3rd Iraqi Medical Conference in London: Another Succcessful Event

The 3^rd annual medical conference of the Iraqi Medical Society International was held in London on Saturday 1/10/2011 in the presence of more than 200 members of the society. The meeting started with an opening speech by Dr. Amer Jafar, the President of the society, who invited the audience to share their experiences in medical education for the 21^st century. This subject was chosen by the IMSI committee members to be the theme of the conference for this year.

The first lecture of the afternoon was given by Prof. Ghanim AlSheikh, past sub dean of the medical school in Mosul and the Dean of Tikrit medical school in 1987 in Iraq. He presented his valuable experience of medical education in Iraq to his colleagues at the conference.

Dr. Saad Al Fattal, a medical historian, spoke about the establishment of the first medical school in Iraq. He gave a detailed presentation about his subject with a very good collection of photos of Baghdad medical school in the old days. He mentioned that Mrs. Malek Ghnaam was the first Iraqi woman to be accepted as a medical student in Iraq.

Dr. Yousar Jafar, a junior doctor from Cardiff and founder of the Student Iraqi Medical Assoication – Wales, gave a very interesting presentation about her society and talked about the concept of peer-assisted learning in medical education. Dr Yousar Jafar also mentioned the link Cardiff University has established with Hawler Medical University in Erbil, North Iraq.

Dr. Rena Al-Barzanji, a dentist working in Scotland, gave an insightful presentation on gum disease. This presentation was titled: ‘Gum disease. What has that got to do with me? I’m a doctor not a dentist!’ and talked about the importance of recognizing gum disease in patients.

Mr. Abdul Rahim Haloob, Consultant in Obstetrics  and Gynaecology in the UK, presented his experience about medical education and gave valuable information about how to progress in the UK as a doctor. His practical hints were very useful to Iraqi junior doctors who just graduated and are in need of help with this regard.

The AGM  (annual general meeting) started by 5pm, after the lectures. The members of the society elected new executive committee members on the day. The president of the society congratulated the new members and asked them to introduce the Iraqi Medical Society International to the wider community in UK and all other countries around the globe.

The society decided this year to award 5 Professors in Medicine and Surgery who contributed significantly to the health service in Iraq. They are: 1. Professor Ihsan Al-Bahrani (Physician). 2. The late Dr. Zaki AlMalah (Physician). 3. The late Dr. Moayed Al-Omery (Physician).4. Dr. Sarmed Khonda ( Obs &Gyn Surgeon) and 5. Dr. Hikmet Abdul Rassol (Surgeon).

As a new initiative from the society, it was decided that awards will be given to the newly graduated Iraqi doctors from UK Universities who attend the social event on 1/10/11. These awards were presented to: 1.Dr. Yousar Jafar (Cardiff University), Dr. Hussein Taki (Bristol University), Dr Hassanain Al-Hassani (Q. Mary University, London) and 4. Sammy Mahbouba for a BsC in Neuroscience (intercalating medical student- Bristol University). Other Iraqi graduates from medical, dental and pharmacy schools have been listed in the latest edition of our newsletter.