IFMSA IRAQ MAGAZINE 1ST EDITION by IFMSA-Iraq

www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

IFMSA-Iraq Staff Editor-in-Chief Noran Omar Talal

Designer & Editor Banan Abdullah Mohammed

Language Corrector Abdullah Mahmod

General Supervisor Ismail Fadhil Omar Altaie

The international federation of medical student association is an nongovernmental, non profitable organization officially registered within the Iraqi parliament. IFMSA Iraq has the full membership within the international federation of medical student association and it commits to develop the health care sector and make sure that everyone enjoys a sufficient degree of public health in addition IFMSA Iraq aims to enhance the Iraqi medical student part with in the medical education system. The international federation of medical student association was established in 1951 in Denmark and it's considered to be one of the oldest and largest organisation officially ruled and fully controlled by students themselves as it represent and connect 1.4 million students from 127 different country around the world. In Iraq the association was established in 2012 and gained the full membership in 2015 and in 2018-2019 the association as more than 2000 Iraqi students from 15 different Iraqi cities.

IFMSA Iraq Vision

It aims for a small Iraq of medical students where students can connect under one umbrella in order to share their ideas and could be able to reach a better understanding of the worldwide medical issues.

IFMSA Iraq Mission

Ifmsa-iraq@ifmsa.org

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It aims to unit medical students to lead positively effective projects on our community that we serve. IFMSA Iraq represent the ideas and ambition of health Iraqi leaders, in addition the association provide their members with trainings, Exchange programmes, to gain the important skills to reach a better health care system in the near future that will reflect positively on our country future and development.

Iraq/Baghdad/ Iraq Medical Association General Headquarters

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This is an IFMSA Publication

ÂŠ 2019 - Only portions of this publication may be reproduced for non political and non profit purposes, provided mentioning the source.

Disclaimer

This publication contains the collective views of different contributors, the opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of IFMSA. The mention of specific companies

or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the IFMSA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

C O N T E N T S 4

IFMSA Iraq structure

Our meeting

12 Editorail 14 SCOMEdy 26 The SCORPion 38 The SCOPHian 48 SCORAlicious 62 periSCOPE 78 SCOREview 88 CBD section 100 Free space

2018 2019

Our Meetings IFMSA-Iraq has 2 national assemblies ( NGA & Break or MiniNGA) and in these assemblies more than 2000 medical student in over 15 provinces (17 committees) gather around to make decisions, participate in sessions, improve knowledge and skills and to have fun. Last 3 NGAs hosted in Baghdad (2016,2017,2018) and the upcoming NGA will be hosted in Kirkuk (2019). While last 2 breaks hosted in Babil (2018) and Mosul (2019).

NGA

A photo taken from the first National General Assembly (NGA) that was held in Baghdad, the photo shows all of the participant of the meeting.

A photo taken from the second National General Assembly (NGA) that was held in Baghdad, the photo shows all of the participant of the meeting.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

A photo taken from the third National General Assembly (NGA) that was held in Baghdad, the photo shows all of the participant of the meeting.

Side of the conference that took place in the Part of the session that took place in the third third NGA NGA (SCORP session)

Part of the session that took place in the third NGA (CBD session)

Photo of the National Officers in the third NGA

Part of the session that took place in the third Photo of the TO (Team of official) in the third NGA (SCOME, SCOPH session) NGA www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

BREAK

A photo taken from the Babil break that was held in Babil LC, the photo shows all of the participant of the meeting.

Side of the conference that took place in the Photo of the Post break trip that held in the Babil Babil break break

Part of the session that took place in the Babil break (SCORA session)

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Photo of the OC team in the Babil break

A photo taken from the Mousl break that was held in Mousl LC, the photo shows all of the participant of the meeting.

Side of the conference that took place in the Part of the session that took place in the Mousl Mousl break break (SCORE, SCOPE session)

Part of the session that took place in the Mousl break (SCOME session)

Photo of the OC team in the Mousl break

Part of the session that took place in the Mousl Photo of the closing ceremony of the Mousl break (CBD session) break www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Noran Omar Talal Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Dear readers, It's with my pleasure that I present to you the 1st issue of IFMSA-Iraq magazine as an editor-in-chief of this issue, after a continuous work for more than two months we went out with this amazing materials that I am proud of, with a great help from many members in our beloved IFMSA-Iraq. The idea from creating this magazine came from the need to put an annual archive for the most important events and achievements of the organization during one term, also to document the effort of people that helped us to reach a successful term , to be a space for members that are interested in writing the articles and finally to define our events and achievements to other NMOs by showing it as a complete folder. We are as an IFMSA-Iraq have a goal that is to unite the power of medical students in Iraq and show it to the world by medical exchange programs and other ways, today by adding this magazine to our association it will represent another way to show the world what we have. I want to thank each of Ismail Fadhil (VPI) For his great efforts in following up and facilitating the work during the months of the birth of this magazine, Omar Altaie (MMSD) for facilitated to me a lot of works, Abdulla Mahmod (NOME assistant) for review all the materials and correct their mistakes and Banan Abdullah the greatest designer to take over the mission of designing this magazine entirely alone. Finally I wish you full enjoyment while reading this magazine . 12

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

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S C O M E Medical Education

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Mohammed salah NOME (2016-2017)

What is SCOME ?

edical education is the most important factor in a health professional’s career, it’s the foundation for the next generations of health leaders and the solid backbone of the healthcare system. As such, it’s the essential area to focus on in these challenging times. Solving any issues or needs that plague our educational system should be the priority. And it is from those needs that SCOME (the standing Committee on Medical Education) sprung forth, born from the rising necessity for the students to be more involved in their educational system. It’s no surprise that SCOME was one of the first committees to take shape after the establishment of the IFMSA, more than 60 years ago. And to this day, SCOME remains proudly one of the cornerstones of the federation, bringing together students from all over the world, and shaping them to be the next education leaders.

he true value of SCOME is in exposing students to new possibilities in the academic field, and letting them have the autonomy and power, it’s about challenging the current educational system, and always innovating. SCOME is about academic decision making and leadership. It deals with everything from promoting meaningful student involvement in medical education, decision making and development in local faculties nationally. Curriculum development, social accountability, and leadership in medical education are among their key topics.

COME in IFMSA-Iraq is no different. Since 2013 it continues to push the boundaries of what Iraqi Medical students thought possible. And to this day, it’s among the leading entities in student involvement nationwide. To be a SCOMEdian is to be on another level, and to always aim for the top. for SCOME, the Sky is the limit. For more information, visit the IFMSA website: www.ifmsa.org www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Mohammed salah NOME (2016-2017)

SCOME - A journey!

etâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a trip back in time to the year 2012, when IFMSA-Iraq was only a budding idea of a small project !

The concept of students being involved in their education at our community was foreign and practically unheard of. It was almost laughable to suggest that students would impact their own medical education system and engage in educational events outside of what was spoon-fed by the college and curriculum. Then things started changing and a small spark occurred, the first ever student educational based event took place a humble workshop to support a small public campaign for breast cancer ... it was small, wary but ambitious ! That small spark would be the seed that would lead to the springing of SCOME in Iraq, students started realizing that they can be active in their own education, that if they found a hole in their curriculum or education.. they can fill it themselves ! And a new horizon of possibility was apparent.

COME grew .. and members started joining from all around the country. Multiple workshops occurred, with multiple innovative local events like cafe lectures, educational contests, educational challenges and all sorts of new and exciting ventures into the limitless world of education.

New eduction style Gone were the days of stagnant education, and the students were ecstatic and thirsty for involvement. By that time SCOME and its projects were an established part of IFMSA-Iraq !

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Then the winds of change caught up, as we grew further into the depth of our educational activities we desired and longed for a stronger presence in our educational system, and our thirst for learning grew ... members started expanding their knowledge spectrum by attending international SCOME sessions, and all that waterfall of knowledge culminated in our first National SCOME sessions in the NGA 2016 where we discussed some new and advanced topics like advocacy and policy statements and curriculum, all of that educated our members and opened their eyes to a new face of SCOME !

tudents began taking matters into their own hands. And thus began the next step, SCOME started the engine of innovation and some next level projects such as Advocacy campaigns, student support groups, academic stress workshops, daily challenges, educational channels, SCOME peer education events and student lectures started happening .... and now SCOME is supporting all the standing committees and divisions across the nation with materials, workshops and everything in between and is the essential and most important committee at IFMSA-Iraq. And students nationwide finally have a voice that they can use to take their future into their own hands. We started with Tiny steps but now we have begun to run with the winds of change, and while we still have a long way to go.... the future looks bright and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re aiming for the stars !

