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Tribune News Network
Doha
THE 'Screen For Life' team of the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is reaching out to all health centres across Qatar to train physicians in breast and bowel cancer screening.
The exercise being carried out as part of the Family Doctor's Day celebrations, is designed to equip clinical staff and family physicians with the skills and knowledge of 'Screen for Life' to help increase awareness and participation in the programme.
The training programme has been developed by Qatar's National Breast and Bowel Cancer Screening Program team popularly known as 'Screen for Life'.
In addition to the clinical training component undertaken by physicians, the nationwide training course for physicians places an emphasis on addressing cultural attitudes and inhibitions towards self-examination and encouraging people to undergo tests.
It encourages family discussions on the topic in order to change attitudes, behaviour and inhibitions towards discussing the subject with physicians, in addition to reminding physicians about the e-referral system that allows them to refer eligible people to breast and bowel cancer screening in an easy and automated way.
Dr Shaikha Abu Shaikha, Cancer Program Manager at PHCC, said:"Physicians are the first point of contact for patients so it is vitally important that they have the proper knowledge of the programme so they can impart the importance and benefits of screening to the patients. Achieving positive results year on year, the training enhances the ability of our physicians to address concerns about the process and help patients understand the significance of the programme."
From the beginning of conducting the training session to date, a considerable number of clinical staff from the PHCC, including primary care, family physicians and chief nurses have undergone the training, and the continuous rollout of the learning modules will help physicians achieve PHCC's goal to reach a wider audience across Qatar and further spread the message about the benefits of breast and bowel cancer screening.
