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First Program to Train Jordanian Paramedics in Israel Launched at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

First Program to Train Jordanian Paramedics in Israel Launched at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

May 14, 2010

Medical Research, Press Releases

BEER-SHEVA, May 25, 2010 — An unprecedented collaborative program is underway at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) to train Jordanian and Israeli paramedics side by side in emergency medicine.

The Israeli-Jordanian Academic Emergency Medicine Collaboration, taught in Arabic and English, enables approximately 15 Jordanian students to obtain the same emergency medicine training as Israeli students. The Collaboration is sanctioned by the Jordanian government whose goal it is to strengthen paramedic personnel in a cooperative program involving the Jordan Red Crescent, Israel’s Magen David Adom (national emergency medical services) and both governments.

BGU provides the only university-based academic degree for paramedics in the Middle East. The curriculum offers an opportunity for Jordanians to obtain both in-depth academic knowledge and hands-on experience, leading to a B.S. in Emergency Medicine. In the first and second years, studies take place at BGU’s Department of Emergency Medicine. In the clinical third year, students will rotate between Israeli and Jordanian institutions. Jordanian paramedics will use their skills to respond to everyday medical emergencies and disasters while planning new projects for future generations.

Israel is known for its highly trained emergency medical teams who are often sent to nations around the world to assist in managing natural disasters, most recently in Haiti, and devastating terrorist attacks. The goal is that this program will encourage Middle East countries and Israel to work together in the event of a significant emergency or natural disaster, such as an earthquake.

“As partners in this highly important regional humanitarian effort, both Jordanian students and their Israeli colleagues will benefit from this innovative training program, learning together, developing mutual respect and strengthening cross-cultural understanding,” explains Doron Krakow, executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Since 1995, the Department of Emergency Medicine at BGU has trained paramedics in a bachelor’s degree program in Emergency Medicine. This year a master’s degree program was inaugurated. Many graduates of this program have assumed prominent roles in Israel’s national emergency medical services and other medical organizations.

The idea for the collaboration took shape years ago through a program called Partnerships in Peace based at McGill University in Montreal. Three participants got to know each other –Dr. Mohammed al-Hadid of Jordan, Prof. James Torczyner, director of the McGill Middle East Program in Civil Society and Peace Building and Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt, rector at BGU.

A key proponent of this program is H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al-Hadid, who is president of the Jordan Red Crescent (JRC), and has been chairman of the Standing Commission – the highest body in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. He was head of the International Red Cross and chaired the Conference that finally allowed Israel international recognition and membership, which he advocated to leverage the Jordanian neighbor’s world-class medical expertise and training.

“There are only three places that provide emergency medical response qualifications at the bachelor’s degree level,” explains Al-Hadid. “Either we go to the United States or we go to Australia, or we choose to go next door to our neighbors. We were very impressed with the level of expertise demonstrated in Israel — and when you see something that is working for others, you want to have the best for your own people.”

The Israel-Jordan Academic Emergency Medicine Collaboration is one of many BGU projects that reach out to the region’s nations. Other partnerships include a joint program with a Jordanian university to restore the Red Sea’s coral reef; treaties for water conservation and use being proposed to the governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority; enrollment of students from Arab countries in the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies; and outreach to Bedouins through a range of business, educational and agricultural activities.

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

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James Fattal, J Cubed Communications

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