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Mohammed salah NOME (2016-2017)

Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Medical Education

hen you read the title of this article, you may think : “What do students have to do with Quality Assurance? Isn’t that the administration and professors job?”, and to answer that we need to dive into the world of the daunting academic system. As medical students are directly exposed to medical curricula, they are the first quality check of medical education and they should rightfully have an influence on the creation of new curricula and curriculum development. It is often the medical students who are the strongest proponents for adapting their education to the needs of their community. The students are the most concerned with facing the needs of healthcare in a modern society and are willing to commit to make sure our education prepares us for them. Here SCOME enters the game. The purpose of the SCOME is to gather students from all over the world who would be interested in playing an active role in their medical education; how to analyze it and then advocate adapting it to the present and future needs as future doctors. SCOME offers an international platform for medical students to come together, to be empowered and receive capacity building trainings to enhance their impact on the local level through projects and advocacy, and on the other hand forms a tool that represents the voices of medical students worldwide through international organizations such as the World Health Organization, World Medical Association, World Health Organization, World Federation for Medical Education and many others.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Therefore, we established that students (and by extension, SCOME) are vital to the quality assurance process. And among the many metrics for quality assurance, none is as important as “Accreditation and Recognition”. So let’s find out what that’s all about.

he accreditation of medical education can be defined as the certification of the suitability of medical education programs , and of the competence of medical schools in the delivery of medical education that ensures patient safety and competent practicing doctors. Accreditation of medical education is normally carried out by national governments, or by agencies receiving their authority from national governments. Accreditation is frequently viewed as a powerful tool for quality control and improvement of medical education programs, yet accreditation practices vary considerably worldwide. It’s basically a stamp of approval that means your educational facility is adequate. While Recognition Status is awarded by WFME to an accrediting agency working to an internationally accepted high standard, and confers the understanding that the quality of accreditation of undergraduate medical schools is to an appropriate and rigorous standard.

Together these things make your Medical school appear “on the map” The ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) has announced that, effective in 2023, physicians applying for ECFMG Certification will be required to graduate from a medical school that has been appropriately accredited. To satisfy this requirement, the physician’s medical school must be accredited through a formal process that uses criteria comparable to those established for U.S. medical schools by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or other globally accepted standards. Now, you may ask; “why does this concern us in Iraq ??”. And before answering this question we need to provide one very somber fact : as of writing this article, no medical school in Iraq has been officially accredited. And while most have started their Accreditation process, the recognition is still far on the horizon.

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o time is running out, and that means that medical students in Iraq are facing a very perilous issue. If their schools are not accredited soon, they will be unable to seek any professional or academic opportunity in places that require ECFMG certification, of which there are many. This fact makes our Accreditation process the top priority of our concern. Unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to some administrations nationwide. But that doesn’t mean we should give up!! SCOME in IFMSA-Iraq has and continued to rally students towards that cause. Through educational activities, awareness sessions, collaborations with the Ministry of Higher Education and the collective of college administrations… we are making slow but steady success. The main challenge facing us is the lack of awareness. There is no light out in the subject. But now things are changing.And that change comes through the process of engaging students in every facet of the educational process for the purpose of strengthening their commitment to education and academic community. Students themselves should put the pressure on their administrations to kickstart and speed-up their Accreditation process. And we are already seeing the effects of that. All over the country, Iraqi students are having meetings with their medical education boards, providing input, being involved, and taking initiative. And for the first time, Iraq was represented by medical students in the WFME conference focusing on Accreditation and Quality Assurance In 2019. SCOME recognizes the unique knowledge, experience and perspective of each individual student. And we are certain that it’s through them that we will change the landscape of the academic system in Iraq.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

E VENTS Surgery Day Was one of the most newly added events to SCOME this year. The idea behind it was that the students would be able to enter the operation room and experience the feeling of a surgeon and how they work as team with anesthesiologists and other assistants to reach their goal of treating the patient in addition to some clinical information that students gained from this experience.

The first event took place at Mosul LC and after a huge success for the idea we hope that next term the event will be held in other LCs as well.

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First Aid This was one of the most successful events in Kirkuk LC , with 45 attendance , we explained and talked for them about the most important life threatening injuries and their first life saving aids.

We divide them into small groups , to allow them to apply what they learned practically.

We can say that now we have 45 members can deal with daily interfacing emergency conditions and provide first aids for them.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Dreams Conference This event was one of the most amazing events in Baghdad that was joint event between karkh and Rusafa LCs. and the most organized as well. we can say that everything was on point. We talked about the “DREAMS” in a clinical way and how they are formed by the human body.

There

were

many

doctors and students who received very useful information by ‘Dr.Talib’.

The members were very satisfied with the session and the atmosphere and hopefully we will have similar experiences in the future.

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Medicine is fun One of the biggest events of SCOME, that takes place every year with beginning of study year in universities. Many medical students experience difficulties at many levels, from the new college environment to the new system and mainly how to study in a medical college, here is when a project like (Medicine is fun) shows its importance.

It is a project which aims mainly to break these barriers for freshman students, a project which help the students to overcome difficulties that they are facing in their first days of study through sharing a series of interactive presentations that deal with multiple topics that are important to the new students.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Medical Examination Martin H. Fischer once said “Diagnosis is not the end, but the beginning of practice”. So starting from this quote, Wasit's SCOME made an examination month and taking in consideration members needs and how to make them have a good time as well as gain knowledge and prepare them to OSCE exams. In April, there was an agreement with few doctors which are Dr.Ali Raheem, Dr.Doaa, Dr.Durgham, Dr.Arif, to train the students about the most important systems and their examination process and what are the common questions asked by the doctor and also the grading system they use,there were 4 important systems that held at Wasit University on OSCE room and they were ( Cardio Vascular System, Respiratory System, Renal System, Thyroid Gland and Lymphatic system).

The attendance number was about 20 at each workshop and they gained knowledge about the steps of examination and the differential diagnosis of the outcome and finally, they had a chance to ask their questions about things they want and then letting them repeat the examination process by them selves under the supervision of the doctors. The time to each one was about 1 hour and a half and the workshop included the coffee break and some ice-breaking games. It really was a great experience especially that it was the first time that SCOME did something like these workshops in a month whether in Wasit or other LCs. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who worked in these workshops starting from doctors mentioned above, the OCs and finally the great and marvellous members for their presence and their involvement in these training workshops.

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S C O R P

Human Rights and Peace

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Raid abdullah North assistant of SCORP

We l c o m e t o S C O R P !

CORP is an abbreviating of Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace that unite students who strive to create an equal and peaceful world. We believe in everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility as well as the ability to contribute to creating this world, as human rights can only exist when it applies to all humans.

he mission of SCORP is to empower and motivate medical students to actively promote and protect human rights and peace through advocacy, capacity building, and awareness raising, and by supporting the students in carrying out activities and projects that contribute to creating a fair and peaceful world. Our Objectives as SCORP is to :1. Enhance students knowledge on human rights, peace building, humanitarian response, international humanitarian law and violations of human rights. 2. Provide medical students with tools and skills to act according to Human Rights and ethics both in clinical settings and in everyday life. 3. Support and create activities, such as campaigns, capacity building, and advocacy, aiming to fulfil the vision of the standing committee. 4. Facilitate the Federations policy development on areas related to human rights and peace. 5. Provide members with the opportunity to advocate for implementation of policies through inclusion in national and international laws and frameworks. 6. Collaborate with relevant partners in the implementation of objectives related to human rights and peace.

For more information, visit the IFMSA website: www.ifmsa.org www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Raid abdullah North assistant of SCORP

Iraqi homeless

hen you go to your college or if you have any work that makes you get out of your home in any time of the day if the weather is very cold or even the opposite if the temperature is more than 50CO; near to the traffic lights, police officers, streets, markets and other public places in different areas of Baghdad or any other city in Iraq; you must see a number of women, children and men, begging for money from motorists and pedestrians, or selling some light goods. Some of these women carry a small baby in her hands, others sit in a wheelchair while most children carry hand-held sprayers for washing car glass, and some of them stay overnight beside these traffic lights because they do not have houses of their own, or because they come from other cities and do not have the price of staying even in old cheap hotel.

ne of the worse things can occur for all these children is to join terrorist gangs. some of them sell cigarettes so it is so easy to exploit them in the selling process of drugs. When you hear about robberies in a market most of them because of these children so they can do everything even killing in future just for the cause of gaining some money ...

wrote all of these things above and I am sure all of you know about them, but anyone of you think about any solution ? I worked a lot to help them but actually it is so difficult to work alone because some of these people belong to brokers (trading these children or women), so you need someone to protect you. If you want to work on this issue ! If you have any idea please call us and help us to save them !

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

E VENTS Hospital mapping It was the most amazing event of SCORP ever. Many people lose their way in hospital, so we maped the floor of the two largest hospitals in Maysan (AlSadr Hospital , Children's and maternal Hospital).

This event helped patients infer their way and go to various medical halls easily. We all participated in that event and provided equipment from student donations.

We received help from many people and we also thanked by hospital staff. It was a special day and we help alot of people in this work. www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Magena event It was the most amazing SCORP event. The Maysan team and another teams in 10 cities in iraq set it up during the holy month of Ramadan to help poor families who have lost their chances of fortune.

We raised large amount of money through donations from people, teachers and doctors, and then we bought a lot of things like food, household items and juices. We collected all of this in an integrated fund and gave it to those families.

It was a hard day but the joy of the families mde us proud. The Magina event was accompanied by Dr. human event. We examined the members of poor families and gave them free cards for treatment.

