Copenhagen, Denmark. Between August 1st and 7th, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) Branch at An-Najah University participated in the IFMSA's 60th General Assembly which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in which more than 1000 medical students from over 100 countries participated.

An-Najah University's delegation participated in all of the Assembly's meetings and sessions. Razan Abu Khaizuran and Haneen Rabee', represented the University in the meetings of the Human Rights and Refugees Committee in which the effective ways to raise awareness regarding human rights and refugees were discussed. The two students delivered a presentation about the IMSTAR Project which is a student exchange one that is held at An-Najah on an annual basis in cooperation with the IFMSA's Branch in Holland.

On the other hand, Ahmed Mdallal represented the University in the Administrative Board's meetings in which a number of issues that are related to the federation were discussed including: How to search for funding and marketing resources for the projects, societies and successful media, as well as the most significant financial problems that the IFMSA is currently encountering and how to overcome them in the future.

Furthermore, Khairi Shalhoub represented An-Najah in the meetings of the Student Exchange Committee which is considered the most important of all the Committees since through this committee student exchange contracts are signed between the different participant countries. More than 30 clinical student exchange contracts were signed during this meeting with a number of countries, including: Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Turkey, Romania, Egypt and Jordan.  These seats will be reserved for medical students in the clinical stage to allow them to receive training.

During the Assembly also, student Omar Abu Zaideh was elected as a representative member of the Eastern Mediterranean countries in the International Committee that supervises the modification sessions of the regulations and systems of the IFMSA and the international elections; additional four students were also chosen.

Dr. Waleed Basha, IFMSA Coordinator, supervised a number of meetings to discuss cooperation opportunities with different countries that took part in the Assembly.

The members of the Palestinian delegation received training in a number of fields through attending different workshops and courses. These fields included: Leadership, projects' management, dealing with stress and pressure, strategic planning, as well as communication technologies and financial management.

An-Najah student delegation also participated in the meeting of the federations in the Middle East during which they discussed with other participants several issues including: Strengthening the committees that make up the Federation, as well as the possibility to implement joint projects on the regional level since Middle East countries share common traits, problems and needs that require collective efforts to tackle them.

Moreover, Abu Zaideh and Razan Abu Khaizuran delivered a lecture about the NORPAL SAWA Project which was recently concluded at An-Najah. The NORPAL SAWA Project is a unique student exchange program that was implemented in partnership between the University and the IFMSA's branch in Norway. The Project caught the attention of the participants and the Chair of the International Supervising Committee of the IFMSA recommended nominating the Project to be added to the Permanent International Projects List of the IFMSA. The Project was classified as one of the best student exchange projects in the world and an article about it was published in the International Journal of the IFMSA.

The IFMSA's Branch at An-Najah thanked the University represented by its President, Prof. Rami Hamdallah, and Professor Anwar Dudin, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, as well as the administrative and teaching staff at the Faculty for their continuous support of the Federation and its activities.

They also thanked Dr. Salem Abu Khaizuran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nablus Speciality Hospital, for his unlimited support of the delegation and the medical students in Palestine.

 

The Faculty of Nursing at An-Najah Holds a Midwifery Course on Pregnancy and Delivery

Between August 14th and 15th, the Faculty of Nursing at An-Najah University organized an intensive training course that aimed to train and prepare third and fourth-year female students to deal with pregnancy and emergency childbirth. The course was held at the Faculty of Nursing and was administered Dr. Aidah Al-Kaissi, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, in addition to a number of nurses and midwives at the University.

Dr. Al-Kaissi and Mrs. Rahija Awni, Coordinator of the Course, started by speaking about the general objectives of the course which included: Developing the students' skills in dealing with cases of pregnancy and emergency childbirth in order to reduce the mortality rates among mothers and children which has increased considerably in the different private and government hospitals in the West Bank recently. The course's other objective was to support and enhance the scientific knowledge of the students gained by the theoretical courses they take in the field of pregnancy and emergency delivery.

Dr. Al-Kaissi also stressed the necessity to hold the course on an annual and regular basis so that the students could get the latest medical updates that are derived from scientific research in the field of advanced first aid related to pregnancy and emergency delivery cases.

