|
Health Sciences Education and Research Directly Impact
the Health of a Nation: Experts
Aga Khan University
(AKU) organised its 10th National Health Sciences Research Symposium
on 'Health Sciences Education - Trends, Opportunities and Challenges'
from September 19 to 21, 2005, which was attended by renowned scholars,
physicians, nurses and scientists from Pakistan, East Africa, Middle
East, Far East, Europe and North America.
The national
and international educators and researchers from the fields of undergraduate
and postgraduate medical, nursing and allied health sciences education
addressed a wide array of topics including assessment, teaching
and learning, monitoring and evaluation, support systems and resources,
the broadening of health professionals' education, curriculum and
new programmes.
Dr Camer Vellani,
Distinguished University Professor, AKU, said in his keynote address
titled 'Educational Foundations for Health Professionals' that the
main objective of the symposium was to enhance understanding about
the processes of education and their application in health sciences.
He emphasised that, "Continuous curriculum development and
broadening health professionals' education are matters for specific
consideration and deliberation in this regard."
Dr S. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, Higher Education Commission,
Pakistan, noticed in his presentation on 'Research as the Main Driver
of Education' that the key to assessment and improvement of education
standards is research. He said, "In the past couple of years,
there has been a 20 per cent increase in research publications within
Pakistan."
Professor Dr Jamsheer Talati, Chair, Symposium Organising Committee,
AKU, earlier said while welcoming the speakers that health sciences
education is of vital importance as it moulds the actions and attitudes
of future health professionals, thus impacting the general health
conditions. He noticed that, "The most important aspect of
this symposium is that it draws attention to research emanating
from different parts of the world, thus balancing original research
contribution from Pakistan with overviews from abroad."
Other keynote speakers included Dr John Norcini, President and
CEO of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education
and Research (FAIMER), Philadelphia,USA; Dr Irma Bustamante-Gavino,
Associate Professor, AKU School of Nursing; Dr Naveed Malik, Vice
Chancellor, Virtual University, Pakistan; Dr Janet Grant, Director,
Open University Centre for Education in Medicine, Milton Keynes,
UK; Dr Peter Harasym, University of Calgary, Canada; Dr Jacqueline
Dias, Assistant Professor, AKU School of Nursing; Batool Al Mohandis,
Consultant, Nursing Policy and Educational Development, Kingdom
of Bahrain; Dr Alfred Mutema, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya; Dr
Rukhsana Zuberi, Associate Dean Education, AKU Faculty of Health
Sciences; and Dr Syeda Kauser Ali, Director, Department of Medical
Education, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan.
At the concluding session of the symposium, presided by Dr John
Norcini, the FAIMER President, deliberations and recommendations
were presented by Dr Mohammad Khurshid, Dean, AKU Medical College.
The symposium was accompanied by various workshops, including that
on molecular genetics and collaboration. Maj Gen Muhammad Aslam,
Dean, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Science and Technology,
presented a summary of the workshop on collaboration and suggested
future steps for enhancing collaboration across national and international
institutions.
As with previous annual National Health Sciences Research Symposia,
this Symposium will have considerable impact on capacity building
which will be enhanced by a publication of the proceedings.
|