Majina event is one of the biggest events in Iraq in 2019 the fundraising was 23,452,000 IQD and helped 1363 families

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Dr.Human

Is a service project that aims to provide free high-end healthcare to impoverished patients who otherwise would not afford or have access to these services.

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Blood Donation This event was one of the most amazing & beautiful events in Tikrit LC with SCORP. and most organized as well.

We gave information about blood donation and there important to patient`s and blood donar .They were many people and students who received very useful information from our team.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Orphans event It was a wonderful event that happened in al-Qadisia LC in SCORP where it included bringing many orphans between the ages of 9-11 years and making them get to know each other and play football among them.

At the end of the game they took a break to eat cake and juice and we gave them medals so that was amazing time when we saw the smile on their faces.

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Christmas with cancer patients This event was the first of its kind in our Najaf LC and also was the first event of SCORP in that term.

We had one of the amazing and joyful moments with the the kids They share their hopes and dreams and showed us how powerful they are.

We also hold fundraise for cancer treatment and we donated about 3000$ for cancer medication. 34

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Ifmsa in iraqi peace day We put our unique touch in the IQ peace carnival with SCORP booth. Our booth focused mainly on raising awareness about how dangerous the plastic bags are either on environment, our health or on animalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; existing.

Our very first goal is to replace the use of plastic bags with paper bags which can be recycled so we can reduce

environmental

pollution.

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Army day this event was one of the most fabulous events in the IFMSA. And the best organized as well. Everything was well planned and we did our best to make it happen.

We wandered in the streets to offer chocolate bars and flowers as gifts and talked to them kindly to thank them for making the country safe for us.

They felt very rewarded and appreciated. Hopefully we can make another great events like this in the future.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

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S C O P H Pu b l i c Health

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Amjed Mohammed North assistant of SCOPH

What is SCOPH?

he Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH) brings together medical students from all over the world to learn, build skills, cooperate, explore and share ideas to address all issues related to Public Health, including Global Health issues, health policies, health promotion, and education activities.

edical students of the IFMSA formed the Standing Committee on Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Health (SCOSH) in 1952, to take an active part in preventing and making policies concerning health problems. During the following years, the wide variety of activities led to the change of SCOSH to Standing Committee on Health (SCOH) in 1963. In 1983 the name of the Committee changed once more to Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH).

uring these six decades, SCOPHeroes have implemented, maintained and improved a wide variety of community-based projects on a local, national and international level. Through these activities, we are pursuing our vision of a healthy society and we are developing our own potential of being complete and skilful health professionals. SCOPH in IFMSA IRAQ we have 6 national projects AMR , Mental health, School health, NCDs, perfect body and SCOPH exchange. For more information, visit the IFMSA website: www.ifmsa.org

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Ali aL-Hilali Al-rusafa LC

Antimicrobial Resistance

ecoming a new imminent threat to the human population. IFMSA-Iraq decided not to only fight AMR with campaigning and spreading awareness, but also with Policy making. The term "policy document" can be understood simply by saying that it is a written paper that contains a collection of statements which represent the stance of an individual, an organization, a company and even a country (or any entity that adopts this paper) towards a certain issue. The Policy making process on AMR in IFMSA-Iraq went through four phases until the policy document reached its final shape.

he first phase was to gather a task force on policy making to set the first draft which will undergo modifications later on in the process. The process of making the first draft started with a number of online meetings followed by a number of physical meetings to finalize it. By finishing the first draft, phase one was over.

phase two and three

On phase two and three our team got larger and our range of work reached a national level with IFMSA-Iraq LPOs (local officers on public health) and members from all over Iraq working with us as one entity. To me, phase two was the most interesting one because it is the step that set the base of our policy document to suite Iraq's status on AMR.

Phase two was concerned with a surveillance study with every LC (local Committee) in our NMO (national member organization) which targeted doctors and pharmacists that work in health departments, who frequently counter numerous cases of AMR in their health care canters, to have an insight on the reality of the AMR issue in Iraq and answer the questions on how big the problem is ?, how frequent and 40

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

prevalent it is ?, and are there any plans to tackle the AMR issue in Iraq?. Phase three was on the national level as well. Since it is a policy document that represents IFMSA-Iraq’s stance on AMR, it only made sense to gather input from its members from each LC. Accordingly a series of workshops were conducted in all of the LCs to gather the input from the members who participated in those workshops. Phase two and three were over by the end of the last workshop and they set the data base we needed to modify and amend our policy document furthermore.

hase four was the last phase before finalization, in which we started to look for further contributors to our policy document. One of the biggest contributors was Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders, they provided us with three articles that are concerned with AMR in the region. After the completion of the final phase and making the final touches to our policy document, it was ready to be adopted in the next NGA which will be held in the city of Kirkuk.

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E VENTS World cancer day Cancer is a deadly disease that kills thousands of people every year, so anyone with the least preventive information should provide it to the community.

Therefore, the SCOPH team in Diyala province conducted an awareness campaign in the streets of the city about this disease in cancer awareness day in 4 of February.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Mental health consequences One of the best SCOPH events held in karbala LC in contribution to the Mental health project.

The seesion was about the clear relationship between Mental heath and physical health and the related impact between them.

The session was presented by the LPO and the members got knowledge about the importance of mental health and stigma and how can we as a volunteer members change the idea about mental illness and how the community see the patients as a psycho.

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School health SCOPHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project that is occurring since the beginning of 2018.

Targets from 3-20 yrs students in all of Iraq to make them more hygienic with a healthy lifestyle and raising awareness about different CDs and NCDs also psychological encouragement in positive energy and life management.

We visited about 97 schools

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Noncommunicable diseases Mainly —cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes— these are the world’s biggest killers.

More than 36 million people die annually from NCDs (63% of global deaths), including more than 14 million people who die too young between the ages of 30 and 70.

So in scoph we do workshops about this diseases, its disadvantages, pathogens and the risk factor after that we do awareness to people in the community.

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Antibiotics resistance It was one of the coolest events in the IFMSA so we organized it in Fallujah LC. It was also very educational and humane. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal is to spread awareness between kids.

We went to elementary school and spoke with the kids about the antibiotics and how you have to be regulated in taking drugs or else youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be more damaged and have more pain.

We also told the adults in the streets to spread the awareness in the older ages. We hope we can do more well organized events like this in the future.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

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S C O R A

sexual and reproductive health and rights

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Adyan Zahu NORA 2017-2018

What is SCORA?

CORA, the angelic committee, stands for the Standing Committee on sexual and reproductive health and rights (including HIV and AIDs), and while It is the most recent committee to be established in the IFMSA-Iraq, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the most important and relevant. SCORA in Iraq was established in September 2014. And since then became the pioneer in Gender and reproductive rights on a National level. SCORA isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just about reproductive medicine, as it often misunderstood, it also focuses on specific subjects such as :1-Comprehensive Sexuality education 2-Maternal Health and Access to Safe Abortion 3-Sexuality and Gender Identity & LGBTQ+ health & rights 4-Gender-based violence 5-HIV and other STIs SCORAngels all work as a group of angels believing in our goals, with a demanding need to change the hidden part of our social life and medical situation, we insist on correcting common misconceptions In society. Acting as a voice for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

e are doing our events continuously through each term, spreading awareness and holding campaigns on different subjects, preceded with lectures and workshops to make sure that we are hitting the top notch, and delivering the best experience. Our strength is in our compassion our dedicated fight to reach our goals in such a competitive community. With love to all the angels worldwide, For more information, visit the IFMSA website: www.ifmsa.org www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Adyan Zahu NORA 2017-2018

Because Breast Cancer...

ne day my friend came to the office with blue face, and I remember everyone started asking her what’s going on, And she refused to replay back then. At the end of the day we found her in the toilets crying, we asked her what’s going with you. Are you hurt ? The only answer that she gave that she shake her head reclaiming that she is ok and there is no hurt, after 30 min of crying she was able to take a breath and started talking. And then we knew the whole story..

he sad story started 5 years ago, when her mom start feeling a lump in her right breast, she didn’t care just like most of mothers now a day. After a 3 years everything started to be serious, her chest pain, inability to take a breath and her feeling of fullness. She felt that she had to go to a doctor, and the bad news has been told that day. “ you have breast cancer” with sad expression on the doctor face. Only then her mom noticed that she was sick all these years and she was able to do better by checking herself monthly, before everything reached its end. The issues were serious and the cancer reach to the metastasis, they can’t do anything, And they were late. They will be waiting for her actual death, nothing they can do for their mom, nothing could help even the advanced medical services outside of the country. Even though they paid so much money for a little percentage of hope about 15% that she could be better, because they all knew it’s late to do anything. After one year they discovered different areas that got cancer. They didn’t stop any medication or radiotherapy that could heal her, even the herbal treatment. Eventually the mom lost her ability to walk, eat and even taking full breaths.

