Acting Dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Noura Al-Suwaih said that the college is most keen on educational attainment through two tracks, the first of which is to preserve the full components of the subjects, and the second is to ensure the safety of students who are considered future colleagues, praising their understanding and full cooperation, which was demonstrated by their discipline and their follow-up with precautionary measures to prevent Coronavirus and their attendance, which exceeded 99% for Distance Learning classes.
She explained that the nature of the academic curricula differs in the College of Medicine from the rest of the colleges that depend on the teaching of a professor, as twenty professors from all departments teach one course and his responsibility is addressed by the course coordinator, noting that the study in the college is divided into a foundational phase that includes the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, then the Second phase - Pre-Clinical - for students of medicine and dentistry. A period of three years ends with a Bachelor’s degree, so the third phase is limited to students of the College of Medicine only.
With regard to distance Learning, Dr. Al-Swaih indicated that it was not common - before the pandemic - except in some subjects of a special nature. However, the college formed work teams and committees by faculty members, technical support and teaching assistants, and sought help from specialists to seek their opinion, to study the status of the infrastructure, study the needs and requirements, and provide support and continuous training, and then training the trainers who represent the scientific departments to play their role in training professors and students, in addition to activating students' e-mail, experimenting with and evaluating virtual lessons, and then submitting daily reports on the performance.
She revealed that the faculty has overcome the obstacle represented by the practical classes and the morgue material, which by its nature witnesses student gatherings that do not comply with the prevention measures, by equipping the new morgue with interactive cameras on the teaching mechanism in practical materials, in addition to three-dimensional educational videos.
And about field and clinical training, Dr. Al-Swaih believes that the College is in constant coordination with the Ministry of Health in this regard, and the Health and Safety Committee is responsible for implementing preventive measures. During the field training for some specialties, students were divided into two groups to reduce the ratio of students to each trainer to ensure maximum protection and prevention.
The Acting Dean explained that the College of Medicine is distinguished by the presence of reference laboratories and research resources that are not available in other places, especially the animal housing, noting that the College of Medicine, since the outbreak of the pandemic in the month of March and with the support of the university administration, has prepared housing and living for workers during the total curfew period, in response for ethical standards and to preserve those resources and research resources that are difficult to compensate.
Regarding the college students ’participation in the medical quarantines, she noted that some students have chosen to volunteer in the front lines as a service to the community in the State of Kuwait without any obligation from the college, and we thank them for that.
At the end of her speech, she expressed her deep thanks to the Acting President of the University, the Secretary-General and the Deputy Director for Medical Sciences, the administrative apparatus, Information Technology and other departments , and all those who contributed to supporting the educational process from the faculty members in the college, our dear students, and the administrative and technical staff.