Arwa Nasir, M.B.B.S., associate professor in the UNMC Department of Pediatrics, traveled to Amman, Jordan, in November to lead a continuing medical education seminar.
The seminar was designed to build the capacity of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) physicians, who provide primary care for the growing Palestinian refugee population in the Middle East in increasingly challenging circumstances.
The conference was the first live, international clinical continuing medical education conference ever organized by UNMC faculty in collaboration with the Center for Continuing Education.
“Although online courses and webinars provide a valuable source of continuing medical education, live seminars continue to have a tremendous appeal as they provide the opportunity for interactive discourse and networking,” Dr. Nasir said. “This is true even here in the U.S.
“The UNRWA leadership identified physician training as one of the high value interventions to increase the capacity of their physicians to deal with the increasing number of children that they care for as a result of the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria,” she said. “Additionally, there is interest in the recent advances in the pediatrics and primary care health care models, as the UNRWA health program is moving to the family health delivery model.”
The conference covered a variety of topics, with a special focus on psychosocial determinants of health and early brain development. The conference was attended by about 60 physicians from all regions of Jordan. The aims of the conference were in line with the missions of both UNMC and Children’s Hospital to provide professional education, transforming lives for a healthier future and to become a global leader for children’s health.
Dr. Nasir was accompanied by Shirley Delair, M.D., assistant professor and vice chair for global initiatives in the department of pediatrics, and Laeth Nasir, M.D., professor of family medicine at Creighton University. The conference was well received by the UNRWA health care program leadership and attendees.