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That day my friend told us everything while her mom was in the airport heading to a foreign country to receive a new type of treatment but my friend knew exactly what is going around. She believed now she can’t do anything nor her father or even the most famous doctor on earth. After 3 days we were planning to celebrate Eid and a phone call changed everything, the phone call that all of us received was about my friend’s mother death in the early morning. They got back to our country, they had the condolences that day for their lost but they are no more the funnier, cozy and beautiful family, you feel like they are lost.

ere in IFMSA – SCORA committee, We believe that there must be a worldwide awareness about breast cancer, because we don’t need to lose another person in our life. We believe if you checked yourself monthly or even yearly you will be able to heal yourself and stay with your family and friend forever. Lost is a big word, we must overcome it. By awareness by teaching sexual behaviour and by doing school visit, and posting fighting stories on facebook.

This what SCORA believes in

what about you ?

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Rahma Aqrawy Mosul LC

Gender equality and women empowerment So what do we mean by gender equality ?

UNICEF says gender equality means that women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that each of them, be the same, or that they be treated exactly a like. Women’s rights are the fundamental human rights that were enshrined by the United Nations for every human being on the planet nearly 70 years ago. These rights include the right to live free from violence, slavery, and discrimination; to be educated; to own property; to vote; and to earn a fair and equal wage. As the now-famous saying goes, “women’s rights are human rights.” That is to say, women are entitled to all of these rights. Yet almost everywhere around the world, women and girls are still denied them, often simply because of their gender. Winning rights for women is about more than giving opportunities to any individual woman or girl; it is also about changing how countries and communities work. It involves changing laws and policies, winning hearts and minds, and investing in strong women’s organizations and movements.

Why gender equality matters?

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. But, today gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress. Women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership. Across the globe, women and girls perform a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic work. Inequalities faced by girls can begin right at birth and follow them all their lives. In some countries, girls are deprived of access to health care or proper nutrition, leading to a higher mortality rate. 52

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Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decisionmaking processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. Implementing new legal frameworks regarding female equality in the workplace and the eradication of harmful practices targeted at women is crucial to ending the gender-based discrimination prevalent in many countries around the world.

One of SCORA's goals

is to make this dream come true, the problem in my opinion which came from my experience that a lot of people still refusing to accept gender equality, some become angry when hearing about women's rights, some feel threaten if women become empowered and I thought it is just because people having unclear picture about gender equality.

So why such a thing is happening ?

Here is the idea: the community is a group of people who lived years believing strongly in specific ideas and thoughts, logically you cannot as a person or group of people come with your new idea (which you believe strongly) to this community (to these people) and expect that they will accept it easily, in this direct way your actions is just like an attack to their beliefs and all what you will get is defence and rejection ...If you want to change a community you need to do it indirectly.

But how ?

By Making the environment ready, giving equal opportunities for both females and males, putting both males and females who believe in gender equality and women's rights everywhere in school, in workplaces, on TV.. That's it and in this indirect way people will accept it gradually.

What we do as SCORA to achieve that?

We gather students who share with us the same goals and beliefs, empowering each other through workshops and meeting and through campaigns so we spread our beliefs to the people. Here we are in our IFMSA family having the brighter vision of future where women are empowered and here we need to make this point clear; when women become empowered some men should not feel threatened, it is all about human rights, we are all humans whatever the gender is and rights should not be defined by gender, if we just understand deeply that we are all the same, we all have the right to be free, have the right www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

to have all our rights So It's about creating a balance in a community where all its members are protected, living their own life the way they want. .. We can be the change by transmitting our pure beliefs to people by encouraging women not being afraid of their rights and by the support of men, side by side we can achieve it !

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E VENTS Breast feeding event was one of the most important event in SCORA of Karbala LC this year which took place at Al-Nawaris city in ninth of February. This event involved about 25 members who talked with people about the importance of breast feeding on the mother and her baby.

The purpose of this event is not only to benefit people but to strengthen the cooperation among members and work as a team.

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AIDS awareness At 3rd of January 2019 IFMSA Thi-Qar LC SCORA Team did an event under the title â&#x20AC;&#x153;AIDS awarenessâ&#x20AC;&#x153; at a public place megamole the event aimed to targeting young age groups both males and females. By supervision of team leader Zainab Ali.

The awareness involved handing posters about the disease and make sure that people will get some information about the definition of the disease, the symptoms, the duration, the causes , the way it transmit between the hosts and how to prevent it. The event was very good we enjoyed helping people in such topic were numbers of diseased people increase annually.

Be Aware Be Healthy

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Pregnancy health

Was one of the most successful events in Muthana LC. We talked about the side effects of some drugs on pregnant women. and also the healthy habits that should be practiced by the pregnant women.

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SCORA Week As SCORA team in our NMO was going through this term with many events and activities. We started thinking to level up the work, give a new perspective and higher standards to what SCORA does in IFMSA-Iraq. To implement SCORA vision and mission on a wider range we thought that we need to recruit more members to be qualified SCORAngles who get to understand the basics and spread SCORA concepts throughout our different LCs. And that’s how SCORA Week “and it’s camp” came to our minds in the first place.

It was the need to create a new generation of SCORA leaders “who can set the base to make this Standing Committee stronger and more impactful” that urged and motivated us to double the efforts and make this dream a successful reality! The plan was to make SCORA Week a National event to allow as much motivated and passionate members as possible to participate and take part in discovering the secrets that make them believe that “they are the CHANGE” in our community. After gathering our OC team for the first time we all started working relentlessly to make SCORA Week an unforgettable experience and so it was .. This event was one of the largest SCORA events in the history of IFMSA-Iraq.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

It involved five days of social media promotion where our beloved media team used the multiple social platforms to spread basic knowledge and awareness about SCORA concepts. The remaining two days “the actual SCORA camp” were a very memorable and exciting experience to our fantastic 50 participants who came from different LCs to share the same passion and go through it together. Through 16 hours of sessions during the two days of SCORA camp, the participants where involved in SCORA sessions and Capacity building training sessions. Our goal was to make the participants aware of SCORA focus areas in IFMSA-Iraq and the EMR and to improve their skills in project management and team building. By the end of the sessions we can proudly say that we got 50 new SCORA leaders who could understand SCORA from A to Z by the efforts of our amazing session team and international trainers.

SCORA Week was held in Rusafa LC in the last week of July, 2019 and we tried through this event to maintain quality throughout all of its details including following up our new SCORAngles through a persistent contact group which gathers everyone who has been part of it. Through this event we discovered a lot of hidden treasures, true leaders , thoughtful minds and we knew people who are ready to take the challenge and are meant to be the future of SCORA in our NMO. That’s why we consider SCORA Week as the wide base which will raise SCORA to glory in the upcoming terms and we are extremely proud to bring this extraordinary experience to lights in a very short time.

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SCORA board

This event took place in several LCs. It is included the definition of SCORA, its objectives and the rights and projects it seeks and the importance of its presence in the IFMSA.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

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S C O P E Professional E xcha ng e

Noor Emad NEO assistant

What is SCOPE?

Collected

he first standing committee with in IFMSA was the Standing Committee on Professional Exchange (SCOPE) it was established as early as 1951. The start was with only 8 European countries, but since then the development of SCOPE was rapid until it become one of the largest student-run exchange program in the world, with more than 1.2 million medical students from 98 National Member Organizations participating today.

COPE exchange program provides quality educational and cultural experiences organized entirely by medical students with the help of their medical faculties.

The main purpose of the program is â&#x20AC;&#x153;to promote cultural understanding and cooperation amongst medical students and all health professionals, through the facilitation of international student exchanges; SCOPE aims to give all students the opportunity to learn about global health, and attains this partly by having its exchanges accredited by medical faculties across the worldâ&#x20AC;?. Since 1951 until today, more than 250.000 students went on exchange with SCOPE, in 98 National Member Organizations and 923 Local Committees & universities around the world. For more information, visit the IFMSA website: www.ifmsa.org

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Mohammed H alassady Najaf LC

Not just a vacation

a young medical student with big passion for new experiences, I was lucky that I had an opportunity to apply for IFMSA exchange program through which I chose Tunisia to be my exchange distinction, my decision that never disappointed me, I arrived to incomings House in a city called Sfax on the summer of 2018, a house who impressed me immediately it was like a small museum, with big traditional rooms for each one of us , I was sure that such house will take us in a wonderful journey throughout Tunisian history.

started my first day at the local nearby hospital me and the other 13 incoming students, I had the opportunity to train in cardiovascular surgery department for the month which I was interested in from the beginning, then the team picked me up and presented me to my tutor which was super nice and friendly, few days later the LEO delivered a session to us about everything we should know in Tunisia form the general rules to exchange grand rules to make sure that there is a good atmosphere in the house that everyone can enjoy, then he gave us the local social program schedule and restaurants list in addition to some pocket money, so we will be able to walk around the city and try the local life there.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

hen there was the national social programs which were really amazing, the exchange team had organized everything for us; Everything was so perfectly planned that u don’t have to worry about anything and I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to organize all these activities. We went to all different kind of cities, then to the beautiful beaches in Cap Serrat, We had a big NFDP party in addition to the south desert. What ever I will write it won’t be enough to describe the lifestyle there and the great experience I had in Tunisia, I finished my one month exchange with a lot of new scientific information, more orientation about other countries healthcare system, and more than 70 friend from around the word, in addition to some remarkable non forgettable memories.

