Anesthesia Department
The Department of Anesthesiology was originally established as an unit of the Department of General Surgery in 1978 and became independent in 1981. The department provides a high standard of clinical services and academic activities and runs 5-6 busy operating theaters daily for elective surgical procedures in addition to emergency surgery. The department also offers obstetric pain relief and anesthesia for surgical delivery.
Anesthesiologists manage surgical patients in KFHU general intensive care unit. Other clinical services include anesthesia for day surgery, requests in the Radiology Department and for postoperative pain relief. The department maintains quality care by continuous quality improvement activities that review and implement approved policies and procedures.
Dermatology Department
The Department of Dermatology was established in 1980. In 1990 the first postgraduate program in the specialty of dermatology in Saudi Arabia was created, which lead to the IAU Fellowship in Dermatology. The department is also one of the approved centers of training for the Saudi Board in the specialty of dermatology.
ENT Department
The Department of ENT was established in 1978 as an ENT unit under the umbrella of General Surgery. The department implemented a teaching program for 6th year students in the affiliated hospitals in 1979. In 1981, King Fahd Hospital of Imam Abdulrahman University was inaugurated and the ENT Department was born. In 1986, the Fellowship Program in ORL-H&N Surgery was established. In 1999, the Fellowship Program became affiliated with the Saudi Board Postgraduate Program for ORL. Over the last 24 years the department has incorporated modern ENT subspecialty services i.e., LASER, Allergy, FESS and other services and has established a modern Speech Pathology and Audiology Unit.
Emergency Medicine Department
The Department of Emergency Medicine was established in 2010. It provides outstanding clinical education opportunities for residents and medical students as an academic department and accredited residency-training center by the SCFHS. It consists of 55 beds for resuscitation, cardiac and trauma, medical, surgical, OB/GYN and pediatrics cares. It supports both basic science and clinical research.
Internal Medicine Department
The Department of Internal Medicine provides primary, subspecialty diagnostic and health care services for patients of the Eastern Province. The department shoulders the responsibility for providing internal medicine courses for all 4th, 5th and 6th year students of the College of Medicine.
Neurology Department
The Department of Neurology was established as the first academic Department of Neurology in the Kingdom in 1987. It has been entrusted to prepare the medical students in the ever expanding knowledge of the neurological sciences, to communicate neurological findings to colleagues and patient families and to understand some of the ethical principles related to chronic illness and disabilities in the local community as well as encourage the students to become lifelong learners.
Neurosurgery Department
The Neurosurgery Department was established in 1984 and in 1987 a postgraduate training program in collaboration with King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center and the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital was created. Since then, several candidates have graduated from the program and excelled in their performance in multiple institutions within the Kingdom and other Gulf countries. The Department of Neurosurgery possesses modern operative and radiological facilities and continues to strive towards a higher standard of practice in both teaching and research.
Obstetrics & Gynecology Department
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology was established in 1979 and is involved in the teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students as well as providing routine and tertiary care for patients. The department is equipped with a full-fledged delivery room suite that includes first stage rooms, labor rooms and an operating theatre for obstetric cases. The hospital receives normal and high-risk cases through different channels. There are 12 obstetrics and gynecology clinics per week. Consultants, senior registrars and residents are involved in the running of these clinics. The department runs an active Obstetrics and Gynecology emergency room, providing around-the-clock service.
Ophthalmology Department
The Department of Ophthalmology was created in 1980 and it's faculty participate in the teaching and training students in the College of Medicine. In 1983 the Fellowship program in Ophthalmology began and was the first fellowship program with this specialty in Saudi Arabia.
Orthopedics Department
The Department of Orthopedic Surgery was established in 1982. During the first decade, most of the work focused on patient service, teaching and research. At first, most of the research consisted of clinical and epidemiological studies, more recently special attention has been given to spinal injuries and disorders, orthopedic complications in sickle cell disease, osteoarthritis of the knee and congenital dislocation of the hip. Numerous articles by the Departments faculty, staff and students have been published in reputable international journals and have received attention both inside and outside the Kingdom. Articles have also been published in local journals and newspapers aimed at informing the local Saudi population. The department has been the regional center for postgraduate training over the past 10 years and has been involved in structural training for all trainees in the Saudi board program for Orthopedic Surgery.
