WONCA accreditation to Clinical Masters of the AGU

WONCA grants accreditation to the Clinical Masters in Family Medicine of the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain

The Arabian Gulf University (AGU), supported by the Bahrain Government and the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), successfully completed the two-year Clinical Masters in Family Medicine (CMFM). The programme has also been granted WONCA accreditation after meeting WONCA’s Global Standards for Postgraduate Family Medicine Education.

Despite the pandemic, the curriculum was delivered to all 40 trainees, with effective face-to-face clinical training in primary and secondary care. WONCA accreditation experts also conducted a three-day visit to evaluate the CMFM course against WONCA Global Standards for Postgraduate Family Medicine.

The Arabian Gulf University launched the clinical Master's Programme in family medicine in April 2019. With the COVID-19 outbreak, the academic programme committee found ways to adapt the implementation process without compromising the learning outcomes.

In 2021, Professor Afif Ben Salah, Chairman of Family and Community Medicine Department, at the Arabian Gulf University, reported the progress of the programme after the first year of training.

“We have just successfully finished the first year of training and assessment. A time to reflect on progress against WONCA standards. As the academic committee evaluates the first-year experience further consultation from the WONCA experts is planned in May to prepare the ground for better performance and full accreditation in March 2022”.

Now, the second final year of the programme has been successfully delivered and assessed. Its accreditation process involved a three-day visit on-site that included meetings with staff and students and feedback discussions with the team. After the assessment, accreditation experts concluded that the Clinical Masters in Family Medicine met all WONCA Postgraduate standards, granting accreditation for five years. 

In her report, Professor Val Wass, WONCA Executive Honorary Treasurer and Member at Large stated:

“We congratulate Professor Afif Bin Salih and his extraordinarily committed team: Dr Basheer Makarem, Dr Fatima Habbash, Professor Mohamed Hary Shehta, and Zadok Chlif. Given the challenges of the pandemic, the successful launch, implementation, and graduation of the first cohort of the AGU Clinical Masters in Family Medicine (FM) are most impressive.”

On behalf of the Accreditation Committee and the Accreditation Experts, we would like to congratulate the Arabian Gulf University on achieving WONCA accreditation for the Clinical Masters in Family Medicine. We encourage you to continue developing your students skills and competencies, looking forward to reviewing the improvement on the recommendations provided.