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“What ever I will write it won’t be enough to describe the lifestyle there and the great experience I had in Tunisia”

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Mardin Abdulnaser Kirkuk LC

A life in one month

wo years ago I had a friend who went on IFMSA exchange in India, when she got back I asked her to describe her experience, her answer was simply ‘exchange is not a month in life, it is a life in a month’. I have travelled a lot before but I didn’t exactly knew what that meant back then; Days passed, I decided to apply for exchange in turkey, but I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily! me and my friend got accepted in the same city and same university, Hacettepe university in Ankara. I was little bit nervous as it was a completely new city for me. The first day we arrived, our contact person was waiting for us at the bus station, she welcomed us with a smile and carried all our luggage’s to the metro station. our dormitory rooms were not ready yet because we had arrived a day earlier, so our contact person invited us to stay over her house. When we arrived, her mom welcomed us with a table full of delicious food and made up beds with fresh sheets, I felt so welcomed and I knew it was going to be a different experience.

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“I learned a lot, had fun a lot and most importantly, I finally knew what life in a month means”

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

started my internship in plastic surgery department two days later, and of course our contact person was with us throughout the whole process of introducing us to the hospital and getting us badges.

So what was so special about this month? It was the first time in my life to get the chance to live with a group of people where each one of them had a different culture, each one of them spoke a different language and had a completely different life style from the other, I made friendships with Brazilians, Kirgizstan, Romanian, Egyptian, Serbian, Tunisian, Algerian, Russian, Italian, Saudi Arabian and Moroccan people, I was amused to learn about their cultures, their lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and their interests, we had a lot in common, more than I could have imagined. At the end of the month they became the people that I could call a second family.

only 30 days, I visited 4 different cities and a hiking trip on the weekend, with the help of our contact person, we organized trips to Cappadocia, Eski Sehir, pamukkale and Istanbul. Each was a unique experience, I had been to turkey 6 times before, but this time was completely different one, I saw the real beauty of the country, fell in love with their delicious food, met with kind Turkish people, this time was unforgettable. My hospital experience on the other hand, I went to the clinic one day and to the surgery floor the following day, I had a very nice plastic surgeon as a supervisor, she would explain different cases to us in the clinic, and talk to us about the steps during the operations she was doing. I learned a lot, had fun a lot and most importantly, I finally knew what life in a month means.

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Sami Luay Mosul LC

Europe in SCOPE vision

am Sami Luay a student at Mosul medical college in 4th grade when I received my exchange acceptance and I saw that Austria (Salzburg city) will be the host I did not expect that exchange experience would be this amazing but actually I was completely wrong. When I lived this experience it was very beautiful to the extent that its unspeakable. Yes it may seem difficult to travel to another country, new culture and meet different people but all these things later will add to these amazing journey at the end.

o my contact person whom were responsible for me told me to bring some things from Iraq things that I might need later on, When I arrived she took me to a residential address in the first day. The next day I started my first day at the hospital and she told me that Professor Winkler would be responsible for me in the hospital. All the neurosurgeons and all the doctors in the operations room were good and friendly with me especially When they knew that I'm coming from another country to spend a month with them, there were many interesting surgeries and exotic cases, I have benefited from this month both scientifically and much more practically.At the end, after I spent 20 days in training, I got my degree certificate.

n the other side I had a nice and funny time with friends there, especially on the weekends. I hope I can try it again there were students from (Honduras, Greece, Austria and Brazil and more). In the first weekend we went to Vienna, the capital of Austria and one of the most beautiful capitals of the world and we saw the beauty of

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the nature and the ancient buildings from the time of World War II landmarks. And in the second weekend we went to Linz other wonderful city in Austria and the Hallstatt area one of the touristic areas. I had the extra days to get a tour in Europe. I went to Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Prague which was a very nice experience I tried to take advantage of every minute of my time to have fun and learn and adding new experiences for myself. Yes the exchange very wonderful opportunity from IFMSA through which you can meet new friends in different countries different cultures in addition to learning new ways in our medical profession.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I tried to take advantage of every minute of my time to have fun and learn by adding new experiences for myself.â&#x20AC;?

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Ibrahim Alsuhial Kirkuk LC

Changed me for the better

am “Alumni exchange student.” Although I didn’t believe the power of being in an exchange program until when I personally lived the experience, when I participated in the IFMSA-SCOPE Exchange in Lebanon in 2018. My journey started in 2nd of August 2018 and it was the first time for me to travel outside of Iraq. It was a strange feeling for me when I arrived to Lebanon and my contact person was waiting for me and she took me to my place of residence and I found my colleagues from other countries that they will participate with me in exchange in American University of Beirut Medical Center.

In this moment I felt that the toughest challenge has begun because how can I communicate with these people, they were so friendly and in the same day I started acclimating to them. the 2nd day I went to AUBMC and registered in the Orthopedics surgery. When I entered to AUBMC and saw how they work and how they concentrate on teamwork and the hospital was very developed I wished that we had such a hospital in Iraq. Scientifically I learned a lot of informations. In the weekends we were having social programs, they took us to

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Many touristic and archaeological places such as Rocha’s rock, Harissa and museum...etc. In the last weekend we went camping in the mountains and we had our NFDP ‘the National Food and Drink Party’ it was really amazing trip and the best thing in my life till now.

ow I believe that exchange students can help change some of the assumptions and preconceived ideas in their societies because people are more likely to accept the change from within their society rather than from the outside. That is why I strongly believe that an exchange experience is one of the most powerful ways to promote human beings and help end those centuries’ long conflicts that take our focus away from the real problems. I’d like to share a couple of the hundreds of experiences I had while in the Lebanon that continue to amaze me but, really I need a lot of papers to describe this experience. And when you will live in such this amazing trip you will understand my feels. The lessons I learned will stay with me forever and my belief in cultural exchange will never leave me. This is how we can really learn about others.

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“NFDP was really amazing trip and the best thing in my life till now” www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Abdulla mahmod Mosul LC

A Lifetime Experience

was lucky last year to get a chance to experience IFMSA exchange portal through SCOPE, I remember applying for exchange and selecting my list of chose from the countries available and I do remember that I never thought that I would end up in Romania in June 2018 a month that I would never forget. I started my journey relatively late after I got my visa accepted at the last day of may. Which made me reach my destination two days after my college but that never stopped me to settle in my hosting committee Targu Mures which was about 8 hours drive in the bus from the capital of Romania Bucharest which I was forced to land there because it was the nearest airport I remember that night when I arrived at the airport at 8 pm in foreign country that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak their language in country that the only thing that I knew about is the name of my local committee my hosting city and I even spelled it name completely wrong, and at the same time I should find a bus that go to my city so I started asking some strangers for help when I discovered that the last bus for the city was already left. And the first one should arrive at 7 am in morning I remember spending that night alone at the airport but at the very next morning things started to

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;every day was an opportunity to learn more about these people and their respective countries and traditionsâ&#x20AC;? 72

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get way better after I caught my bus to the city I was surprised by the beauty of Transylvania nature on the road.

fter 8 hours in the bus I reached my city which was a small nice students city the biggest thing in the city was their medical college, I reached my dorm when my contact person Cristina introduced me to my roommate Ahmed who was from Jordan and then I got to meet my other colleges which were from Brazil, Russia, Poland, Algeria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and other countries we formed a wonderful group that was so special even our hosting team said that you are the best group we ever had in Targu Mures, a group that we spent so much fun together we watched world cup matches together we cheered up our colleges countries (Brazil and Russia), we celebrated birthdays together, went to restaurants together, cinemas, swimming pools, zoos and so much more and every day was an opportunity to learn more about these people and their respective countries and traditions.

most importantly the hospital practice in Romania was very good I got the chance to practice general surgery and entire the OR to experience what is it like to be a surgeon and I was lucky that me and my roommate Ahmed got the same mentor which was Dr.Cedric a great doctor that we learned a lot from him he explained to us what happened in every operation and why, and was very interested to learn about the Arabic world and Islamic countries which was so nice. At the end of the story whatever I will write it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be enough to describe the lifestyle there and the great experience I had in Romania, I finished my one month exchange with a lot of new scientific information, more orientation about other countries healthcare system, and more than 40 friend from around the world. www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Rania K. Razzaq Muthana LC

My Unforgettable Month

first, I was hesitant about traveling to Jordan for my first exchange, but Jordan proved worthwhile and even exceeded my expectations. It was a true life time experience! I can confidently say: Jordan has the best social program ever! The TOs put a lot of effort so we can have an unforgettable time. We had three national trips that took place during the weekends. It was a time when all the LCs came together, so I got the chance to meet all the incomings.

