TARAWNEH, Dr Mohammed: East Mediterranean region president 2013-18
Current work
Dr Mohammed Tarawneh is a Family Medicine consultant with 31 years of
experience, from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He is WHO EMRO
temporary advisor, a reviewer in some local medical journals and
examiner in the Arab Board for the family medicine specialty. He
received his Bachelors degree in medicine, from Italy, in 1980; and the
Jordanian Board of Family Medicine (JBFM) in 1988. In 1980, he joined
the Jordan Military Royal Medical Services (RMS), and remained with the
RMS until he retired as a Major General in 2011, to practice in his
private clinic.
Dr Tarawneh has a vast experience in leading humanitarian emergency
medical teams / field hospitals in areas stricken by manmade and natural
disasters; with United Nation Peace Keeping Forces - in former
Yugoslavia 1993-1994, Sierra Leone 2000, Afghanistan 2002, Congo 2002,
and Lebanon 2006; or as humanitarian aid missions organised by the RMS
in areas of earthquakes - as in Iran 2003 and Pakistan 2005; and as a
medical inspection officer in disaster areas preceding each humanitarian
mission, with excellent knowledge of tropical diseases.
What other interesting work he has done?
During the period 1990 – 2011, Dr Tarawneh was tutor, examiner and
coordinator of the family medicine residency program in the RMS. In
addition, he was the co- founder for the First Military Family Medicine
Center in Eastern Amman, in 1991-1993, which was accredited by Jordan
Medical Council (JMC) which is the authorized institution to supervising
and providing medical license to all physicians from different medical
specialties in the country including family medicine.
In 1990, he attended various courses in USA, such as in emergency
medicine, field hospital administration, and in medical management of
patients affected by nuclear warfare.
From 2008 to 2010, Dr Tarawneh was a member in the scientific committee
of the Jordan Medical Council (JMC) as a tutor and examiner of family
medicine residents, Also he was a member of the scientific committee in
the faculty of medicine of Muta' University, from 2009 to 2010.
He has a wealth of experience in management as he worked as a director
for the south region military medical, in RMS, from 2004 to 2005; chief
of the department of family and emergency medicine, from 2005 to 2009;
and was twice, the director of a 200 bed hospital, for two years each
time (RMS has more than eight peripheral hospitals with capacity from
200 to 600 beds and one main 1500 bed hospital; as well as more than ten
primary health care centers, providing care to military personnel and
their dependents).
Dr Tarawneh has been a member of Jordan Medical Association (JMA) since
1981; a member of the Jordan Society of Family Medicine (JSFM) since
1993. He was chairman of the JSFM from 2006 to 2008, and is currently
the general secretary of JSFM. He has also been a member of the Society
of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) since 2005, and the Society for
Academic Primary Care (SAPC) since 2008.
He has been a direct member of WONCA since 1996 and is the
representative of the JSFM on WONCA World Council and Honorary Treasurer
of WONCA Eastern Mediterranean region from 2010 to 2013. He has
attended most of WONCA world and WONCA regional conferences.
Dr Tarawneh is also an author of different published papers of primary
health care and has attended many workshops in different areas of
primary care. In 2005, he had the privilege to work with Prof Edward
Shahedy, from University of Florida, in the diabetes master clinician
program. He shared this knowledge through the internet to the majority
of physicians colleagues in his country.
What he likes about his interactions in WONCA?
As noted above Dr Tarawneh has been a regular attendee at WONCA
conferences over many years and is a member of the WONCA Eastern
Mediterranean region (EMR) executive.
He aims to work hand in hand with the JSFM members: to attract new
graduate physicians to join the family medicine specialty in Jordan; to
strengthen the scientific ties with local medical societies and health
institutions; to extend the duration of the curriculum of family
medicine in the faculties of medicine of the four Jordanian universities
which are teaching medicine; and to encourage family physician
residents to join the JSFM and WONCA.
He enjoys the joint team work with the other executive members of WONCA
EMR to encourage more countries in the Middle East and North Africa to
join WONCA EMR, spreading the existing experience of family medicine
locally and regionally, to other countries in WONCA EMR, who are yet to
join WONCA.
A final word
"Family medicine is the specialty I like. It's the comprehensive,
continuity of care for all family members. The main challenges this new
specialty faces is still the lack of knowledge in the community of
family medicine; regardless of the great attempts and the promotions
being done by colleagues through the media and in organised meetings
with local communities. We are all optimistic that in the near future we
will see our specialty spread more and more."