In May 1984 His Excellency, Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak AI Nahayan, the Supreme Chancellor of the University, announced the opening of a Faculty of Medicine. Remarkably, only two years later, the first cohort of medical students entered the new medical school; another major promise of the Chancellor's vision was achieved when they began medical practice in 1994.

The Faculty has evolved rapidly from its embryonic beginnings to include five Basic Science and Educational Departments and ten Clinical Departments; the present staffing consists of 85 full time faculty members, including 8 Nationals, 3 visiting professors, and 3 teachers outside the faculty. In addition there are 21 National Teaching Assistants in the Faculty Development Program, and 141 support staff. After more than a decade of operating academic programs from multiple widely scattered sites, the Faculty was housed since 1997 in a grand state of the art new medical school building on the Tawam Medical Campus. 

 

Acknowledged in 1994 by the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) strive to produce Emirate doctors educated to the highest international standards.

 

These medical graduates will help to promote quality public health, school health and preventive medicine, and to insure that individual patient care will be delivered within ever improving systems of health care. They will pave the way for less dependence on the professional work force from other countries to provide knowledgeable, skilled, sympathetic and cost-effective health care for all UAE residents.

 

The FMHS fully appreciates the importance of peer-reviewed scholarship and competitive research which are required in order to address medical and health care issues that are especially relevant in the UAE. Enabled by the dedicated support of His Excellency, The Supreme Chancellor, the FMHS already has an impressive record in establishing productive research programs. The research management infrastructure has been strengthened and methods of critical evaluation of research proposals continue to be improved. Importantly, regional and international enterprises have begun to accept the essential role of scholarship by the Faculty in advancing the frontiers of biomedical and clinical sciences. 

 

Not only is the FMHS preparing new doctors, it also assists the Emirates Medical Association, the Ministry of Health, The General Authority for Health in Abu Dhabi, Military Medicine, and others to improve the performances of health care professionals in the Emirates. Furthermore, faculty members provide direct patient care and laboratory services. The FMHS is also charged with the responsibility of facilitating the development of advanced programs in the sciences basic to medical practice as well as demanding and well supervised programs for medical graduates in organized structured residencies. Accomplishing these lofty goals requires collaboration of many individuals and organizations representing diverse public and private interests to whom the Faculty is extremely grateful. 

From its inception and through the present, the FMHS benefits from the exceptional foresight, wisdom, commitment, and vitality of the leadership of the UAE and a progressive University administration. FMHS students and graduates, our richest resources, look forward to a bright future with great enthusiasm and increasing pride. The opportunities are virtually without limits to develop quality medical education at all levels, to conduct innovative, relevant and competitive medical research, and to influence favorably the public health and clinical care systems. It strongly emphasis to students (and teaching staff); on preparing novices to become 'Tomorrow's doctors' with the use of PBL approach; the involvement of students in Faculty Council (and the various bodies promoting active student participation in the life of the Medical College including research); the Master of Medical Sciences program as well as the post graduate residency programs in different specialties are comprehensive and relevant. There is emphasis on the publication of the results of research; and staffs are to be congratulated on the development of a strong and country-relevant research profile. 

In Summary: FMHS although a relatively new institution is a thriving one that provides high quality education with innovative curriculum and approach, it conducts internationally competitive research and provides excellent clinical services to the country and region. 

For these considerations and achievements, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UAE University deserves the Hamdan Award for Medical Colleges/Institutions or Centres in the Arab World for the term 2007-2008.