During the first weekend we went on a hiking trip in a valley, every moment of it was challenging, but it was a great adventure for me. That was just the beginning, little did I know that there was still more for me to experience and see in Jordan. You simply can’t come to Jordan without visiting the lowest point on Earth, the “Dead Sea”, and experiencing the strange sensation of floating in its waters, all whilst being booked in one of the fancy hotels in the area. We had an unforgettable great time there, it was truly the best way to spend the summer! 74

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but the fun is not over yet! The big journey was right around the corner, they call it: the “Golden Triangle” trip, and after going on this trip that name is truly deserved! First day of it was extraordinary! When you think of Jordan, the first thing that comes to your mind is Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world, and we had the honor to be there. We ended our first day of the trip in Wadi Ram , the famous desert known for its unique orange sand and captivating beauty, a place where many Hollywood movies were shot. It was also one of the best places to watch the sunset at, a magical moment that will forever be engraved in my mind.

Well that was just the first day of the trip, for the 2nd day we set off to the city of Aqaba, where we also stayed at classy hotel, with an unforgettable view of the red sea and beach. We undoubtedly spent the whole day near the water! The red sea fun was not over yet, on the last day of this trip, we had an optional boat trip and a chance to dive into the mystic waters of the red sea, a chance I hesitantly but unregretfully took, and it proved to be the adventure of a lifetime! That’s only regarding the national social trips, but in Jordan no two days are the same, there is always something to do, always something to discover! Our CPs were so cooperative, accompanying us daily, making sure we are enjoying our time and that all our needs were met. There were many local trips, on most of which we visited historical places such as Jerash , Ajloun, Um Qays, the Amman Citadel and others. Jordan is a country rich of history and hence the endless adventures. www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

nough talk about the fun, time to talk about work ! I got accepted in JUST university for my exchange, and had the chance to work at KAUH hospital, it was a valuable and great place to learn and obtain medical knowledge. And because the lodging was close to the bus station, it was really easy to go to the hospital every morning. Jordanian people are so hospitable and kind, they were true “Nashamah” indeed. I’ve made many friends there, or more accurately put: they have become my second loving family. In the end , I’m so glad that I had chosen Jordan, and if given the chance, I would definitely choose to live this experience again, and a thousand times over.

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

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S C O R E Resea rch Exchange

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Abbas fadhil NORE

We l c o m e t o S C O R E !

Collected

nfortunately, many medical students donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get the opportunity to experience research while they are in their medical schools. And as we know research is essential for the development of medicine and without it, the medical field could never reached this level, with the innovative methods of diagnosis and treatments.

o what is SCORE ? The answer is simple put together the experience of improving research skills with an unforgettable cultural learning opportunity and you have the Standing Committee on Research Exchange (SCORE). it was founded in 1991 with the objective of giving students an opportunity of improving their skills in research in other learning settings. Presently, SCORE involves more than 85 active NMOs, offering over 3000 research projects to provide over 2400 medical students worldwide the opportunity to participate in IFMSA research exchange program and learn the basic principles of medical research such as literature studies, collecting data, scientific writing, lab work, statistics and ethical aspects related to the medicine. It is important to mention that all exchanges are initiated and coordinated entirely by medical student volunteers.

ur mission :is to offer future physicians an opportunity to experience research and diversity in countries all over the world. This is achieved by providing a network of locally and internationally active students that globally facilitate access to research exchange projects. Our objective :To provide research projects in different countries to students in the medical and biomedical fields worldwide . For more information, visit the IFMSA website: www.ifmsa.org www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Dhurgham Aljboory Karbala LC

Greece journey with SCORE

i I am Dhurgham a 21 years old medical student in university of Karbala and I have just finished my fourth year of medical college. I was on research exchange (SCORE ) in Greece the cradle of western civilization in a city called Larissa. It was a very beautiful country and the people there are so helpful and hospitable. We visited the capital Athens which is so beautiful and we went to the Parthenon and another historical things and we visited Thessaloniki , Meteora and for sure Santorini and its blue houses. e were on research exchange as I said, we were two students on research programs me and Ammar who is from Al-Muthana (Smawa) we were doing the test on the samples, starting from preparing the sample end with getting the results.

We made a lot of friends from a lot of countries and we were talking to them about Iraq and how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beautiful not like what they see on social media and most of them promise us to come to visit Iraq. 80

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t was a great experience to meet people from all around the world and I also learned about their cultures, food and their health systems and for sure it was perfect to have Ammar and Mohammed with me. I recommend everyone who wants to do a good exchange and have a great time to visit Greece.

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"We made a lot of friends from a lot of countries and We were talking to them about Iraq and how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beautiful"

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Ahmed kazzaz Mosul LC

Med & Fun Journey

lthough it is been more than 2 years, it almost feels like it was yesterday when I was on my own on a plane not really knowing what to expect but excited for what the future had for me. Now I'm filled with memories and a lot of stories to share. I don't even know where to start now that I'm writing about my experience of being an exchange student in the University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland for a whole month in 2017. I arrived to Katowice airport on the 30th of June, 2017 with a friend and my contact person was so nice to pick us from the airport and we went straight to the dorms. The following day my two amazing roommates arrived, Ima from Spain and Daniel from Russia, in the night we met all of the exchange students at the welcoming party where there were students from different countries around the world Oman, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Mexico, France, Serbia and Greece.

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he following day I started working on the research titled (the effect of incretin drug on ovarian carcinoma) alongside my two amazing colleagues, Laura and Kleo, and the supervision of Professor Enrique who was one of the most professional and ambitious people I ever met.

FMSA- Poland has this great project (National Incomings Care & Excursions Project) or as it is called the "NICE" project which was not just nice but amazing, we visited three different Polish cities throughout the month with the "NICE" Project, the First weekend we went to Wroclaw, the second to Gdansk and the third to Krakow. Throughout those trips I was filled with happiness and joy to see more of this great country and learn about the history and culture of Poland. I still remember our cruise in the Odra River, the visit to Museum of World War II in Gdansk and visiting the salt mines and the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow. The last day of the exchange was very emotional and everyone was sad at the farewell party as we said our goodbyes as we were not just colleagues but a big family sharing a lot of memories and stories. Two years after, I still remember that month as the one of the best moments in my life.

...

"We said our goodbyes as we were not just colleagues but a big family sharing a lot of memories and stories" www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Ban sadook Rusafa LC

Malta .. will always be my favourite experience!

knew about the exchange program by a coincidence , and because of the difficulty in visa, choosing a European country was like throwing the dice ! But I went there, and in my first day I realized I'm the only Iraqi and middle eastern there; I thought this will be difficult but it was not ! So much that I didn't have to make an effort to cope because I was already having wonderful time! they were so welcoming and so interested to know about Iraq . Everyone was from different part of Europe; Croatia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Bosnia and Slovenia. It was remarkable knowing about 6 or 7 countries, cultures and traditions in one place !

went to the research department with my contact person and he introduced me to my mentor Dr.kathren, she was an amazing person, taught me everything about how to do the research and paper sheets, everyone in the department was so kind, they brought me Maltese deserts, invited me to lunches every day and advise me about places to see in Malta .

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e went to old traditional markets, old famous restaurants, national festivals, hiking and a trip to the sister island of Malta, Gozo. It was a month of an unforgettable impact on my life , full of knowing about a lot of places, having best friends from different parts of the world, sharing cultures and getting to see that small ancient island and how much magic it hides within.

...

"It was a month of an unforgettable impact on my life , full of knowing about a lot of places"

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Zhiyar Muhsin Kirkuk LC

What happens in Tunisia stays in Tunisia.

ello Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Zhiyar a third year medical student from Kirkuk I will be talking about my experience in IFMSA- SCORE exchange in Tunisia. Firstly have you ever wondered how to change your life in just one month? Here is the answer on how to do so. Before I apply for the exchange I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to go , then I asked a friend and he recommended Tunisia to me. Going to Tunisia was one the best decision I have ever made. And it was one of the best months of my life. alking about the clinical part we studied about Bacterial infections and their resistance to antibiotics. We studied at charle Nicole hospital, the tutors were so friendly and nice with us they explained everything smoothly and were reliable. They were also answering all of our questions and tried their best to speak in English. I have leaned so many new things that will help me as a medical student.

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s about the social life , I made friends from every contents in the world and now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m connected to the entire world through them. The friendship we made their were not just friends the bond between us were so strong that we get depended on each other. We are still getting in touch with each other through texts , video calls and post cards. Adding to this Tunisia has one of the best social programs where you can taste the real Tunisian nature and life style and their exchange team so amazing and reliable.

Finally I really recommend everyone to go to Tunisia for their exchange and change their lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forever.

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C B D Capacity Building Division

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Zain muthana south assistant of CBD

What is CBD?

