Medical accreditation courses available in the UAE

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: To remain certified in the country, doctors and nurses must regularly update their skills, knowledge and practical know-how to offer the best service to their patients. Dubai healthcare sector expanding rapidly; hospitals, clinics and healthcare service providers must stay ahead of the competition by keeping their medical accreditation up-to-date. In order to renew their medical practicing licenses, medical professionals practicing in the UAE must maintain an annual quota of CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits.

For many practitioners in the Middle East this has represented a significant financial investment and time cost as, up until recently, only limited CME accredited courses have been available in the region forcing many healthcare professionals to travel abroad to ensure they gain the required number of CME credits.

IIR Middle East Life Sciences Division hosts a number of CME accredited healthcare conferences in the UAE such as Arab Health, the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress and Sight 2009. IIR Middle East are now collaborating with U.S.-based Cleveland Clinic, a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education, to expand on medical education activities in the Middle East.

This move to provide internationally accredited healthcare education in the region will reduce travel costs for medical professionals as well as time spent away from their practice. More importantly, patients can be assured of the quality and standard of healthcare services available in the region.

“By ensuring that our conferences are accredited and our speakers are leading experts in their fields, IIR Middle East is committed to providing the best possible medical education available in the region,” commented Simon Page, Group Director of Life Sciences Division, IIR Middle East. “Our partnership with Cleveland Clinic sets an unprecedented standard and we continue our work as an international provider of specialist information and services for medical communities in the region.”

As an accredited provider from the U.S, Cleveland Clinic Centre for Continuing Education ensures all educational activities at an IIR Middle East run conference will complete a rigorous certification process to comply with guidelines and policies developed by AMA (American Medical Association) and ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education). These activities will maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance of healthcare professional in the UAE and neighboring region in a bias-free, evidence-based manner.

William Carey, MD, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Centre for Continuing Education believes the on-going relationship with IIR Middle East and the Cleveland Clinic will ensure quality education for medical professionals in the region.

“The collaboration between the Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education and Institute for International Research (IIR) Middle East allows us to broaden quality continuing medical education activities benefiting the local medical community as well as the region and beyond,” said Dr Carey. “Providing AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ will significantly expand accredited post-graduate education in the Middle East and we are pleased to provide CME credits for the conference held during the upcoming Sight 2009 event.”

Sight 2009 Exhibition & Conference will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 10 to 12 November 2009. For more information, please visit www.sightme.com