The Iranian Research Center for Ethics and Research in Medicine

My visit to this Center, headed by Prof. Mahmoud Abbasi, at Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was no less than a revelation.  I know of very few other centres in the world where work in this field is being tackled so comprehensively; too often work of this type is either under-funded or it is financed by interested parties (for example the pharmaceutical industry) and lacks objectivity.  This Centre has succeeded in promoting a series of well-planned research studies in the field, but also in extending its influence throughout the medical and pharmaceutical professions in Iran through undergraduate and post-graduate teaching as well as the provision of two quarterly publications devoted to Medical Law and Medical Ethics respectively.

Its work deserves to be much more widely known internationally, and through my Editorship of the International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine I can ensure this. I spent a fascinating morning in discussion and was invited to join the Faculty and the Editorial Board of the Center"s two  Journals. A week later I returned or a full lecture for a large audience on The Law and Ethics of the Pharmaceutical Industry (the title of one of my recent books, which they actually use!). I have also been asked to come back to teach on their course on Medical Ethics in 2009.  I shall in due course receive a formal invitation with exact dates for next year"s teaching, which I hope can be funded through NIKI or in other ways

Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

At the Medical University of Tabriz I found myself in the middle of the debate about the need to link more closely the education of physicians and pharmacists so that the pharmacist again becomes a close ally of the physician and adviser to the patient, as he was for centuries, and less of a retailer.  This is an issue that much concerns both the faculties in Tabriz and our own in Oslo - we are now working  closely with the  Oslo pharmacy school on educational issues. Again  we have to consider how our two universities  could best help each other. I have started consultations within both our facultiies here in Oslo and we shall be coming with proposals. during the next few days.

Tabriz also provided me with the opportunity to lecture to two large student audiences on matters relating to medical law, ethics, and the commercial manner in which drugs are being promoted throughout the world to physicians.  This latter topic elicited a great deal of interest – it was indeed difficult to end the discussion in time for the next appointment!  The students were clearly well-trained, accustomed to critical debate and anxious to learn from international experience.    

In  Tabriz I also found  a demand for collaboration with foreign universities on Bioethics.  I am discussing this with our Bioethics people in Oslo University and again I expect to return to the matter with proposals for collaboration.

The NIKI-NNFTRI-FNSFT Joint Meeting

During the final days of my stay in Tehran I was privileged to lecture at this meeting, taking as my topic “Law and Ethics in Food and Nutrition”.  The interest and the quality of the ensuing debate was as evident as in the Medical Faculty.

This visit was both a rewarding and highly enjoyable experience and one which will certainly contribute to the building of important academic bridges in coming months and years.  The hospitality was overwhelming.   There were tremendous opportunities throughout to meet colleagues and students and to develop ideas, both in formal and less formal surroundings.  I was deeply impressed by what I saw and heard, and I am very anxious to maintain and expand contacts, I believe to our mutual benefit.

All this augurs well for the future.  Once again my sincere thanks to NIKI, the British Council and the two Universities for making all this possible, and so generously!

M.N.Graham Dukes MD, MA, LLM

Professor of Drug Policy Studies

University of Oslo, Norway