BD stands for Capacity building division which is one of the supporting divisions within IFMSA-Iraq structure (The Backbone), since this division empowers medical students worldwide with different skills as students now or as health care providers in the future, Aside with their difficult skills and medical sciences that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re learning in medical schools. Each year, many fresh medical students enroll in IFMSA whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the big target of this division because this division aims to develop their capacities in order to make our events in a high quality by giving the new members the skills that they need to organize an event. About CBD structure: 1-Capacity building Division Director CBDD(1): He evaluates the organizational needs at the beginning of the term and plans training topics accordingly and helps to give capacity building sessions for the new Team of Officials to help them with their professional tasks throughout the term. 2-Capacity building Division Director Assistants(3): thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re general assistant and assistant for south and north region and all of them are responsible for helping the CBDD . 3-The trainers: In our NMO we have around 60 TNT trainer, 3 Advanced trainers (TAT), around 10 medical education trainers and two human rights and peace trainers.All of them are responsible for preparing training materials and delivering training sessions for the members.

apacity building allow members to be trained in different areas also allow us to empower our members and in order to facilitate their roles as agents of change at the local and international level. This concrete has strengthened sentiments of common ownership among members, and as allowed IFMSA to grow as an organization. www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

Sama Zaid Rusafa LC

Non-formal learning and its necessity

he capacity building support division is known to be the Backbone of the association, literally speaking, the spine -backbone- acts as the fundamental structural support in keeping humans upright and houses the spinal cord. Without it, we would be useless. So When The capacity building support division is referred to as the "backbone" of the association, what we mean is that it is the most vital thing about IFMSA-Iraq, and how necessary it is for its â&#x20AC;&#x153;function.â&#x20AC;?

hile some might think, what is it about a two-hour training session delivered with fun icebreakers and Watermelon energizers that makes it so vital to the work we do? To start with, the watermelon energizer is my favorite, but back to the point, Non-formal learning is the heart of our training efforts. Now what does non-formal education mean? During all our lives as medical students we learn through formal education which follows a syllabus and is intentional in the sense that learning is the goal of all the activities learners engage in. Learning outcomes are measured by tests and other forms of assessment. while Formal education systems are great in teaching us great amount of knowledge that is crucial for our medical careers, they remain inadequate to effectively meet our needs as students.

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his called for our non-formal education which starts from the basic need of the students. The defining characteristic of non-formal education is that it is an addition, alternative and/or a complement to formal education within the process of the lifelong learning of individuals. it is concerned with the establishment of strategies that are compatible with reality.

Now to say that we believe in non-formal learning then means: our training sessions are flexible, learner-centered, contextualized and uses a participatory approach which has proved its efficiency. Most of the topics we deliver in our training sessions arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t taught in medical schools, therefore, we allow medical students to further develop sets of skills and abilities often required in the professional life of any IFMSA-Iraq member and further as future healthcare providers.

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E VENTS SRT-Iraq18 the wonderful story of hosting the first international event in the history of IFMSA-Iraq .Two TNT workshops were facilitated by our beloved trainers gave the world 40 motivated trainers.

It was held in Baghdad , the atmosphere of our capital was perfect by all concepts the weather , hospitality of Iraqi people and surely the food .

The OC team worked hard day and night to reach the highest quality and comfort to our srt . We can say that it was an event and the rest is history .

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Al-karkh Camp two-days of intense training for 50 new motivated IFMSA members about Body language(is the unspoken element of communication that we use to reveal our true feelings and emotions. Our gestures, facial expressions and posture)

Presentation skills, Team building(is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks.)

and Conflict management(is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance in an organizational setting.) which are vital topics.The camp was the first national camp in the history of IFMSA-Iraq.

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CV & Motivation letter Writing

This topic was delivered in 3 LCs (Karkh & Rusafah & Kerbala) because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very required topic since each application of any opportunity requires CV&Motivation letter.

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Mosul & Najaf Camps

2 days of training for 40 members for each LC of the north &south regions about Leadership & Conflict management & Emotional intelligence(the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically).

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South Camp This camp was held in Basra LC in order to help this LC growing up and increase the capacity of Basra LC members.

This camp was 2 day of intense training for 35 members about Time management & Team building & Presentation skills & Strategic planning(is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy).

IFMSA IRAQ www.ifmsa.org

Team building for Local officers This topic was chosen because it is one of the most important topics to be given at the beginning of the term, especially for the team of officials for the purpose of introducing them to the importance of teamwork and the basics of team building.

This topic was delivered in (karkh & Rusafah & Babil & Mosul & kerbala & Anbar & Diala LCs).

The aim of the workshop is to start a successful term.

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PSD Camp Is a joint training camp between project support division and capacity building division to create a new generation of members who're capable to translate their ideas for real projects with IFMSA-Iraq.

This camp is considered as the first event in the history of Project Support Division and the beginning for something bigger in the future.

The main topics of this camp is project management and all related topics which are delivered by the most professional trainers in our NMO(National Member Organization)

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F R E E SPACE

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It is a space for you! and For any member who has a talent, a gift, an interest, or an achievement that they want to share and are willing to write it down, it could be in any topic that she or he wants.

Join us and be a part of this space.

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Lana Adnan

Resident doctor with IFMSA experience

y name is Lana Adnan I am currently a resident doctor working in Alnuman teaching hospital, I remember joining IFMSA five years ago in 2014 which happed relatively late since I was a fifth stage medical student at Al-Nahrain university at that time.

come to know IFMSA from my cousin, Mohammed Salah, who is currently a supervising council member of IFMSA-Iraq, in addition to my cousin's motivation to join IFMSA I was much more motivaed when I found out that two of the founders of IFMSA-Iraq were AlNahrain students just like me, so that peaked my interest and since I liked volunteering work it was no brainer to not joining them which turns out to be one of my best decisions ever. I learned a lot from working with IFMSA it connected me with many medical students all around the country, I got to know them, their ideas, ambitious, passion, and their dedication. Seeing all these people so passionate about their work in the organization gave me something to hold on and basically something to strive towards, it inspired me to be more confident in myself and most importantly the IFMSA provided me with many chances to travel and see the world. So if I could seems up IFMSA in on sentence I will describe it as ''a Ship sailing through countless ports'' every person we met through an event, workshop, assembly even if we only met once our IFMSA connection remains inside us and whenever we meet again a smile shines.

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fter my graduation from medical school I came to realize how these little simple events combined together to help me in my profession as a doctor since I started as SCOME member then became a medical education trainer ending up as the national officer on sexual

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and reproductive health ( NORA ), I had to read a lot in my time in these multiple positions to be more informed. Which helped me in handling some clinical cases. In addition to the confidence and social skills I gained, helped me amazingly in dealing with people from multiple backgrounds and basically it helped me in dealing with daily life pressure. My final words as much as they are a request of every one reading this ! so read the last lines carefully .The IFMSA is an experience unlike any other, so try to live to the maximum, and take it seriously. It worth every moment and in the future you well miss every second of it, so make it count and, at the end one final advice make the most of your IFMSA adventure, because the sky is the limit and there is a wide horizon of opportunities.

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Qais talal Mousl LC

Who said doctors without talents ?

"In order for medicine to restore health, the patient must be examined, and for music to create harmony, cacophony must be studied." What if the folds of this old saying were combined into one person, the surgical scalpel blended with the strings of the oud at the same time to make the music cure for every disease .

ith his fingers sculpting the music and the passionate melody with the deep hoarseness of his voice, this is what the the artist doctor Taha shamal said or I prefer what his audience calls him "Caesar Kirkuk" actually he is an Iraqi doctor and musician artist from province of Kirkuk ,entered the collage of Medicine because of his love and desire, he graduated from Kirkuk collage of medicine as a doctor for the soul and body ,shamal impressed me when he told me that he could sing for more than 8 languages bring all these cutlure together for the sack of people happiness at the same time he is a doctor spending a lot his days in an emergency, his goal in life was to be a successful doctor, but this goal was not a barrier in front of his hobby and his love for music ,the music passion that was feeding his soul through out his childhood, fortunately he grew up in a family that loves music so much, he has two musical teachers were with him Step by step supporting him in his journey which coincided

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with his trip in medicine one day shamal was growl at the cafeteria and he observed by a friend and he was shock by shamal beautiful voice the friend's name is Dr. Tuana, "he is his friend from junior high school and till the college and also one of the main reasons that made shamal break his shyness , fear and start singing".

r. Shamal points to everyone who believes that the doctor should just be committed to the medical field only and try to change this view and says that the doctor could be an artist and singer, composer and writer at the same time in addition to singing in several languages including (Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, English, Hindi, Spanish, Azeri, Persian, Italian, Assyrian) refers to the nature of his city, which includes various nationalities and cultures, musical instruments player such as guitar, piano, oud, and all these factors made shamal what he is today, different ,creative and loved by everyone. Being a doctor means that time will always precede you, which means that you will give up many of your dreams while you are in the battle of medicine. Be part of the campaigns that take place in the homes of the elderly, orphans and hospitals that include children with cancer and thalassemia as a musician and peace-inspiring through music, which he considers feed for the soul; and that reminds me of a situation he described as the most beautiful and unforgettable situation in his life.

An unforgettable story

"I was part of a campaign for children with thalassemia I stayed With them For a few hours we laughed, played and when we finished and I was about to go out I heard a voice from the back calling me and I saw a child from the audience carrying a rose in his hand saying "this rose is for you could I take a picture with you" he thought that I made him happy actually I am the one who was the happiest person ever because I made someone's day better".

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hamal answering about his future vision after 10 years, that he want's to be a successful doctor and an artist at the same time despite all the challenges and difficulties facing his way because he believes that man achieves what he aspires to him once he wants to and strives for himself with the support of family and friends and smiles of his patients.