Mrs. Najwa Subuh started the course with a lecture in which she spoke about the importance of safety in childbirth and focused on a number of key concepts in this context such as organized work, team spirit, identifying priorities when it comes to handling emergency cases, as well as the importance of avoiding medical errors while working in delivery divisions. Furthermore, she presented a full explanation on how to deal with children who experience a stop in the work of the heart or the lungs immediately afterbirth.

Furthermore, Dr. Al-Kaissi explained in her lecture the cases of bleeding in early pregnancy and the reasons behind that such as abortion. She also explained molar pregnancy, false pregnancy (pseudocyesis) and focused on following modern techniques in dealing with bleeding in addition to using ultrasound to detect such cases.

Shorouq Qadous spoke about bleeding in the second half of pregnancy, its causes, types, how to deal with each type, as well as explaining the causes and repercussions that result from the explosion of the Uterus and how to deal with such cases.

The lecture also included many different topics related to delivery and childbirth as well as the methods to deal with difficulties in delivery and other cases that inflict serious risk on the mother and her child.

In another lecture, Mrs. Fatima Hirzallah explained an applied in front of the students the method used in case the mother's heart or lungs stop working. She also explained Pre-eclampsia, a medical condition in which hypertension arises in pregnancy in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine, and described the complications that result from it that could significantly affect the unborn child.

Other topics included early childbirth, its causes, how to follow-up on such cases in the hospital, as well as the proper use of drugs to prevent such early childbirth from happening.

At the end of the course Dr. Al-Kaissi thanked the members of the teaching staff and the students for attending the course. She also thanked the University's Administration for supporting the Faculty of Nursing and its various activities.

The Projects Unit Office and the Coordinator of the FP7 Program Organize an Introductory Workshop on FP7 and Tempus Projects at An-Najah

August 15th. Under the auspice of Prof. Rami Hamdallah, President of An-Najah University, the Projects Unit Office and the Coordinator of the FP7 Project at the University organized an introductory workshop on FP7 and Tempus projects at the Faculty of Science's auditoriums at the New Campus.

Attendees to the workshop included: Dr. Mohammad Hanoon, Vice President for Community Affairs as representative of Prof. Hamdallah, in addition to Dr. Fahoom Shalabi, Deputy Assistant for Higher Education and the Coordinator of the FP7 Project, Mrs. Sahar Hwaitat, from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Dr. Khaled Eleiwi, Director of the Projects Unit at An-Najah, Dr. Jalal Dabbeek, Coordinator of Scientific Centers and Director of the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center at the University, as well as Dr. Imad Ibrik, Tempus Program Coordinator at the University.

At the beginning of the workshop, Dr. Eleiwi welcomed the audience and expressed his gratitude to the University President for supporting this event and similar ones that focus on the vital role of projects in activating communication between the University and the local and international society.

Dr. Hanoon delivered a speech on behalf of Prof. Hamdallah in which he explained that the projects that the University gets reflect the positive value of scientific research. He also said that the applicable aspects of scientific research are the ones that make it valuable and perfect, and this is what distinguished scientific research in the developed countries.

Moreover, he mentioned that the University responds to the suggestions presented by its faculty staff regarding any developments that should be introduced to the University. A good example on this is the new academic programs that the University has offered recently including the Urban Planning Major, Radio and TV, as well as Public Relations.

Dr. Dabbeek delivered a presentation about the projects that are currently being implemented at the University and emphasized that the University's main goal is to serve the society and the different local institutions as well as establishing cooperation ties with them and provide consultancy services.

Moreover, he explained that the projects that are implemented at the University are funded by different local, regional and international bodies and target various research fields. He also said that there must be a future plan through which services and consultancies are offered to the different institutions in the society through building joint cooperation relationships. Additionally, Dr. Dabbeek explained the new organizational structure of the scientific centers at the University.

Dr. Shalabi presented a full explanation and description of the FP7 Project with respect to the amount of funding, the basic elements that influence the process of evaluating the projects' proposals that are submitted to the Program, how to receive them and how to contact the Program in order to obtain these projects.

Mrs. Hwaitat spoke about the electronic mechanism through which individuals can access the Program's website and create a profile of the institution, in addition to the required data and information needed for the electronic registration in the website which is important to ensure easy communication between the applicant and the Program.

Dr. Ibrik presented a description of Tempus Program and the possible ways to take benefit of this program. Regarding this project, two projects from Palestine have been accepted among other submitted ones; one of these two projects has been submitted by An-Najah University.

For more information about the FP7 Project please refer to the following link:

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html

The National Authority for Disaster Risk Mitigation and the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center at An-Najah Organize a Workshop on Disaster Preparedness

August 17th. The National Authority for Disaster Risk Mitigation in Palestine and the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center (ESSEC) at An-Najah University organized a workshop titled: "Building the Palestinian Society's Resilience to Disasters". The workshop was part of a series of programs that aim to promote awareness regarding disaster management and building the society's capacity to deal with them.

Wasef Eriqat, Chair of the National Authority, started the workshop by explaining the Palestinians' aching need to build the capacity of their society to face disasters and be properly prepared to deal with disastrous situations. This includes training individuals on self-reliance, how to perform both individual and collective acts to face the risks that disasters bring about, in addition to training them on how to deal with such situations especially in the first hours of the disaster.

Dr. Jalal Dabbeek, Director of the ESSEC and Vice Chair of the National Authority for Disaster Risk Mitigation, delivered a presentation in which he spoke about the strategies of building nations' and communities' resilience to disasters. His presentation addressed a number of key issues including: Risk analysis, integration, coordination and comprehensiveness in planning, the distribution of tasks, societal participation, reinforcing the role of media in the different phases of planning, information management, communication, rules and regulations. Moreover, Dr. Dabbeek spoke about the necessity to focus on key buildings and constructions such as hospitals, warehouses, official institutions and schools by increasing their ability to survive a disaster with a minimum of damage.

Furthermore, he explained Bangladesh example, a small country with humble potentials which was able to achieve great development with respect to disaster preparedness and management. He also explained the basic concepts in disaster preparedness according to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction ISDR, the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Hana' Abdullah Mas'oud, Coordinator of the Health Sector Reformation and Development Project (Flagship), spoke about the experience of voluntary work with respect to building societies' capacity to face disasters and how to attract volunteers. She also explained the importance of coordination and cooperation between the different members of the society which would help in overcoming difficulties and problems. The volunteers in this Project joined the local society in a simulation evacuation exercise that was made Burqa village in cooperation with the Civil Defense Department and other institutions.

Muhammad Jaber El-Haj Muhammad, Coordinator of the Flagship Project in Telfeit village, explained the emergency plan that was set for this village as a result of the cooperation between the village's local council, the Health Committee, key figures, the Civil Defense and the Red Crescent. The plan included several items concerning the mechanisms needed to face disasters. These items included: Studying the internal and external environment of the village, locating and identifying safe locations, preparing lists of the names, and distributing responsibilities, committees and key telephone numbers.

Lama Al-Qassas from the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education said that hazards in buildings result from internal factors rather than from earthquakes themselves. She also highlighted the importance of reducing poverty and population density which are two major factors that play a key role in reducing risks. Moreover, she pointed out the necessity to promote awareness regarding such issues among different groups of people in the society.

Engineer Mahmoud Abdullah, Deputy Mayor of Ramallah, called for inserting new laws through which municipalities are required to adopt disaster management, modifying construction conditions, building society's capacity, coordinate the work of all societal bodies, allocate budgets and collect special fees for disaster management.

At the end of the workshop, the participants called for more attention to be paid to the issue of building the capacity of societies to face disasters and training individuals and institutions on how to be prepared to deal with disastrous situations. They also called for adopting disaster management and society preparedness as a national priority that is included in the governmental plans and programs based on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the Hyogo Framework for Action.

Dr. Iyad Al-Ali Concludes a Research Visit to the University of Essex in the United Kingdom

August 22nd. Dr. Iyad Al-Ali from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at An-Najah University concluded a one-month research visit to the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Essex in the UK. During his visit Dr. Al-Ali worked at Professor Michael Wilson's laboratories which specialize in studying heme-proteins and reactive oxygen species.

The visit also included a number of experiments on hemoglobin toxicity which is considered, along with the heme-proteins and reactive oxygen species, among the problems that researchers are attempting to solve currently. A number of special devices were used during the experiments such as the stop flow spectrophotometer.

At the end of the visit Professor Wilson valued Dr. Al-Ali's visit to the University of Essex and hoped that cooperation in such fields would be taken to further levels in the future between the two universities.

Prof. Rami Hamdallah receives the Representative of Austria to the Palestinian National Authority

On August 23rd, Prof. Rami Hamdallah, President of An-Najah University, received in his office at the Old Campus His Excellency Dr. Leonhard Moll, Representative of Austria to the Palestinian National Authority. Attendees included Prof. Maher Abu Eid, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Sam Alfoqahaa, Director of the Public Relations Department at the University.

At the beginning of the meeting, Prof. Hamdallah welcomed the Representative to the University and valued his visit which is considered the first to An-Najah. He also presented to him the latest developments at An-Najah both on the academic and architectural levels that have been achieved over the last years. Moreover, the President spoke about the high ranks that the University has obtained recently such as those given by the Webometrics (The Ranking Web of World Universities) according to which An-Najah was ranked first in Palestine and seventh in the Arab world from among 700 universities that were covered by the ranking. In addition to being listed among the first 5% of the 22,000 different universities and educational institutions that were included in the ranking.

A short documentary was presented which summarized the University's history, establishment and the different phases of development and growth it witnessed over the years. In addition, Prof. Hamdallah familiarized Dr. Moll with the different faculties and study fields that the University offers to its students as well as the vital role that its scientific centers play in serving the local society. Additionally, Prof. Hamdallah praised and welcomed the continuous support of the Palestinian National Authority by Austria especially its support of higher education.

He also emphasized the University's concern and interest in deepening and developing its relationships with other Austrian universities in the various fields of life especially the educational field which is of great importance to the Palestinian people.

Dr. Moll expressed his pleasure and honor to visit An-Najah and said the Austrian Representation is committed to encouraging and promoting mutual cooperation and understanding between Austrian and Palestinian universities in different fields especially the educational and academic ones.

At the end of his visit, Dr. Moll received a souvenir from Prof. Hamdallah in appreciation of his visit to the University.

The International Federation of Medical Students' Association Concludes the Internship of Medical Students in Action for Refugees 2011

August 23rd. The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) Branch at An-Najah University concluded the activities of the Internship of Medical Students in Action for Refugees, IMSTAR 2011. The IMSTAR is a student exchange project that the IFMSA has implemented for the third time at An-Najah in cooperation with the Federation's branch in the Netherlands.

Eleven Dutch students and fourteen Palestinians participated in the Project and received training at Rafidia and the National hospitals in Nablus. As part of the Project also, the participants organized a summer camp for children in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus in cooperation with the Happy Childhood Center in the Camp. More than 100 children participated in the event where they joined art, music, mural painting, English and sport classes leading to substantial reinforcement of the cultural exchange between the Palestinians and the Dutch.

Members of the Federation also organized field visits for the internationals to the different cities in the West Bank where they were introduced to the suffering and difficulties that the people experience every day because of the occupation and its practices.

A special celebration was organized to honor the participants in the IFMSA's project where Reem Sawafta presented a video that summarized the Project's achievements. Riham Ghanem, Head of the Human Rights and Refugees Committee and the General Coordinator of the Project, delivered a speech in which she expressed her happiness to witness the success of the Project; she also hoped to organize further similar projects in the future as such events help reflect the suffering and the challenging reality of the Palestinians' daily life especially students.

 Loes de Langste, the Dutch Coordinator, thanked An-Najah and its staff for their hospitality and urged her Dutch colleagues to transfer what they saw in Palestine and educate their people back in the Netherlands about the suffering that the Palestinians are experiencing every day under the Israeli occupation.

At the end of the celebration, Nimer Abu Shihab, Chair of the IFMSA, Khairi Shalhoub, Vice Chair of the IFMSA for External Affairs, and Riham Ghanem, Coordinator of the Project, presented certificates of appreciation and souvenirs to the participants.

 

The Engineering Communication Center at An-Najah Concludes a Training Course on American Architecture

August 28th. The Engineering Communication Center (ECC) at An-Najah University concluded a training course on American architecture which was organized earlier at the Faculty of Engineering under the title "Learn the American Architectural Engineering". More than 130 students applied to participate in the workshop, most of whom were architectural engineering majors; seventy were accepted and were divided into two classes. Coordinators and organizers of the course included Yazan Arafat, Wadee' Sulaiman and Ruba Daraghma who are also volunteers at the ECC.

The two-week course addressed a number of subjects including: Contemporary American Architecture, architectural educational methods at the American universities, techniques of architectural production, in addition to computer software used in architectural modeling such as (Rhinoceros 3D modeling).

Trainers included Eric Lihai, an Architectural Engineer from the United States, who has visited Nablus previously where he worked as a volunteer in the field of cultural exchange, teaching English and photography. His Master Thesis addressed the architecture of control and dominance that the Israelis used in Palestine. Lihai also brought a collection of books on architecture which he used as reference for his training material.

Engineer Mohammad Dwaikat, Director of the Engineering Communication Center at An-Najah, said the number of students who applied to the course was large indicating the great interest that those students had in the workshop and its subject. He added that a group of American engineering students are planning a visit to the Faculty during the new academic year.

On the last day of the course, Mr. Jacob Irban from Czechoslovakia presented a short lecture on civil engineering in his country. He also spoke about his training at An-Najah Teaching Hospital as part of the activities carried out by the Office of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) at the University.

At the end of the course, Dr. Nabil Dmaidi, Former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at An-Najah, and Dr. Haitham Ratrout, Head of the Architectural Engineering Department at the University, presented certificates of appreciation to the participants and the organizers of the training course.

Dr. Patch Adams Inventor of Laughter Therapy Lectures at An-Najah

On September 4th, An-Najah University organized a lecture titled "Laughter Therapy" which was delivered by the internationally recognized inventor of this method, Dr. Patch Adams from the United States. Attendees included students and interested people.

Adams is an American physician, social activist, citizen diplomat and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971. Each year he organizes a group of volunteers from around the world to travel to various countries where they dress as clowns in an effort to bring humor to orphans, patients and other people.

Adams first spoke about his childhood which he described as difficult. His father, an officer in the United States Army, had fought in Korea, and died while stationed in Germany when Adams was still a teenager. After his father's death, Adams returned to the United States with his mother and brother. Upon his return, Adams has stated that he encountered institutional injustice which made him a target for bullies at school.

Moreover, he started explaining his approach to deal with patients especially children and how to employ humor and love when interacting with them. He said that in order for him to achieve his goals he had to accomplish two things. The first one was to start serving the world's nations and people in poor countries, war and conflict regions and to try to provide them with adequate medical attention. In addition to medical treatment, Adams works on entertaining the patients with humor and laughter since this would help raise their morale and enable them to overcome their suffering. The other thing is to live positively no matter what life throws at you.

A collection of videos have been played during the lecture which showed a sample of what Adams and his team of volunteers do around to world to bring happiness and love to people and to try to take their hands towards a better and more enjoyable life.

Dr. Adams along with his team has travelled to more than 70 countries where they tried to make people smile and teach them how to be positive and hopeful about life.

In October 2007, Adams and the Gesundheit Board unveiled its campaign to raise $1 million towards building a Teaching Center and Clinic on its land in West Virginia. The Center and Clinic will enable Gesundheit to see patients and teach health care design.

Adams urges medical students to develop compassionate connections with their patients. His prescription for this kind of care relies on humor and play, which he sees as essential to physical and emotional health. Ultimately, Adams wants the Gesundheit! Institute to open a 40-bed hospital in rural West Virginia that offers free, holistic care to anyone who wants it.

At the end of the meeting, Adams mentioned he hopes that through his efforts and those of his friends and family to bring peace to the world and draw a beautiful smile on the face of children and people around the globe.