Improving patient's outcome through an advanced postgraduate medical education program for injured patients in Qatar

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Trauma is the leading cause of death among the young population in the Middle East, including Qatar. A significant number of trauma and injured patients will require sophisticated critical care services and a disproportionately high level of hospital resources are centered within critical care units. The introduction of an advanced ACGME structured Trauma & Critical Care (TCC) Fellowship Program at the Hamad General Hospital (HGH) in Doha, Qatar will improve patient safety and outcomes, medical care and professional satisfaction. Methods: A review of the clinical impact of the TCC Fellowship Program in the trauma service at HGH, the only tertiary and national trauma center in Qatar, was conducted after the second year of implementation to evaluate the healthcare delivery to the severely injured patients, using tools from the ICU resource, evaluation, and patient outcomes rating tool (ICU Report)®. Results: Since the implementation of the TCC Fellowship Program in 2008, structured educational and training curriculum have been implemented for physicians assigned to the trauma service at the HGH. Nine fellows have successfully completed the program and graduated. A 40% decrease of intra-hospital mortality has been observed in our trauma service. Three fellows have been promoted to consultant level and six to critical care teaching staff, enhancing staff satisfaction and the overall score of our trauma ICU. Conclusions: Advanced postgraduate medical education and training program in trauma and critical care medicine have significantly contributed to patient safety and outcome of critically injured patients in Qatar and have enhanced the overall performance of our trauma service and staff satisfaction. The fellowship program is expanding to other disciplines, and is enrolling national and international candidates in emergency medicine and anesthesia in our institution and is impacting healthcare delivery of the complex cases of injured patients in the country.