Pediatrics Department
The Department of Pediatrics was established in 1981 and pioneered the first Residency Training Program in Pediatrics in the Kingdom, which is now accredited by the Saudi Council for Health Specialties and the Arab Board for Medical Specializations. The department has a well-equipped newborn nursery and a 10-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), a general pediatric ward with 30 beds, and a pediatric emergency room and outpatient clinics. Recently, a separate Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was added.
Psychiatry Department
The Department of Psychiatry was established in 1975 in order to provide high quality care services to the community, as well as educate and train medical students.
Radiology Department
The Department of Radiology provides vital radiological services to all hospital departments, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year. It provides X-ray services including general radiography, IVP procedures, digital angiography, radiographic fluoroscopy, computerized tomography (CT), ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), mammography, bone density and dry film systems.
Surgery Department
The Department of Surgery was established in 1975 as one of the first clinical departments of the College of Medicine. It was a composite department made up of all the main surgical specialties including anesthesia. However, by 1984 the independent departments of ENT, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Anesthesia, and Urology were established. The department then became the well-defined entity known as General Surgery and has since encouraged and promoted the development of pediatric surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and developed special interests in proctology, endocrine, thoracic, vascular and minimally invasive surgery.
Urology Department
The Urology Department was established 1981 as an unit within the Department of Surgery. The Urology Unit progressed considerably over a 10-year period and was eventually recognized as an independent department in 1990. In addition to various academic activities, the Department of Urology provides medical services such as the management of emergency cases in the casualty department, as well as management of complicated cases referred from other hospitals in the Eastern Province. Some of the surgical procedures that are performed, include: cystoscopy, ureteroscopy and laparoscopy for adult and pediatric patients. The department is equipped with a complete facility for urodynamic studies as well as a new machine for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).
Inter-departmental courses
Integrated Health Science (MDIN 453)
The College has currently implemented an integrated health science course (problem-based learning) where students are encouraged to adopt a self-directed approach to learning under the supervision of faculty members.
Basic Clinical Skills (MDIN 406)
Recently a short introductory course has been offered for fourth year students, entitled: Basic Clinical Skills. Introductory lectures are delivered to the students by faculty members and the Clinical Skill Laboratory is used in this course.
Anatomy Department
The Department of Anatomy was established in 1976. The department’s activities are coordinated with other pre-clinical and clinical departments and the faculty is actively involved in teaching anatomical subjects to medical undergraduate and graduate students and other students in the health disciplines.
Biochemistry Department
The faculty of the Department of Biochemistry began teaching students in 1976 and the biochemistry curriculum has been structured to meet the different needs of the medical students.
Family and Community Medicine Department
The Department of Family and Community Medicine provides undergraduate education, master and fellowship programs in Family and Community Medicine, training in the Saudi Board of Family Medicine as well as the Arab Board in both Family Medicine and Community Medicine. The department has attracted highly qualified Saudi and non-Saudi faculty who have contributed to the development of the curricula which later formed the basis for the Saudi and Arab Board’s Fellowship in Family and Community Medicine.
Microbiology Department
The faculty at the Department of Microbiology has been teaching medical students since 1977. Microbiology is the science of medicine that deals with micro-organisms, i.e. bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, which cause infections/diseases in humans. The department is concerned with teaching the basic properties of the organisms, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these types of diseases. The department’s faculty members are actively involved in research work and the results of their research have been presented and published in both Saudi Arabian and International medical journals.
Pathology Department
The Pathology Department is one of the academic departments of the College of Medicine involved in connecting the pre-clinical stage with the clinical stage through teaching courses that enable the student to identify the causes of diseases and how to diagnose them. The courses include the general study of diseases followed by the specific study of diseases of the human body systems, blood diseases and forensic medicine.
Physiology Department
The Department of Physiology was established in 1976 and since then the faculty has taught medical students as well as students from the other health science colleges. The Department of Physiology offers both master and doctoral degree programs in physiology.
The Medical Education Department
The Medical Education Department was established in 2005 as the Medical Education Unit serving all health profession colleges and was later transformed into a department under the College of Medicine in 2014, the department serves both preclinical and clinical departments.
