Read the message from Khaled Dawas, the new Chairman of FQMS:
“It is with much pride that I pen my first words to you as the incoming chairman of FQMS. I have been a FQMS trustee for 3 years and during this time I saw, first hand, the invaluable support our charity provides to medical education in Palestine.
FQMS was started more than 20 years ago and the successive chairmen and trustees have all left an indelible mark. Following on from Dr Lina Nashef will no doubt be a difficult task. She has been an excellent chairman and leader and I am relieved that she will be staying as trustee to help us with her experience and steady hand. We have a very loyal and enthusiastic membership and support base and for that I am extremely thankful. I hope we can expand on it.
To introduce myself briefly to you; I am a London based surgeon specialising in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. I trained in Cambridge and specialised in Oxford and have an interest and insight into medical education in the UK. Currently I am a Royal College of Surgeons Tutor and supervise many medical students and surgery trainees every year.
In May, I was invited to present on the subject of our work at FQMS at the annual fundraising gala dinner of the Friends of Al Quds University in Abu Dhabi. This was an enlightening experience and I saw the work of a very impressive larger charity supporting education in Palestine. The audience were thrilled by the account of our work and aims; to support the development of a leading medical education and healthcare system in Palestine. This may sound over ambitious, but only through such exultant aims can we focus on supporting the cogs which are vital to this system i.e. the many talented and dedicated students and doctors who work there. It will be a pleasure working with you and my fellow trustees to move closer to those aims.
See you at our annual dinner on 3rd March 2017.”
