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Doha - June 6, 2026: Medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) improved their physicianship skills of observing, interacting and communicating with children through the annual Cornell Stars program. This year, the event was held virtually, offering students who entered the third year of the medical curriculum in Spring 2026 the chance to gain exposure to telemedicine and interact with infants, toddlers, and school-age children. Held as part of the introduction to the clinical courses (Clerkships), the event is designed to orient students to their full-time clinical training in hospitals, where they complete clinical blocks and rotations in various specialties. The aim is to equip medical students with tips on how to approach and examine pediatric patients during their clinical rotations. Each year, healthy children of WCM-Q faculty and staff are invited to participate in the event. Divided into groups, the students were supervised by pediatricians and family physicians from WCM-Q, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), and Sidra Medicine. The physicians demonstrated how to engage children and their families, interact effectively with young patients, and keep them engaged throughout the encounter. Altogether, 19 children participated in the event, along with 58 students and 10 physicians. Attending pediatric consultants and family medicine physicians included Dr. Manasik Hassan, Dr. Shabina Khan, Dr. Khalid Zahraldin, Dr. Suzan Nassar, and Dr. Loai Elsaadany from HMC, as well as Dr. Saleha Abbasi from Sidra Medicine. The pediatric fellow was Dr. Doaa Mohamed and the pediatric residents were Dr. Shaima'a Al-Dabaibeh and Dr. Soufia Alshawagfeh, from Sidra Medicine. WCM-Q faculty member Dr. Stella Major, professor of family medicine teaching in medicine, also took part. Dr. Amal Khidir, associate professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) and organizer of the Cornell Stars program, said: 'This event serves as an important orientation and exposure to children for students before they begin their full-time clinical training in hospitals. It helps prepare them to interact with pediatric patients of different age groups and their families, while giving them confidence as they transition into the clinical phase of their medical education. Since some students had never worked with children before, the physicians provided them with tools on how to gather information and interact with families. We hope this event inspires more medical students to explore pediatrics and consider it as a future career, because we would like to attract more physicians to this specialty.' Student Yaqoub Jassim Al Jaidah said: 'The Cornell Stars program gave me the opportunity to interact with young children over Zoom, which was both enjoyable and genuinely educational. Working with a five- and seven-year-old side by side highlighted subtle but meaningful differences in social development and personality — things you read about in textbooks but only truly appreciated when you observe them firsthand. It solidified my interest in working with children and gave me a real-world lens for visualizing developmental milestones.' Another student, Maha Al-Marri, said: 'It taught me how to word my questions in a simpler and more understandable way, especially when communicating with children. I also learned how important it is to make patients feel comfortable and safe so they can answer questions more openly and confidently.' Tamara Al-kateb, a WCM-Q employee who took part, said: 'It was a lovely experience participating in Cornell Stars this year with my one-year-old son. I was delighted to support the medical students in their journey of becoming physicians through the event, which allowed them to learn more about children and observe real-life interactions and developmental stages at different ages.'
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