SSOMS elects a new board of directors

An Arab News sponsored medical symposium that featured workshops conducted by the Saudi Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jeddah on Thursday.
Attendees included the society’s officials and members of the association of Riyadh and Jeddah in the presence of a number of speakers including medical specialists from the Netherlands, Britain and Turkey who had contributed significantly to the latest technology in oral surgery globally.
On the sidelines of the scientifically enriching workshop, the voting process to elect the second board of directors was held alongside an exhibition of a number of companies specialized in medical equipment.
Arab News met with the current vice president of the association Dr. Hamed Al-Bargi, a renowned consultant in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the National Guard Hospital in Jeddah.
Al-Bargi exerted a lot of effort in this field with the cooperation of notable members of the association and those from an emerging generation of upcoming doctors.
Arab News met with Dr. Ahmed Yamani, oral surgery and maxillofacial consultant at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, gave a number of recommendations for the future of the association, such as increasing membership and developing a clear strategic plan.
He said the association should focus on the global distribution and implementation of this specialization around the world to encourage scientific research by local medical residents and communicate with professional societies worldwide, among others.
He added there was a need for scientific publications covering the efforts of the association in collaboration with fellowship programs and that would be the first thing he would implement if he was elected president of the society. He said he would work strenuously to bring out a scientific journal on this specialty in the Kingdom in print as well as online as soon as possible.
Discussing the conditions of membership in the association, Dr. Khalid Al-Mutairi, consultant in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Shumaisi Hospital-Riyadh, said anyone applying for membership must obtain a qualification related to the specialty of the association and must be registered with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties as well as living in the Kingdom or a GGC countries.
Dr. Musaed Bahaziq, head of the Saudi Medical Board, confirmed the benefits of membership are countless because the association is responsible for organizing courses, seminars and scientific dental conferences to facilitate the exchange of modern scientific data that will advance this specialty and serve as a reference for all dentists, maxillofacial specialists, their assistants and technicians around the Kingdom.