Qatar University’s (QU) Health Interprofessional Education Committee, in collaboration with the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Student Association Qatar, has held its first virtual debate.
The motion of the debate was, ‘This House believes that considering the continuous quarantine and precautionary measures should be of a priority, over lifting the restrictions to avoid the negative economic and social consequences’.
The event lasted for two hours and was conducted online through Qatar University’s WebEx application. The event was attended by around 250 local and international participants.
Vice-President for Medical and Health Sciences at QU, Dr Egon Toft, welcomed the attendees followed by Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the College of Pharmacy and QU Health Chair of the Interprofessional Education Committee, Dr Alla El Awaisi.
This was followed by an overview of the association’s vision, mission and activities presented by the vice-president of the IPE Student Association and third-year medical student, Jawaher Baraka.
The debate was moderated by the president of the IPE Student Association and CPH MSc graduate Sawsan AlMukdad.
The debate followed a format where each student was given five minutes for a speech, a two-minute caucus and a chance for a cross-examination from the opposing team.
The audience was allowed to ask questions directed to the teams after the debate and the judges also gave their clarifications and comments on both teams. The winning team was determined after receiving the votes from both the audience (50 per cent) and the judges (50 per cent).
Toft congratulated the winner and said: “The initiation of this interprofessional debate format for our students is an excellent idea. The pandemic has shown the importance of working together more than ever and the potential online fora for high level of discussions and patient treatment are an obvious future solution for the benefit of patients and improving the healthcare system.”