LANI ROSE R DIZON

DOHA THE Open Medical Institute (OMI), a leading global educational institution, which provides post-graduate education and training in medicine, is set to open a branch in Qatar.

Since its inception in 1993, the OMI has trained more than 13,000 physicians from over 100 countries across the world through its seminars, workshops and distance-learning programmes.

Dr Wolfgang Aulitzky, medical director at the American-Austrian Foundation (AAF), who launched OMI, a non-profit initiative, said that plans were already afoot to create a second international educational hub for the said programme in Qatar.

He also said, “The reason why we came to Qatar is we would like to open a branch of the Open Medical Institute here which would bring leading medical educators from Europe and America to this country. After Salzburg, the one such education hub in central Europe, it might be worthwhile to have a second similar education hub in this part of the world closer to Africa. And Qatar is the ideal place for such an effort.

“Qatar has a unique concept to create an excellent healthcare system at home while being open to the outside world at the same time. We’re now creating partnerships with the departments at Hamad Medical Corporation because we see this organisation as a valuable and capable institution to become an academic partner of the Open Medical Institute.” According to Aulitzky, 12 Qatari doctors have already participated in the seminars organised by the OMI since it started over 18 years ago.

He also said, “We’re going to have the first two satellite symposia in Qatar this year. Such a collaboration is vital because for post-graduate medical education committed teachers and institutions which offer not only the teachers but also the infrastructure are of the essence, and therefore Qatar is such an outstanding opportunity. It has the wealth, has created its own faculty and upgraded health infrastructure over the last several years to an extent not matched by other institutions in other countries.”