The Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) organized a ‘Clinical Placements Forum’ on 25 September 2025 at Fatima College of Health Sciences (FCHS), Abu Dhabi Campus. The forum was attended by faculty members from various Universities and representatives from SSMC hospitals.
The workshop commenced with opening remarks and a welcome address by Prof. Ajmad Qandil, Acting Director of the Commission for Academic Accreditation, followed by a welcome by Prof. Lisa Pratt, Director of the College of Health Sciences, FCHS.
The subsequent sessions featured a presentation on the Pure Health Emirati Development Center, followed by an overview of the Pure Health Group Model of Education. These were succeeded by a panel discussion on effective clinical placements for students across healthcare professions. The discussion highlighted key challenges, including clinical placement availability, hands-on training opportunities, and budgetary constraints.
This was followed by round table discussions among 10 groups, each allotted 30 minutes to deliberate on specific topics such as:
- Criteria for teaching hospitals
- Training capacity-building needs
- Clinical training costing
- Enforcement of outcome-based medical education
- Training capacity calculation
- Workforce planning models
Each group then presented a summary of their discussions in a 3–4 minute presentation. The forum concluded with a working lunch, fostering continued networking and collaboration among participants. Dr. Sija Binoy, represented College of Nursing, GMU at the workshop.
