Continuing on its path to becoming a teaching institute as well as the region’s premiere maternity hospital, Corniche Hospital, in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, has introduced an obstetrics and gynecology residency program to train UAE-National medical doctors. Corniche Hospital is part of the SEHA Healthsystem and it is managed by Johns Hopkins Medicine International in Baltimore, USA.
The launching the new five-year training program is based on international best practices for postgraduate medical education. The residency program’s success will add to an increase in the number of well-trained and qualified Emirati doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology and address the long-term health care needs in the UAE.
“Education is at the heart of the Johns Hopkins philosophy and is now firmly implanted in the mission for Corniche Hospital to become a premier teaching facility,” said Ron Lavater, chief executive officer of Corniche Hospital. “Since assuming leadership of the hospital, we have worked with SEHA, our owners, and The Health Authority (HAAD), our government partners, to develop a strategy to improve healthcare in Abu Dhabi and increase the number of Emirati doctors. The launch of the obstetrics and gynecology residency program is one of the significant steps forward in our vision to transform Corniche Hospital into a center of education, research, and leading clinical care in the UAE and a significant event in the 32-year history of this institution.”
The obstetrics and gynecology residency is the third clinical educational program established by the Johns Hopkins leadership team since it was invited by SEHA in 2008 to manage the hospital. In 2010, the hospital announced the inauguration of specialized training for obstetric medicine and was the first hospital recognized by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to provide this training through an advanced training skills module (ATSM). And earlier this year, Corniche Hospital was the first Abu Dhabi hospital to commence a program leading to a bachelor’s degree in applied science in midwifery in affiliation with Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT).
The new postgraduate training program for doctors in obstetrics and gynecology will be led by two internationally-recognized physicians: Judy Lee, MD, chief medical officer and assistant professor from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Maggie Blott, MD, chief education officer and former vice president for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gyneacology (RCOG) in the United Kingdom. Drs. Lee and Blott, along with senior medical staff are committed to providing the medical residents with real life experiences during which students will acquire the fundamental skills of patient assessment and management, undertake a whole range of emergency and elective procedures, and manage a range of complex obstetric and gynecological disorders on both normal and high-risk patients.
“We are committed to offering a robust, high-quality program that is based on international standards to educate Emirati doctors to become highly-skilled obstetricians and gynecologists,” says Dr. Lee. “Our resident doctors will be trained in a collegial, patient-centered, evidence based healthcare environment and will have the opportunity to spend time in the USA and UK to enhance their training experience. This program will produce high-caliber OBGYNs who will make a significant impact on their population’s health.”
Corniche has announced that it will host its first two residents this year, and will continue to accept more applicants until ten spots are filled over the course of the five-year program. Corniche Hospital will participate in HAAD’s TANSEEQ residency matching application system. TANSEEQ is a comprehensive process addressing all components of medical residency application including allocation of training posts to facilities, the residency application process, the applicant and program ranking system, and finally, the distribution of applicants to training programs and facilities across Abu Dhabi.
Currently there are very few Emirati doctors training in obstetrics and gynecology in the UAE and introduction of this high-quality, well-structured program by Corniche Hospital will attract more doctors into the specialty.
Interested candidates can find out more information on the residency program by emailing medicaleducation@cornichehospital.ae
