Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Corporate Nursing and Midwifery Department has successfully completed the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)/Clinical Midwife Specialist (CMS) Intern Development pilot programme.
Oncology has been one of the first areas to incorporate and benefit from specialist nurses in developing and delivering specialised nursing services. Eleven Oncology CNS interns recently celebrated the successful completion of this educational programme, designed to build and enhance the advanced clinical practice role for nursing and midwifery.


Mariam al-Mutawa


The programme aims to support the professional growth of the nurses and midwives and promote CNS/CMS integration in interprofessional teams through a series of outcome-focused, experiential learning activities. The National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) clinical leadership is committed to incorporating advanced nursing practices.
Mariam al-Mutawa, deputy chief nursing officer and executive director of nursing of Rumailah Hospital explained the importance of the CNS/CMS intern role. “We wanted to develop an opportunity for our aspiring nurses and midwives to accrue valuable experience in actual clinical situations with the mentoring and support of the experienced staff who are committed to promoting advance nursing and midwifery practices at HMC. This CNS/CMS pilot programme has helped our nursing and midwifery education team to test out the education programme they have developed and have the certainty that it is suitable for HMC and the patients we serve in Qatar”.
The programme, which ran from June – September 2021, concluded with a Recognition Day on October 18 held at Itqan Clinical Simulation and Innovation Centre to mark the accomplishments of all participants, including interns, mentors and faculty. Interns were awarded 39 Continuing Professional Development hours in recognition of having fulfilled all the educational requirements of the programme.
The programme was developed by the Nursing and Midwifery Education Department in partnership with al-Anoud AlMarri, A/EDoN and credentialing manager for Corporate Nursing and Midwifery Workforce and Wellbeing. Additional expertise and special collaboration came from the Mental Health Service, NCCCR and the Advanced Practice Nursing Network.
To support educational quality assurance and continuous improvement, feedback was gathered from the interns following completion of the pilot programme. Jacqueline Sullivan, acting assistant executive director of nursing added: “Our teams made every effort to ensure that our intern program was developed in accordance with the highest international best practice to ensure that participants who completed the education program can work competently and effectively in autonomous practices as well as alongside physician colleagues.”
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