Now in its third year, the annual alumni-led Updates in Primary Care Conference has quickly become established as a major event in the calendar of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q). This year’s edition, due to be held December 5-6 in Doha, has once again been carefully designed to showcase the latest evidence-based best practices for managing common adult conditions in primary care, with a focus on Qatar’s healthcare landscape. The conference builds upon and exemplifies WCM-Q’s traditional commitment to the pursuit of excellence in healthcare, education and research.
Aimed at family physicians, general practitioners and primary care doctors in Qatar, the two-day conference offers a unique opportunity for professional development and networking with both national and international experts. The event is coordinated by the Division of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at WCM-Q.
This year’s event is titled Updates in Primary Care: Specialist-Led Case-Based Discussions Highlighting the Latest Evidence and Best Clinical Practices. The WCM-Q alumni who are jointly organizing the conference are Dr. Mahrukh Rizvi, Dr. Tariq Chukir, Dr. Reshma Bholah, Dr. Tania Jaber and Dr. Muneera Al-Muhannadi. Middle East Health met with these four members of the WCM-Q alumni community to discuss the conference’s goals, impact, and role in the pursuit of excellence in healthcare in the region.
Dr. Mahrukh Rizvi graduated from WCMQ in 2011. She completed her residency training in internal medicine at Rochester General Hospital in New York, followed by fellowships in nephrology and critical care at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, respectively, before returning to WCM-Q to join the faculty in 2021, where she now holds the position of assistant professor of medicine. She is also a consultant in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
For Dr. Rizvi, co-directing the conference represents a way to help fulfil a core element of WCM-Q’s overall mission. She explained: “At the heart of WCM-Q’s institutional ethos is a firm commitment to not only attain excellence in medical education but also to make very meaningful contributions to enhancing patient care in Qatar through strong engagement with practicing healthcare professionals. The Updates in Primary Care Conference has become a superb vehicle for sharing and discussing the latest updates with the wider healthcare community, helping us to encourage implementation of the most up-todate evidence-based best practices that can drive improvements in patient care. We are thrilled that the conference has been extremely well-subscribed since the moment we launched it – the reaction from local healthcare professionals has been incredibly pro-active and enthusiastic.”
Dr. Tariq Chukir is a member of WCM-Q’s Class of 2015. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center (NYPH-WCM) and a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at NYPH-WCM. Dr. Chukir returned to WCM-Q in 2020 and is now assistant professor of medicine and an endocrinology consultant at the Qatar Metabolic Institute at HMC, and at Sidra Medicine. Hailing the positive impact of the UPCC, Dr. Chukir said: “One of the best things about the success of the conference is the level of engagement it generates among healthcare professionals in Qatar. We feel a very strong sense of community and shared mission, which has a huge practical effect because it facilitates collaboration, knowledge exchange and very deep and productive discussions about important developments in best practice. We feel that being part of such a community is of great benefit to healthcare professionals striving for continual improvement in the delivery of primary care.”
The conference schedule features a variety of session formats, including specialist-led case discussions, panels, and interactive roundtables, as well as offering opportunities for networking with both national and international experts. The format of each session has been designed to bring together physicians, general practitioners, and primary care doctors for detailed case-based discussions on a variety of topics, all of which are firmly grounded in the latest clinical evidence.
Dr. Reshma Bholah graduated from WCM-Q in 2011 before going on to complete her residency in pediatrics in 2015 and her sub-specialty training in pediatric nephrology in 2018 at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She is currently assistant professor of pediatrics at WCM-Q and a pediatric nephrologist at Sidra Medicine. Dr. Bholah said: “As an alumna of WCM-Q I feel very grateful to be able to share knowledge I have gained from training in Qatar and the United States with fellow physicians, and to be able to learn from their experiences, too. The UPCC provides an extremely effective platform through which we can all grow together, becoming better physicians providing continually improving care to our patients.”
Dr. Tania Jaber of the Class of 2011 completed an internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Jaber is now a consultant endocrinologist at Hamad Medical Corporation and assistant professor of clinical medicine at WCM-Q. Explaining the desired outcomes of the conference, she said: “The conference has two principle learning objectives. The first is to review the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and updated evidence-based management of adult conditions commonly encountered in primary care, taking into account the local healthcare context in Qatar. The second is for participants to identify pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic resources and referral pathways available in Qatar, which will enable them to improve their understanding of the most effective ways to utilize these resources in their clinical practice and therefore provide the best care possible to their patients.”
Dr. Muneera Al-Muhannadi of the Class of 2009 was certified as a family medicine physician by the Arab Board of Health Specializations (ABHS) in 2016. She is now assistant professor of family medicine in clinical medicine at the Primary Health Care Corporation. Dr. Al-Muhannadi said: “The UPCC has become an important and valuable platform for providing support to primary care physicians in Qatar and the wider region as they seek to continually enhance their skills in order to best serve their patients. We are excited to consolidate and build on this success at the forthcoming third edition of the conference in December this year.”
Abstract submissions invited
The organizing committee of the conference has invited abstract submissions for poster presentations focused on outpatient medicine, with an emphasis on relevance to primary care practice in Qatar and the region.
For more information, and to register to attend,
visit: https://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/event/alumni-conference/overview.
