In the presence Dr. Mariam Ali Abdulmalik, managing director, Mr. Musallam Mubarak Al-Nabit, AMD for administration and corporate services, and Dr. Zelaikha Al-Wahdi, AMD for quality and workforce development at PHCC, the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) celebrated the attainment of two prestigious accreditations in its relentless endeavor to the advancement of the healthcare sector in Qatar through the successful implementation of the family medicine and community medicine residency programs.

PHCC has recently obtained the international American accreditation in family medicine, a recognition that has been periodically received since 2013. In addition, in 2024, PHCC achieved accreditation in community medicine for the first time from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGM-I), a non-profit American organization that assesses and accredits graduate medical education programs in the United States and beyond.

Dr. Mariam Abdul Malik, in her speech at the ceremony, emphasized the importance of these accreditations and the commitment of the corporation to actively carry out all assigned responsibilities as part of its continuous efforts to develop its performance and elevate the standard of work, achieving year after year numerous milestones and successes that further enriching its long list of achievements in all scientific, academic and clinical domains.

Dr. Mariam further emphasized that the action plans developed by every department within PHCC are built on the outlines identified by the National Health Strategy, the Primary Health Care Strategy as well as their respective annual and phased plans, fulfilling the objectives and aspirations of Qatar’s national vision 2030.

“Numerous Awards”

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has been awarded the Leadership in Human Capital Development Award as part of the Qatar Government Excellence Award, reflecting PHCC commitment to creating an employee-centric work culture and adopting accountable and sustainable work practices. This includes talent development, placing human capital and sustainability as top priorities, with the aim of achieving excellence, attracting the finest talents, retaining, honing, and developing them in all aspects, making committed workforce one of its most valuable assets.

The ACGME-I accreditation awarded to PHCC family medicine and community medicine programs is a continuation of this march within the framework of PHCC commitment to ensuring the quality of medical training and education, as these programs align with required standards, elevating the quality of training and ensuring effective qualification of physicians.

The support provided by the Medical Education Department, led by Dr. Abdul Latif Al Khal and his team, has had a significant impact in upgrading the academic education. This was realized through his boundless support to the directors of training programs, where exceptional, proficient and capable teams carry out clinical and non-clinical education and training operations, as well as observation and evaluation in PHCC health centers.

The teams of both programs have submitted detailed reports demonstrating how PHCC has implemented the required quality and learning standards, in alignment with the standards set by ACGME. Our main goal was to graduate competent physicians to serve in PHCC, particularly since global assessment of health competency now hinges on the ratio of physicians to families in the community, a matter that PHCC is attentive to.

“Lessons Learned”

Dr. Mohamed Iheb Bougmiza, director of the community medicine program at PHCC, underscored in his keynote address the significance of this accreditation in graduating community medicine specialists who excel in public health and preventive medicine, and in transforming lifestyle patterns.

Dr. Bougmiza shed light on the considerable challenges that have been successfully surmounted, as well as the key lessons learned from this extraordinary experience. Notably, the community medicine program in Qatar is the second program to receive accreditation outside the United States.

In his final remarks, Dr. Mohamed Iheb emphasized the program's commitment to advancing the establishment of precise training programs that align with the nature of the specialty and contribute to the development of preventive health services in Qatar.

“Advanced Training Curricula”

Dr. Mona Taher, the director of the family medicine training program, has indicated that the family medicine training program is a joint program between Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC). This strategic program was launched in 1995 and has successfully trained and graduated 179 highly competent and skilled specialist physicians to date, who deliver comprehensive family medicine services in health centers across Qatar. The program's graduates have expanded their activities globally, practicing and pursuing higher education in advanced health countries such as the UK, Canada, and the United States.

The training program incorporates advanced training curricula that have contributed to the qualification of specialist physicians, consultants, and strategic leaders at the level of the Ministry of Public Health and major health institutions in the country.

The program has been recognized for quality in education and training, fulfilling the competency requirements set by the Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners, the Arab Board of Medical Specializations, the American Council for the Recognition of Quality Programs, and the World Federation for Medical Education. This achievement brings great pride to medical corporations and medical education in Qatar.

The family medicine training program was among the first programs in the Middle East, Gulf region, and Asia to attain such regional and global recognitions. Qatar and Singapore have been leading the way in accredited programs outside the United Stated since 2013.