Doha
4th June 2017

Recently 5th Surgical Research and Innovation Ideas Symposium was hosted by Department of Surgery and Medical Research Center, Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC). Over 300 professionals from Qatar’s healthcare, academic and research communities attended three days long symposium which showcased the research creativity, innovation, and enthusiasm of clinical researchers from across Hamad’s surgical and perioperative units.

Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Surgical Services and Chairman of the Organizing Committee first conceived the idea of this bi-annual series of surgical symposia two years ago to help clinical perioperative staff across different specialties to think unconventionally and use new perspectives.

The symposia will play a leading role in establishing a strong foundation for scientifically-strong surgical research projects and publications through the application of better research techniques and methodology.

Commenting on the series of surgical symposia, Dr. Sabah Al Kadhi, the Vice Chairman of Surgery at HMC, who opened the symposium on behalf of Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari said “The 5th Surgical Research Symposium builds on the success of previous surgical symposia. The event has become an excellent forum for sharing knowledge and fostering scientific and ethically strong research initiatives. The event enhances training in research and will benefit effective, evidence-based, and compassionate patient care.”

Participants from hospitals across Qatar presented and debated their research proposals with a panel of international and local research experts from HMC, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Sidra Medical and Research Center and Harvard Medical School (USA). The panel scrutinized the research submissions, provided constructive comments and guided participants to develop the full potential of their research ideas and medical writing skills. Presenters also participated in one-on-one in-depth workshops and heard from speakers on a number of relevant topics including research ethics and processes, essential elements of a successfully published research proposal, and maximizing the impact and preventing pitfalls in medical research.

Through this platform, Dr. Al Ansari hopes to provide an opportunity to promote team building opportunities within surgical teams through collaborative efforts between junior and senior researchers. It will also help to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between surgeons, anesthetists, perioperative nurses, technologists, and administrators.

In his address, Prof. Scott Shikora, Prof. of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, highlighted how impressed he was by the initiative and confident it would increase the number of well-designed research projects and publications. He said: “This is an excellent symposium to encourage and mentor young investigators in the art of conceiving a research concept, creating a protocol, conducting research, and publishing the results. Young investigators are often overwhelmed and intimidated by the process. In this symposium, young investigators from many surgical specialties were offered an opportunity to present their proposals to a panel of veteran researchers who critiqued their proposals and offered suggestions for improvements.”

Dr. Nasser Al Ansari, Al Wakra Hospital's Chairman of Medical Research and Education said “This symposium is another milestone in creating a research culture in the Department of Surgery and provides a scientific platform to develop high caliber researchers. I wish we had this kind of encouragement during my junior days.”

Dr. Yousuf Al Maslamani, Medical Director at Hamad General Hospital said he was happy to see tremendous advancements in the series of surgical symposia, concluding: “It is reassuring that surgeons and perioperative staff are keen to improve patient care through research and best practice evidence. As they pursue HMC’s vision of ‘Best Care Always’, I would like to continue to remind our researchers of the importance of integrity and ethics as they strive to achieve clinical excellence.

Prof. Shahrad Taheri, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, congratulated the organizers on an excellent initiative that demonstrated the impressive breadth and quality of research ideas. He also commended the enthusiasm of HMC’s clinical teams in identifying and developing the best evidence to improve patient care.