Saudi Arabia Physician Assistants

Authors

  • Naveed Ahmed
  • David Fahringer

Keywords:

Saudi Arabia, Physician Assistants

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab state in the Gulf Cooperation Council and makes up 80% of the Arabian Peninsula.  In pursuit of providing the most advanced healthcare available to its people, the Medical Services Division (MSD) of the Ministry of Defense & Aviation, adopted the Physician Assistant profession as an adjunct model which was initiated in 2010 through collaboration with George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates (GWU-MFA), Dept. of Emergency Medicine

The program was guided by high standards set forth by the U.S. based Accreditation Review Commission on PA Education (ARC-PA) and focused on the core competencies of Physician Assistant medical practice established by the U.S. National Commission for the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Author Biographies

Naveed Ahmed

Dr. Naveed Ahmed is a Clinical Assistant professor and program director of The Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences (PSMCHS), Physician Assistant Master Program (2013 – 2016).  At present, Naveed is working as the Statistics Unit Head in the Vice Deanship of Development and Quality Department at PSMCHS. He is also the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA) committee’s, quality coordinator at PSMCHS. He has held faculty appointments at the George Washington University, Medical Faculty Associates as an academic coordinator and Drexel Hahnemann PA Program in Philadelphia as a clinical assistant professor. His Master’s in physician assistant studies was awarded from the University of Nebraska.  Other responsibilities include Curriculum and Study plan unit head and Community service standard leader.   Naveed maintains professional affiliations with the American Academy of Physician Assistants and Pennsylvania Academy of Physician Assistants.  He has lectured at the local, state, national and international levels. Additionally, he has authored a chapter in the Physician Assistant Review, 3rd ed., and has published case studies and review articles.

David Fahringer

Prof. David Fahringer, is an Associate Professor in the Physician Assistant Program, Department of Health Services, College of Health Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky (USA).  His academic background is in Religion, Biology, and Public Health.  His medical interest is in Radiology, Public Health, Geriatrics, and Integrated Medicine.  His educational interest is in interdisciplinary education, service learning, national and international PA clinical education.  Prof. Fahringer holds two undergraduate degrees and a Master’s in Public Health.  He also holds two professional degrees in radiology and the other as a Physician Assistant.  He has worked clinically in GI, Occupational, Preventive and Environmental Medicine.  Since 1994 he has been teaching in the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Kentucky. At the national level he has served in Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) in the following areas: the Membership Committee, PAEA graduate advisory to SAAAPA and the Chair of IAC.  In 1995 introduced the PA concept to Great Britain by sending PA clinical students to England every year and going there to develop the concept twice a year until 2010.  He is also one of the four founders of the International Academy for Physician Associate Education in 2007.  He started the first PA program in the middle east in Saudi Arabia in 2010 with George Washington University-Medical Faculty Associates at Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences where he was the program director. Prof. Fahringer returned back to the University of Kentucky in Aug of 2012 and is now the Interim Chair and Program Director of the PA Studies in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies.

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Published

2021-07-15

How to Cite

Ahmed, N., & Fahringer, D. (2021). Saudi Arabia Physician Assistants. Social Innovations Journal, 8. Retrieved from https://socialinnovationsjournal.com/index.php/sij/article/view/1002