GMU Chancellor Prof. Hossam Hamdy Speaks on ‘Value-Based Innovation and Medical Colleges of Future'
AMEE Annual Conference in Vienna
Prof. Hossam Hamdy, the Chancellor of Gulf Medical University (GMU), along with Prof. David Taylor, Professor of Medical Education at GMU, conducted a workshop on the topic ‘Quality through innovation in medical education: Planning for the future’, on 27th August 2019, as part of the prestigious Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Annual Conference in Vienna, Austria. The conference was attended by over 4500 international medical and health professionals and educators from leading institutions in the world.
An important viewpoint presented by Prof. Hossam Hamdy was that medical colleges of the future will undergo significant changes as part of their shift from ‘informative’ to ‘transformative’. Prof. Hossam Hamdy and Prof. David Taylor discussed strategies, innovation, from developing the use of information technology, through re-thinking curriculum design and delivery, to completely re-visioning medical schools, in the process of bringing about the change.
Prof. Hossam Hamdy also said that the field of medicine is a social science, dealing with people, societies and human interaction. Stressing upon the humanistic aspect of medicine, he said, “We should not forget that medicine is a social science and it is about people, societies and human interaction, inseparable and embedded in a rapidly changing healthcare system. The only thing which we can predict with confidence about medical education is that, for the coming few decades, the patient is human, the doctor is human, and the medical student is human; what will change is how they communicate, interact with, and understand each other, he said, adding, “The rapid changes in technology, economics, lifestyle etc. will need not only knowledge, skills and prior experience, but more of adaptation to changes and transformative abilities. Any innovation should be value-based innovation not only for using technology, but it should also bring value and sustainability.”
The workshop included discussions on the innovations proposed by the attendees. At the end of the workshop, a list of innovative ideas was compiled, along with feedback on the practicality of their implementation and possible generalizations to other contexts. The compilation is expected to result in developing action research projects that will impact upon the systems and situations specific to the participants’ respective contexts of work.
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Brittas urges Parliament resolution on Iran conflict, recalls Vajpayee-era Iraq war motion
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Tuesday cited Parliament's 2003 unanimous resolution under then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemning the Iraq war, to urge the government to move a similar motion on the Iran conflict.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during zero hour, Brittas called for a "united and unanimous voice" of Parliament against what he described as unilateral and illegal wars by the US and Israel on Iran, saying India should not remain silent.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in the Lok Sabha on Monday, he said key economic concerns and diaspora issues were raised but there was no reference to the broader conflict, which he said warranted a clear position from India.
"What was missing was the silence on this unilateral, immoral, illegal war that has been unleashed by the United States and Israel," he said.
The Prime Minister, he said, called for a unanimous and united voice from the Parliament.
Addressing chairman C P Radhakrishnan who was a member of the Lok Sabha in 2003, he said at that time, both the Houses of Parliament when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, passed joint, unanimous resolution condemning the war against Iraq by the United States.
"I wish that Indian Parliament, as the Prime Minister said, should express unanimously a united voice," he said. "Let the government bring a resolution which should be passed by both the Houses."
Brittas said India has termed the attacks on Gulf countries by Iran as egregious.
"But what about the genesis of this crisis?" he asked. "I wish that the government does not go by the advice of (Congress leader) Shashi Tharoor who said that silence is statecraft. I wish that they should be guided by the advice from (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge not from Shahi Tharoor."
Kharge has repeatedly demanded an immediate short-duration discussion on the Iran war and its fallout on India.
"I wish that India, being a leader of the non-alignment nations, should feel that silence is not a solution. We have to make sure that our voice is heard. And it is not only for the selfish interest of the nation but for the interest of the larger humanity. So I call on the government to come with a resolution," Brittas said.
He also flagged concerns over Indians affected by the situation, including around 700 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and urged the government to put in place a mechanism to facilitate communication with their families.
Brittas sought a rehabilitation package for Gulf returnees, highlighting the scale of remittances to India and their importance to Kerala's economy.
Kerala gets almost Rs 2.2 lakh crore - one third of the state's gross domestic product - in remittances, he said.
Prime Minister Modi in his address in Lok Sabha on Monday talked about economic fall out of the war in Iran, disruptions in supply chain, impact on daily lives of people, serious situation on the LPG front and the condition of the Indian diaspora but was silent on military strikes launched by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28, which triggered a wider conflict in the region.
