| Rokiah Mahmud |
DRUG screening tests are increasingly required in various settings – for example during pre-employment or periodic medical examinations in the oil and gas industry, pre-employment checks with the government, private and even for scholarship medical checks, Medical Director of Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) Dr Meera Sahib Kabeer said.
“Knowledge on such tests and issues surrounding them is essential for medical professionals who are called upon to interpret results from drug testing. It is critical that we as medical professionals have the responsibility to have the required skills and knowledge to avoid unfair and potentially damaging consequences of wrong conclusions,” he said.
He made these comments during the opening ceremony of the two-day Medical Review Officer (MRO) Course and Certification training programme conducted by JPMC at the Continuing Medical Education (CME) Room of JPMC.
Two speakers from the Academy of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Malaysia (AOEMM) – President of AOEMM and also Chief Trainer and Examiner Professor Dr Abu Hasan Samad and Honorary Secretary Dr Mohd Hatta Haji Usul conducted the course participated by around 25 medical practitioners.
Certification with the MRO course is critical to allow medical practitioners to correctly interpret results of urine drug screening, a common test done in Brunei Darussalam for example for employment (especially in the oil and gas sector), healthcare institutions and for scholarship sponsorships.
The areas covered in the programme included topics such as Drug-Free Workplace Programme, Laboratory Analysis and Results, Workplace Alcohol Testing, Drug Pharmacology, Metabolism and Interpretation, MRO Verification Process and Result Interpretation, Record Keeping and Reporting which would allow medical practitioners to take a further step into understanding the effects of the drugs and its implications in work places.
Case studies were also discussed to enhance understanding on drugs information, giving the participants a fresher view on the facts and experience shared by other medical practitioners.
The training programme ended with an examination with successful participants receiving their MRO certification.
Dr Meera Sahib Kabeer said, “I would like to welcome our esteemed colleagues from Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia, who are here to attend the first MRO course organised in Brunei Darussalam and especially to our course trainers from the AOEMM Professor Dr Abu Hasan Samad and Dr Mohamad Hatta Haji Usul.”
He added that the course is also part of Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar in his capacity as the Chairman and Executive Director of JPMC’s vision to promote healthcare related academic activities in Brunei.
“We thank him for agreeing to sponsor this workshop in JPMC,” he said.
“It is the responsibility of individual medical practitioners to ensure they have the knowledge and are properly certified to interpret results of urine drug screening so that the actions following them are fair and justifiable. I hope this course contributes to this,” Deputy Medical Director of JPMC Dr Hiza Wardy said.
JPMC management and staff organised and co-hosted the course together with assistance from the colleagues at the Panaga Health Centre to enable JPMCs medical professionals be up-to-date and be properly qualified Medical Review Officers.
JPMC hopes to hold similar training courses to continue to update and maintain the skills of medical practitioners relevant to current needs and requirements.