Saudi Woman First with N-Medicine Certification
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Author: Saudi Aramco News
Released 16 January 2008
DHAHRAN, January 16, 2008 -- Challenges and hard work don’t faze Naila M. Faran, a senior radiologic technologist with the Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization (SAMSO).
She’s proven to be adept at being both a pioneer and role model by becoming the first Saudi woman to earn the Nuclear Medicine Certification Board’s (NMTCB) certification in Nuclear Medicine Technology. The certification was the culmination of nearly a decade of work and study in a highly technical field.
Naila M. Faran is the first Saudi woman to be certified by NMTCB in nuclear medicine technology.
While at King Saud University’s Medical Sciences College, Faran participated in the summer student programs in 1998 and 1999. She was an intern at SAMSO from 2000-2001 as part of her training. She graduated in 2002 and joined SAMSO’s Advanced Imaging Unit at the Dhahran Health Center a short time later.
In 2006, she was selected for the Nuclear Medicine Certification Program in California. Faran split her time between coursework at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles County and practical training at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange County. She received her certification in September 2007.
In her short time with the company, Faran’s professionalism and skills have proved to be an asset to SAMSO. “When I want something done I’ll give it to Naila,” said Salem H. Al-Owaidh, supervisor of Advanced Imaging.
“She has all the attributes that make for an outstanding health-care scientist,” said Sakhr H. Tarabzouni, director of Medical Technical Support Services.
“We are very proud of Naila,” said Dr. Sahar Z. Al-Sebaie, one of SAMSO’s nuclear medicine physicians.
Faran became interested in nuclear medicine as a student. “I found it fascinating,” she said. “This is where the cutting edge of medical science is. To be a good nuclear medicine technologist, you have to understand the whole complex physiological interaction between the body’s processes and radioactive material.”
The NMCTB certification is not the end of the road for Faran, who is already looking at new challenges. “I want to further develop my skills in Positron Emission Tomography (PET),” she said. “That’s the future of nuclear medicine.”
PET produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body.
One of the key differences between SAMSO and U.S. hospitals that Faran noted in her studies was the more hands-on approach of the nuclear medicine technologists at SAMSO.
“We make all of our own test kits here and follow all of the preparation process from A to Z,” she said. That means technologists develop a more rigorous set of standards and openness to innovation to improve procedures. The results, said Faran, speak for themselves.
“I think that Dhahran Health Center has one of the top nuclear medicine programs in the world,” she said, “because of its high standards, hands-on approach, and openness to innovation. Everyone is given lots of freedom to express and use their knowledge.”
The certification standards established by the NMTCB include educational requirements, practical experience and completion of an examination.
(Article by David W. Tschanz)