Ms. Zainab Ali, a Year 2 Doctor of Medicine (MD) student shared her story of living with Type I diabetes since the age of thirteen. Open to answering queries and supporting diabetes patients, she said “It was a difficult time initially for the entire family. Now with a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, medications, and adapting appropriate lifestyle, I am managing my diabetes well”.
Gulf Medical University organized an interprofessional educational event on November 14, 2023, to celebrate World Diabetes Day, attended by students, faculty, and staff. Dr. Mahir Khalil Jallo, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Senior Consultant at Thumbay University Hospital, addressed the gathering advocating ‘access to diabetes care for all’, the need to diagnose and intervene early to prevent or delay the development of complications, emphasizing the importance of prediabetes screening and follow-up.
Prof. Hossam Hamdy, Chancellor of Gulf Medical University, appreciated the event that focused on the importance of interprofessional teams ‘learning together for working together’ to raise awareness about diabetes diagnosis and management. Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Vice Chancellor Academics & Dean, College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, emphasized the importance of patient education including raising awareness of behaviors and methods that can minimize the risk of diabetes complications.
The students of medicine, biomedical science, preclinical sciences, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and physiotherapy along with clinicians and faculty organized the diabetes screening camp. Mr. Ammar Abdel Aziz and Ms. Sneha Samuel from College of Nursing along with Ms. Farhana Fathin and Ms. Abida Ali from BBMS program were stationed to perform glucose estimation using a glucometer and BMI measurement. The team confidently managed a huge crowd smoothly and professionally. Young doctors were present to interpret and explain the results to the respective attendees. Anyone with blood glucose on screening was asked to visit the hospital for further investigations.
Mr. Mohamed Anas Mohamed and Ms. Saheema Moila Kiriyath from Bachelor of Physiotherapy program set up a kiosk for screening of diabetic peripheral neuropathy using vibration testing and monofilament test. The students from the MD program presented posters to raise awareness of the types, risk factors, signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus. The students from the BBMS program presented data on the epidemiology of diabetes. Posters with reference charts for body mass index (BMI), HbA1c, and blood glucose helped to understand the current health status and motivate the attendees to achieve the target value.
Ms. Trupthi Janet and her colleagues from the HDPCS program, College of Medicine presented recent advances in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. They highlighted the ongoing research in gene therapy that gives hope for a permanent cure for diabetic patients.
Ms. Nikita Sunil Binu and her group from the College of Pharmacy discussed the 15-15 rule as first aid for hypoglycemia. They also shed light on being cautious about the hidden sugars present in food items and raised awareness regarding the pros and cons of artificial sweeteners, some of which are considered dangerous to health as per recent studies.
Ms. Areesha Liaqat and Ms. Jana Sadik from the College of Dentistry participated with a very illustrative poster discussing the dental complications of diabetes mellitus and explained the precautions that should be followed by diabetic patients to protect their teeth.
Ms Hana Mire, a Year 1 MD student said that it was a great experience and impactful event, allowing communication and interacting with students of different programs and working in a team with the same goal.
Ms. Fatima Shamim from the BBMS program was thankful for being part of this interprofessional event as she learned about the roles of different professions in managing diabetes mellitus, in addition to being clear and confident about her role.
The event was organized by Prof. Nelofar Sami Khan, Head, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Dalia Ali, Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Dr. Abid Shaheer Karanghadan, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine.