FIMA Year Book 2009 - Federation of Islamic Medical Associations

Ethical Issuesnon-Muslim physicians within aninstitution based on Islamic teachingswill contribute directly to a moral andethical change in the national healthcare delivery system.The Islamic teachings related to theunderstanding and practice of medicinemust be an integral part of conceptsrather than patching these teachings tothe curriculum, and must be directed atsupplying conceptual tools that makethe scientific study of medicine and itsmethodology deeper, universal, andobjective. The dichotomy that existsin many Muslim institutions of higherlearning should be removed such thatthere are no religious sciences distinctfrom non-religious ones. The Islamicinput should be fully integrated intothe medical curriculum and shouldpreferably be taught by the sameprofessors who teach other medicalsubjects. Moreover, our professionalshave to be trained to internationalstandards such that they can workanywhere in the world.In Muslim countries, very little hasbeen done on postgraduate curriculaand training programs. Thoughacquiring knowledge with a continuouspace has been greatly emphasized andstressed in Islam, little has been donefor continuing medical educationand personal development of doctors.Our medical institutions must adopta regular system of training andeducation with special reference to ourloco- regional requirements withoutmarginalizing the internationalneeds and requirements. Training ofMuslim doctors for specialization andsuperspecialization mainly dependsupon the Western institutions. Muslimcountries, inspite of having sometraining programs in their institutions,are lacking properly designedtraining programs with specialreferences of Islamic ethical values.Moreover, knowledge duplicationand consumption of techniques areso prevalent in our societies that weeven do not bother to look into thoseprograms which are designed in a setof reference for particular reasons, inparticular ethical framework and insecular environment. This ultimatelycreates contradictions and conflictsamong our trainees and we have beenneither able to prepare Muslim nornon Muslim specialists. Our doctorsneed to be trained with clarity of mind,sound faith and up-to-date expertise intheir respective fields. Our continuingmedical education programs, as arequirement of a faithful and correctdoctor, must also include continuousupgrading of knowledge of ethicalissues including ethics of human andanimal research in addition to newdevelopments in medicine. (24)Pedagogical methodology andthe learning process in medicalinstitutions:The teaching methodologies andpedagogical instruments in medicalschools must be designed in such afashion that these techniques shouldreflect Islamic ideology and Islamicway of life. Any uncertain ways andFIMA YearBook 200990