By James Irwin
George Washington University alumni will gather for an annual reception Saturday in Riyadh to celebrate the longstanding academic relationship between the university and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
More than 110 people have registered to attend the event at Alfaisal University, according to the GW alumni office, making it one of the largest alumni gatherings in the region.
“We are looking forward to meeting and reconnecting with our alumni,” said Huda Ayas, associate dean for international medicine at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and one of several GW faculty members who will attend the event.
SMHS is at the center of GW’s 22-plus year partnership in international medicine in Saudi Arabia. In 1993, Dr. Ayas launched a two-year project in the kingdom consisting of medical and research education and training programs. That project, a partnership between GW and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, formed the building blocks for GW’s International Medicine Programs (IMP).
“We were involved in medical education, research, clinical care and developing a program to bring talented Saudi Arabian students and medical graduates to GW to do special training they did not previously have access to,” said Stanley Knoll, IMP’s medical director. “We also used our experience to help them upgrade their own training in the kingdom.”
Two decades later, IMP “has grown tremendously,” Dr. Ayas said, leading to exchanges in training and research through nine programs in international medical education. More than 1,200 Saudi physicians have participated in high-level instruction delivered either in Saudi Arabia or via videoconferencing through the Continuing Medical Education program. As of 2015, 179 Saudi physicians have graduated from—or are enrolled in—GW residencies and medical and research fellowships.
Drs. Ayas and Knoll also have created personal connections—with medical schools, ministers of health and education, among others—in the kingdom. They and Juliet Lee, an assistant professor of surgery in SMHS, will participate in the 2016 Saudi International Medical Education Conference April 8-12. (SIMEC, through Alfaisal University, is hosting the GW alumni event.)
“It’s a perfect development out of that original project in the early 1990s,” Dr. Knoll said. “The process goes on. The work goes on. We’re proud to see the impact of our work on the quality of medical education and health care in Saudi Arabia.”
IMP has sparked further GW growth in the kingdom. Dr. Ayas said she has facilitated many introductions between GW colleagues and partners in Saudi Arabia.
“Every time we travel, we always talk about not only the School of Medicine, but the Milken Institute School of Public Health and the School of Nursing,” she said. “The same people also are interested in international affairs and business and education.”
Dr. Knoll calls this “medical diplomacy.” GW has created relationships and friendships in the kingdom that today stretch into many academic and professional disciplines. Much of it began with IMP.
Walid Fitaihi, B.S. ’87, M.D. ’91, one of the first Saudi students to graduate from an American medical school, will be at the event Saturday. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Al Saud, who completed her internal medicine residency at GW in 1993 and is part of the leadership team at Alfaisal University, also is expected to attend. In late 2015, HRH Princess Maha formally accepted the position of president of the GW Medical Alumni group for the Gulf region, which includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“We are excited to be back and see the people we know, work with, admire and respect and share their accomplishments,” Dr. Knoll said. “It’s exciting to see George Washington University creating the next generation of medical leaders in Saudi Arabia.”