ICDL Saudi Arabia, the governing body and certification authority of the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), has commended the Saudi Commission for Health Specialities (SCHS) for adopting the ICDL program as an IT literacy standard within the organization. SCHS has adopted the ICDL program to adequately equip its personnel and associated medical students with necessary IT skills in accordance with the requirements of a knowledge-based society. The move is in line with initiatives aimed at raising awareness on the importance of digital literacy and the adoption of modern technology within the health sector. It also complements efforts to further develop basic IT skills of medical staff and enhance their efficiency to consequently improve their performance and in turn boost the quality of healthcare services. ICDL Saudi Arabia aims to fully support the Commission's implementation of the ICDL program in medical education. The SCHS will encourage health professionals, trainees and students to enrol in this program. Furthermore, ICDL-certified health professionals registered with SCHS get up to 15 hours exemption from the IT training they are expected to undergo as part of the training programs offered by the Commission. Likewise, students of private health institutes who are already holders of ICDL certificates will be exempted from taking the IT course offered by SCHS. The IT-oriented initiative by SCHS aligns with the broader national strategy of raising IT literacy across all segments of Saudi society to establish an integrated knowledge-based national community. It also produces human resources who are able to harmonize modern technology with social development and national economic progress. Dr. Sulaiman Al Dhalaan, managing director, ICDL KSA, said: “The adoption of ICDL marks an important step for SCHS, which constantly aims to develop health professionals and students of health institutes and improve their skills in all areas, including IT. This development has numerous positive impacts not only at the professional level, but at the personal level as well, as it facilitates integration within a digitally-knowledgeable society. In this context, we affirm our full commitment to forge strategic relations with various private and public organizations to encourage the adoption of IT on a broad scale within the Kingdom.” The Saudi Commission for Health Specialities is an independent scientific body headquartered in Riyadh. The Commission supervises and evaluates medical training programs and oversees the establishment of proper standards and criteria for training and developing both health trainees and health professionals. ICDL is an integrated program that enables individuals to learn fundamental IT skills. The program requires testing to obtain a certificate recognized and endorsed by education ministries, among others.