Being a doctor is not easy at all. Will you leave and give up or will continue to defy against all odds? Shamal Taha will not give up not now not ever and will continue to achieve his dream to be an artist and surgeon. he believes that some operations do not need a surgical scalpel but need the melodies of oud to make the patient stick to the live.

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noran omar talal Mousl LC

An Iraqi doctor that made us proud Samer Saad Hoz Graduated from college of medicine, Baghdad- University 2006. Resident of neurological surgery in the Neurosurgery Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Interested in vascular neurosurgery. Director of the first neurosurgery skills training lab in Iraq , he published a book called "vascular neurosurgery", this book is adopted in America as a curriculum to study this type of surgery . I had a very interesting conversation with him about his medical life and opinions :-

Why did you chose to study neurosurgery ?

A physician who seeks the most challenging aspect of the field is the neurosurgeon. That is my definition of our specialty, which deals with the most eloquent organs in the body (the brain and the spinal cord) that are unique in everything such as lacking significant regeneration and perceptible healing process to the original normal status.

About your book , from where did you come with this idea and why did you chose this subject from others ?

During the third year of neurosurgery residency, I decided to go as far as possible to be a vascular neurosurgeon in the future. This www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

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is unexpected to be an easygoing process, especially in Iraq where the subspecialties in the field are not established yet. Therefore, you must build an acceptance of the subspecialty idea within the field of neurosurgery first, and that will be unlikely without â&#x20AC;&#x153;out of the boxâ&#x20AC;? steps to enhance such vision. Here, the idea of writing a book in the vascular specialty with consolidated scientific contents and strong correlation and support from international pioneers in the field and a trust-worthy giant publisher came to be the promising step that must be proved before proceeding to the next era.

What is the most difficult things that you faced during your attempt to publish the book ?

I did the book while I was working as a resident. Thus, the real challenge was the scientific level of the book that requires thorough study of more than 30 related books in few months alongside my daily practice.

The amazing book

The results were amazing, My book "Vascular Neurosurgery MCQs" was ranked 19 of the best 100 books in neurosurgery by international book ranking institution. The book is now officially recommended for the ABNS (American Board of Neurological Surgery) and also for the EANS (European Association of Neurological Surgeons) board exams.

What is the most important advantage in human medicine from other specialties ?

A life saving job is totally worthy. There is few jobs in the world that deals with such critical situations on daily basis.

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The most important things you wish to change in our medical schools?

For me as a surgeon, i will say the cadaveric anatomy. Nothing can replace studying anatomy with the use of cadavers and dealing with the fabric of nature. That is a crucial defect in our system nowadays.

What is the most important things that distinguish doctors of the West from us? The dedication to the job and the individualized guideline for each institute.

neurosurgery skills training lab, what it is the main purpose behind it ?

We established a humble skills lab in our personal space in the neurosurgery teaching hospital Baghdad-Iraq with a slogan

"More lab simulations, Less brain complications" The idea is to do the first steps of learning surgery not on a real patient and that will enhance the safety standards and minimize the possibility unintended errors.

What are the qualities of a successful doctor?

Honesty, passion and combining the theoretical knowledge with practice.

What would you say to the current medical students?

Our duty in life to support each other and make the next generation even better. Also try to follow your passion.

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M e d i c a l S u bj e c t s Mustafa Hussein

Final year medical student – University of Baghdad Associate medical student member – Royal College of physicians in London Foundation member – Royal college of physicians in Edinburgh Academic Lead – Future excellence Ltd in UK Clinical anatomist trainer (Part1) – Doctors academy in UK Cardiac advanced life support provider – Liverpool chest and heart hospital NHS Trust Clinical auditor – Clinical audits support center in UK

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Novel dyslipidemia treatment Medical literature supports low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) as a causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).1 Lifestyle modification with diet and exercise remains one of the most important interventions in treating dyslipidemia. However, patients at higher risk for ASCVD events may require pharmacotherapy. For the treatment of elevated blood cholesterol levels, statins are the most established and cost‐effective therapy in both secondary and primary prevention patients. statins as the first‐line cholesterol‐ lowering agent for ASCVD risk reduction is iron clad.2, 3, 4 However, although statins are generally well tolerated, some patients have adverse effects to therapy and others do not respond fully. The new in dyslipidemia (hypercholesteroliemia) management apart from statins’ occasional low efficacy or intolerance will be the Bempedoic acid (ATP citrate lyse inhibitor) in less than 12 months from now when the FDA will issue an approval for this agent after the successful phase 3 Randomized clinical Trials outcomes. This novel anti- lipid drug works by inhibition of ATP‐citrate lyase, an enzyme upstream of β‐hydroxy β‐ methylglutaryl‐coenzyme A reductase in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway.

References: -Musunuru K, Kathiresan S. Surprises from genetic analyses of lipid risk factors for atherosclerosis. Circ Res. 2016. -Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration , Baigent C, Blackwell L, Emberson J, Holland LE, Reith C, Bhala N, Peto R, Barnes EH, Keech A, Simes J, Collins R. Efficacy and safety of more intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol: a meta‐analysis of data from 170,000 participants in 26 randomised trials. Lancet. 2010. -Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration . Efficacy and safety of statin therapy in older people: a meta‐analysis of individual participant data from 28 randomized controlled trials. Lancet. 2019. -Bilen O, Ballantyne CM. Bempedoic acid (ETC‐1002): an investigational inhibitor of ATP citrate lyase. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2016. www.ifmsa.org IFMSA IRAQ

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Safer CT imaging modality in clinical practice I always had those concerns as naive medical student of the irrational referrals for conventional enhanced/non enhanced CT imaging studies regardless of their high radiation risk (Conventional CT scan = 400500 chest X-rays) while observing the clinical practice at a teaching hospital over the last 3 years where I am doing my undergraduate clinical training.

I also was questioning what other available and easy to apply alternatives could exist in correcting this practice?

I came eventually with an answer from the evidence-based medicine resources which found that Low dose CT imaging is a simple alternative and validated tool to screen for instance lung malignancies and diagnose many other pathologies in acute settings as urolithiasis or appendicitis instead of conventional CT imaging which always raises concerns regarding the massive radiation exposure whereas on the other hand, the dosage of radiation of a Low dose CT scan is only equivalent to 15 traditional x-rays or simply 6 months to1 year sun light exposure.

How could this be done when indicated from technical point of view and is it available choice locally?

Logically, It is only by adjusting the device settings by the radiographer (Technician) to smaller Msv (dose).

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One other difference between the low-dose spiral CT scan and traditional X-rays is that spiral CT scans take much less time than a traditional X-ray. A low-dose CT scan takes less than a minute. Moreover, low-dose spiral CT scans can reveal for example lung abnormalities the size of a grain of rice as very early stage tumors. Reports of Successful applications in Iraq are available at Babylon teaching hospital's radiology department where applied in diagnosing urolithiasis.

Currently, clinical studies are investigating the effectiveness of ultra low dose CT imaging modalities that are much more safer. I hope this message can be reviewed, corrected by the more senior medical personnel and further disseminated among healthcare providers.

References: -National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Computed Tomography (CT): Questions and Answers. 2012. - Cedars-Sinai. CT Lung Screening. 2012. - National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines Version 1. 2012.

- Marsoul et al, A Comparison between Low Dose and Standard Dose Computed Tomography Scan in Detection of Urolithiasis. Medical journal of Babylon Volume 15. (2018).

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What do you know about Research modalities in medicine? Medical studies were traditionally classified into clinical research (where data is collected and analyzed in clinical settings) including from the top ranked subtype of studies which is randomized clinical trials passing through simple survey studies (cross sectional studies) and laboratory-based research (where scientists manipulate data with the flavor of laboratory testing, examinations and experiments) but it was not evident that one day medical personnel could mix the outcomes of both above classes into one interdisplinary, integrated and much more influential class of research until the idea of translational medicine, also called translational medical science, preclinical research, evidence-based research, or disease-targeted research came in the place in 1990s but only gained wide usage in 2000s.

It an area of research that aims to improve human health and longevity by determining the relevance to human diseases of novel discoveries in the biological sciences. The culture of bench-to-bedside approach in studying, investigating diseases and health problems is considered a new and rapidly growing concept in medical sciences and research based on translating basic research findings into applied (clinical) research on patients and further to validated clinical practice through which the power of these biomedical studies on different scales gain the impact in clinical practice. Hence, translational biomedical research is different from lab-based or clinical research. Locally speaking in Iraq; there is no evidence in taking even primitive steps towards such improvement in postgraduate or professional research quality was found in literature. 114

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References: -Barton M, Grunt zig J, Hussmann M, Rosch J. Balloon angioplasty the legacy of Andreas GrĂźntzig, M.D.(1939-1985). Front Cardiovasc Med 2014.

-Sung NS, Crowley WF, Jr, Genel M, Salber P, Sandy L, LM S, et al. Central challenges facing the national clinical research enterprise. JAMA 2003. -Woolf SH. The meaning of translational research and why it matters. JAMA 2008.

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noran omar

Banan Abdullah

STAFF Abdulla mahmod

Ismael Fadhil

Omer Altaie