The Faculty of Medicine of
Damascus University
The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...
( ar, كلية الطب البشري في جامعة دمشق), founded in 1903, was the first university college established in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
The school moved to
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
temporarily during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. At one point later it was called the Arab Medical Institute.
History
The College of Medicine is the centre of the University of Damascus. It was founded in 1903 when the medical school opened up branches in medicine and pharmacy following the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
.
The Ottoman Medical School in Damascus 1901
For both the civilian and the military hospitals of the city of Damascus Medical Institute, Dr. Rida Saïd was elected chairman in 1920. In 1924 the publication of the ''Medical Journal of the Arab Institute'' began.
From its earliest days the Institute and Dr. Rida Saïd saw the need not just to train Syrians, but also many young men and women from across the Arab world. On average, half of the students were non-Syrian. In the 1950s over half the doctors in the
Mashreq
The Mashriq ( ar, ٱلْمَشْرِق), sometimes spelled Mashreq or Mashrek, is a term used by Arabs to refer to the eastern part of the Arab world, located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa. Poetically the "Place of Sunrise", the n ...
were graduates of the institute.
The university widened its remit after the evacuation of the French in 1946. The Institute began faculties of medicine. It had all the lecture halls and laboratories necessary for teaching. The college issued a
doctor of medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...
, bachelor of pharmacy,
doctor of dental medicine
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
and a certificate in nursing and midwifery in obstetrics. Successive reforms after 1946 have expanded the school and increased the number of students considerably. An act promulgated in 1958 during the unity of Egypt and Syria amended the Syrian name to the University of Damascus.
Scientific research
The College of Medicine adopts a strategy of scientific research by the
Ministry of Higher Education
{{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
A Ministry of Higher Education is a government department that focuses on the provision or regulation of institutions of higher education. In some countries these exist as ministries compounde ...
in cooperation with various governmental bodies. Contributing members of the faculty in the College of Medicine are an important part of science activities as established annually by the Supreme Council for Science of the Ministry of Higher Education. The research presented in the course of medical researchers, as well as new faculty members are allowed access to translated research acquired through doctorates from the university to the Arab world. This translation is provided with identity cards required with faculty membership. This is important in the Arabization of science and research: It is believed research in the mother tongue should be accessible to a large segment of beneficiaries.
University hospitals and educational facilities
![Al Assad University Hospital in Damascus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Al_Assad_University_Hospital_in_Damascus.jpg)
There are 6 main University Hospitals that are run by the Ministry of Higher Education and are affiliated with the University of Damascus; ''
Al Mouwasat University Hospital
Al-Mouwasat University Hospital was founded on 1958 in Damascus, Syria. It is mainly composed of 4 buildings; Administration Building, Emergency And Out-Patient Clinics Building and the Physician Residence Building, alongside those building there ...
,
Al Assad University Hospital
Al Assad University Hospital ( ar, مستشفى الأسد الجامعي) in Damascus is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Syria. It was founded in 1988 and is run by the Ministry of Higher Education. The hospital is affiliated with Damascu ...
,
Children's University Hospital
The General Authority for Children's Hospital is a pediatric hospital in Damascus, Syria. It is public hospital under the Syrian Ministry of Higher Education and affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University.
History
The Gen ...
, Dermatology Hospital, Al-Bayrouni Cancer Center'' and ''the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital.'' All hospitals are within near distance to the campus.
These Hospitals are government owned facilities that provide free health-care, and also serve as the training sites for Medical students attending Damascus University and the Higher Studies Residents, in addition to those attending the other Nursing and Medical institutes at the University of Damascus.
Al Mouwasat University Hospital
Al-Mouwasat University Hospital was founded on 1958 in Damascus, Syria. It is mainly composed of 4 buildings; Administration Building, Emergency And Out-Patient Clinics Building and the Physician Residence Building, alongside those building there ...
was established in 1958, is mainly composed of 4 buildings; Administration Building, Emergency And Out-Patient Clinics Building and the Physician Residence Building, alongside those building there is the Cardiovascular Surgery Building. According to the Hospital's own statistics published on its website; the working team consists of 1700 Doctors and 3.500 Nurses.
Al Assad University Hospital
Al Assad University Hospital ( ar, مستشفى الأسد الجامعي) in Damascus is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Syria. It was founded in 1988 and is run by the Ministry of Higher Education. The hospital is affiliated with Damascu ...
in Damascus, is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Syria, with 645 beds. It was founded in 1988 and is run by the Ministry of Higher Education. The hospital is affiliated with Damascus University. ''The hospital includes all internal specialties (cardiac, neurological, gastrointestinal kidney..) and most of the surgical specialties (general, endoscopic, vascular, cardiac, neurosurgery, urosurgery), in addition to kidney transplant unit. There is a large division for physiotherapy that covers all the requirements of this therapy.
Medical School Library
The Faculty of Medicine Library has 2 stories. It provides spacious tables and study areas, the upper floor was equipped with computers in 2010 during the establishment of the electronic medical library; the project was not launched, and the upper story remained closed.
Many Book-stands offering Arabic, English and French medical journals are present on the periphery of the library.
The librarians' office contains numerous textbooks of clinical and sub-clinical sciences available for students to borrow.
Laboratories and auditoriums
The Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University has 3 main buildings; ''the Dean's/Administration Building, the Laboratory building and the auditorium building.''
The main labs are the ''Physiology lab, Pharmacology lab, Biology and cellular science lab, Embryology lab, Genetics labs, Parasitology and Microbiology labs, Forensic Medicine lab and the Pathology lab.'' Labs are equipped with Microscopes and teaching amenities.
The Auditorium Building has 3 stories, each containing a large auditorium that can accommodate a large number of students, estimated number of occupancy capacity is around 1000, these auditoriums serve mainly for teaching rounds and seminars. The "New Auditorium" is in the Dean's building and serves as the main place for conferences and also occasionally utilized for written exams and seminars.
International recognition
* The Faculty of Medicine of Damascus University is listed in the
ECFMG According to the US Department of Education, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates is "the authorized credential evaluation and guidance agency for non-U.S. physicians and graduates of non-U.S. medical schools who seek to practice ...
notes (under sponsor notes) of the
WDOM
WDOM (91.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The station is owned by Providence College and broadcasts from studios and a transmitter on the campus.
WDOM began operations as a carrier current station f ...
database of medical schools.
* The Faculty of Medicine of Damascus University was listed in the now discontinued
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
's
Avicenna directory.
* The Faculty of Medicine of Damascus University was listed in the now discontinued
IMED The International Medical Education Directory (IMED) was a public database of worldwide medical schools. The IMED was published as a joint collaboration of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and the Foundation for Advan ...
/
FAIMER
The Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to "support the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) as it promotes international health p ...
database of medical schools.
Notable alumni
*
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
- Syrian politician, 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000
*
Riad Barmada
Riad Barmada ( ar, رياض برمدا; July 26, 1929 – January 10, 2014), a Syrian-American orthopaedic surgeon and professor. Barmada was the head of orthopedics at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1984 to 1998 and served as the p ...
(1929-2014) - Syrian-American orthopedics surgeon
Gallery
Image:Faculty of Medicine Damascus.jpg , The Faculty of Medicine during snow
Image:Faculty of Medicine Damascus2.jpg , The Faculty of Medicine
References
External links
University WebsitePortal of the Faculty Students
{{Coord, 33, 30, 25, N, 36, 16, 01, E, display=title
Buildings and structures in Damascus
Damascus University
Schools of medicine in Syria
1903 establishments in Ottoman Syria