The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi Launches a Series of Training Courses as Part of its Healthcare Workforce Upskilling Programme

25 May, 2023:

In line with its continuous efforts to upskill the healthcare professionals and investing in the sector’s human capital, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, is offering a series of training courses and workshops as part of Healthcare Workforce Upskilling Programme in Abu Dhabi. The three strategic priorities outlined by the Department and being tackled through the training courses include primary care, genomic medicine, and mental health. This comes as part of DoH’s relentless efforts to ensure access to the best healthcare services for all community members, cementing Abu Dhabi’s position as a global leading destination for healthcare.

The programme will see the participation of more than 500 doctors from different healthcare facilities in the Emirate, who will be attending lectures and training courses facilitated by renowned professionals in their respective fields. The training programme covers 12 topics highlighting the three strategic priorities, and targets licensed family doctors and general practitioners in the Emirate working in public and private healthcare facilities. 

Dr. Rashed Al Suwaidi, the Executive Director of the Healthcare Workforce Planning Sector at DoH said: “The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi continues its commitment to enhancing the capabilities of healthcare professionals in the Emirate. In line with its strategic priorities, DoH has always offered training opportunities to the sector’s healthcare professionals, to guarantee the provision of efficient and high-quality healthcare services to all community members in the Emirate and those visiting from abroad, thus cementing the Emirate’s position as a global leading destination for healthcare.”

Furthermore, the primary care training programme covers four main areas including chronic disease management such as diabetes and obesity, cardiology, oncology, and respiratory diseases. While the mental health programme delves into six main topics, including mood disorders and psychosis, anxiety, dementia, substance use disorder, depressive disorder, and child and adolescent psychiatry. 

The two programmes shed light on screening and diagnosis of common internal medicine illnesses, while assessing and managing stable and simple cases, in addition to the evaluation of the need to refer the patient to the sub-speciality physicians, as well as understanding how to monitor and address complications and providing holistic care and addressing general health implications from comorbid medical conditions. Participants are required to complete the training within six months.

As for the genomic medicine programme, it includes two categories: the first is short-term spanning for five weeks and focusing on premarital screening and pharmacogenetics. The second long-term programme includes genomic medicine: Scholarship Fellowship Program - Board certification, genomic Medicine: Local Fellowship Program - Board certification, and genetic counselling: and requires two years to obtain a Master’s Degree. 

Physicians wishing to register in the training programme need to apply through their licensed facilities. For more information, you can visit DoH website