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Dr.
Nabil Yasin Kurashi, MD. FFCM
President
Saudi Society of Family Medicine,
Saudi Arabia
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Dr. Nabil Yasin Kurashi,
a Saudi national, was born on December 21,
1957 in Cairo. He took his M.B.B.S., and
Fellowship in Family and Community Medicine
in the College of Medical Sciences of King
Faisal University in Dammam, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia in 1984 and 1988.
His professional records
and experience show valuable contributions
to the Saudi and Arab medical field notably
in Family and Community Medicine. He has
wide experience in the teaching of Health
Education, Geriatrics and Family Medicine.
He also published several
scientific papers and articles as well as
books in Family Medicine.
Dr. Kurashi is an Associate
Professor and consultant (since 1997) of
Family and Community Medicine of King Faisal
University in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He was appointed as
Assistant Professor and Consultant in 1988
to 1996 of the same.
He was was seconded
to work for one year as General Supervisor
of Al-Amal Hospital-Dammam, (a 300-bed Drug
Addict Rehab Center), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
in July 1992 to Feb 1993,
He also worked as Executive
Hospital Director of King Fahd Specialist
Hospital in Buraidah, Al-Qassim,(a 700-bed),
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1990 to 1992
Regional Director of
Medical Education and Research Centre of
Al-Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Jan
1991 to Feb 1992,
Director of Medical
Education and Research Centre of King Fahd
Specialist Hospital-Buraidah, of Al-Qassim,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Jan 1991 to Feb
1992,
Coordinator of Emergency
Medicine Unit of Planning and Development
of King Fahd Hospital of the University
of Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in
Feb 1990 to Oct 1990,
Consultant and Clinical
Director of Family Medicine in Al-Khobar
Government Hospital Family and Community
Medicine Clinic in Al-Khobar, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia from May 1989 to Oct 1990,
Vice Chairman and Consultant
of Arab Development Institute/ Health Development
International in Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia from Sep 1995 to date,
Vice President and Consultant
of Zamil Group of Companies for Medical
Services in Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia from July 1992 to Sep1995.
Dr. Kurashi is an active
member of: five government health committees
(advisory board for Prince Mahmoud Ibn Fahd
Center for Medical Researchers, steering
group for Distance Education in Public Health
in Arab World, Health Community in the Chamber
of Commerce,
Founding Committee to
establish Open University in Saudi Arabia,
Abha, Medical College Examination Committee,
Vice Chairman of the
Health Care Quality Management Committee
in Eastern Province
nine scientific and
professional societies and organizations
(two of these societies he is a founding
member: Saudi Society of Family and Community
Medicine (currently he is also the President),
and Arab Cancer Society), and four Professional
Medical Journals as one of the members of
their editorial boards.
He founded AlFaisal
Medical Journal in 1978 and became its editor-in-chief
in 1978 to 1983.
Dr. Kurashi is the Chairman
of Founding Committee to establish Bahrain
University for Science and Technology.
He is a recognized member
and examiner of the Arab Medical Board and
Egyptian Board for Family Medicine.
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The
Challenges of Family Medicine
Practice in the Arab World
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Family Medicine is proved
to be the most effective way to approach
the mass population or the population as
a whole and to cover every member of all
the families in the community. The strategy
of assigning a specific physician for each
family is the key to the effective Primary
health care services. The structure of family
medicine practice requires that we carefully
look to the definition of Family Medicine
Practice of a Family Physician i.e. what
are the functions and responsibilities of
each What we need in the Arab World is the
reengineering. I believe we have all the
stones to build a strong family medicine
dome. We have skillful builders or teams
who will be able to restructure and build
the family practice.
A Family Physician should
be skillful, well-trained, well-equipped,
well-paid and given the privilege to be
professionals, innovative practitioners
and not to be treated as an employee who
will attend a specific time schedule. The
Family Physician is the manager of the patient
and of the family. The Family Physician
is also capable of activating and mobilizing
the establishment of Home Health Care to
minimize the pressure in the hospital and
initiative at home. Family Physician should
be given the chance to manage their own
staff. They can easily think of new concepts
of EBM practice in their approach when in
their treatments. It seems to me that we
like to change and we are encountering lots
of obstacles and problems.
It seems that the Family Physician's
voice is weak to be heard by authority to
let them speak out their minds. The government
should carefully listen to their thought
and complaints and to clearly clarify the
reasons of unhappiness and dissatisfaction
of the family doctors of the Arab World.
We should really start to change the current
set up of having the ordinary Health Care
centers run by Ministry of Health or of
Directorate of Health and instead to be
given to the Family Physician so they can
operate with freedom of all the programs.
The Family Physician will be the one responsible
for the upkeep of the Health Care Center
even the cost of the team. There are examples
of many countries that started the general
practice ahead of us such as UK, Australia,
Canada, Japan, and Finland can be considered
as models in adapting. It is important that
we should learn to give way to a qualified
family physician. In most Arab countries,
a physician who does not have a Family Medicine
Degree and are MBBS holder with or without
subspecialty and are recruited from various
countries and appointed as General Practioners
provides Primary Health Care. Practical
solution for the current practice of Family
Medicine in the Arab World will be discussed
in this paper. I therefore recommend that
we should think big, start small to see
the operation of family medicine and act
now and immediately.
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