World COPD Day is celebrated on November 21 each year with the aim to raise awareness about a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and improve COPD care throughout the world. The theme for the world COPD day for this year is “NEVER TOO EARLY, NEVER TOO LATE”. COPD is a leading cause of death and impacts an estimated 251 million people worldwide with limited awareness.
The MBBS students organized an event at the Gulf Medical University campus for the immediate community which included students and staff as part of their community engagement activities on Nov. 19, 2018.
The students used various activities including poster exhibition, games, presentation and quizzes to create awareness among the community. Interestingly, the students used everyday objects such as drinking glasses, ping-pong balls and balloons to demonstrate the impact of the disease on the lung function. The students of other programs such as the dental, pharmacy and biomedical sciences also participated in making it an interprofessional activity.
Student Quotes
“Working in a team for this world COPD day mini project trained us to understand the nature of teamwork and we will move forward to achieve our goal using this experience as part of our learning process” Anthony Lee, a first year MBBS student.
“I had the opportunity to gain more information on COPD. It helped me increase my confidence in presenting before my peers. It was a great experience” Miryam Isacs, a first year MBBS student.
“The COPD assignment was fun and engaging, it was educational and it proved to us the importance of group work.” Abderrahman Belfakih a first year MBBS student.
Faculty Quotes
“I do appreciate their team-work spirit, hard work, organization skills and innovations of the students who organized this COPD day event. They used the very simple materials to spread the awareness about the signs and symptoms of COPD” said Dr. Ye Wint Oo, the supervisor of the event.
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