Dr. Abdullatif Al-Khal, the Director of Medical Education.
From supporting the first airway management course in January 2019 to the latest international conference, the capacity of the Simulation Center has grown each year, increasing the number of learners who have access to the state-of-the-art equipment and training environment, managed by staff who have specialized knowledge and skill in managing healthcare simulation learning activities. Our learners include a wide variety of the healthcare specialties that work within HMC, as well as students from Qatar University.
While we were challenged with the advent of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, we quickly began supporting the urgent training required to provide excellent and safe patient care to patients with this illness. We also supported courses that allowed nurses from HMC and the Primary Health Care Corporation to learn important vaccination techniques. Almost 2000 clinicians benefitted from the nine COVID-19 courses held at Itqan, while others learned with a simulator that was sent to the COVID-19 hospitals to provide on-site trainings. At the same time, the Sim Center housed the Elderly Telephone Reassurance Service and provided telemedicine offices for geriatricians, playing a role in managing the health of the nation.
As a result of COVID-19, many conferences became virtual and the number of webinars increased exponentially, allowing staff to learn from experts around the world. We also contributed to the knowledge of others through presentations locally, as well as for five international simulation organizations, Sigma Theta Tau International, Lebanese American University, Johns Hopkins, Weill Cornell Medicine (NY), and the World Academic Congress of Emergency Medicine. Several research studies conducted at Itqan were presented at international conferences and findings have been published in reputable journals.
We proudly offer courses developed by the Itqan Educators. The Comprehensive Simulation Facilitation Program is designed along a continuum from novice to advanced for clinicians who want to learn more about facilitating learning with manikin-based simulation, clinical skills, and/or simulated patients. Targeted workshops for simulation techniques and strategies are also available. We look forward to creating more programming from Itqan that includes webinars, practice sessions, small group learning, and specialized courses tailored to specific clinical simulation needs.
Itqan demonstrates corporate social responsibility by opening the Sim Center to school-age children to attend healthcare-related activities. While here, they learn about healthcare professions while also being involved in active learning such as CPR and Stop the Bleed. Itqan also provides simulation learning support to the FIFA training activities in preparation for the upcoming World Cup 2022.
Itqan has become a leading provider of experiential learning in Qatar and is positioned to lead the region, through partnerships and collaborations. We look forward to working closely with all of you to make this a reality in the coming years
Kind regards,
Dr. Kim
