Tawam Hospital, part of Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) – the UAE’s largest healthcare network, successfully hosted its fifth annual conference for scientific research in May, building on SEHA’s extensive medical education and research offerings available for its workforce.
The one-day Hybrid conference was attended by healthcare professionals from across the SEHA network and the College of Medicine at the UAE University. Several medical research projects conducted in the hospital since the last conference were presented and discussed, including topics covering the pandemic, such as the effectiveness of drug treatment compared to the use of endoscopy in COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, the high rate of kidney failure in some kidney transplant patients who had tested positive for COVID-19, and the high knowledge of non-medical staff with regards to nature of COVID-19 and its prevention, showcasing the efforts made by the government to educate and raise awareness amongst the public.
Besides research focused on COVID-19, studies exploring internal medicine diseases were also discussed, such as the importance of optimizing the use of radioactive iodine therapy in small-sized thyroid tumors, re-examining the milk hormone (prolactin) in some people ahead of drug treatment, and the need for the continuous follow-up of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients during pregnancy, which leads to positive results for the fetus and mother.
Dr. Khaled AlDahmani, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Consultant Endocrinologist at Tawam Hospital said: “The annual conference focuses on the latest developments and research efforts in the healthcare landscape both regionally and internationally. It provides participants the opportunity to exchange knowledge, best-practice, and learnings from their experiences in the field of scientific research, encouraging them to publish and circulate modern scientific recommendations that will transform the treatment of prevalent diseases in the space of internal medicine.”
The overarching importance of scientific research is one of the key topics discussed annually and the primary objective of the conference, with attendees hearing first-hand the strict guidelines that need to be followed while carrying out scientific research and the prerequisites necessary for research studies to be published in health and medical journals. Resident physicians who are currently in training also had the opportunity to present their research papers to receive feedback from professionals and consultants, helping them refine their expertise in the practice of medical research and strengthening their chances of publishing in international medical journals.
Professor Jumaa Al Kaabi, Acting Dean of the College of Medicine at the UAE University, said:“ I would like to express my deepest admiration for the depth and extent of research that was presented during the conference. By collaboratingwithTawam Hospital and other facilities throughout the SEHA network, we are not only elevating our skillsets and capabilities, but we are also significantly contributing towards the future of research-based medicine in the country.”
