Pulmonary Medicine Residency Programme

Pulmonary Medicine offers complete diagnostic evaluation and clinical management of all respiratory disorders for inpatient and outpatient services.

Pulmonary Medicine Residency Programme at Aga Khan University is an adult Pulmonology training program accredited by the College of Physician and Surgeons (CPSP) in Pakistan. This was established at AKU in 1999. The programme is aimed at providing comprehensive training in all aspects of Pulmonary Medicine. The stress is on producing academically qualified and highly competent professionals who are current in their knowledge and clinical practice skills. It offers high-level training under the supervision of motivated specialists in this field. AKUH has seven Pulmonary specialists and one Allergist/Immunologist, with varying interests in different respiratory diseases including tuberculosis, asthma and COPD, allergy and immunology, interstitial lung disease, sleep apnea, non-invasive ventilation and critical care medicine.

The equipment and facilities available for training at this institution (e.g. modern sleep lab, well-equipped bronchoscpy suite, pulmonary function lab and respiratory special care unit offering non-invasive ventilation) are the latest and state-of-the-art. Recently, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation service has been introduced. There is a close liaison with the Department of Radiology, Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery at our institution which is an essential component of a good training programme in this field. This programme offers organised structured training, availability of state-of-the-art equipment and a system of provision of quality care.

Goals and objectives

The overall goal of the Pulmonology Residency Programme is to train highly qualified pulmonologists who will contribute substantially to this field through exemplary patient care, original research, and teaching.

The trainee will achieve this goal through the following objectives:

• Become proficient in the clinical diagnosis and medical treatment of acute and chronic respiratory diseases including life-threatening illnesses;
• Become proficient in the selection, performance, and evaluation of procedures necessary for the morphologic and physiologic assessment of pulmonary diseases;
• Develop a comprehensive knowledge of the pathophysiology of adult respiratory disorders through self-study and formal workshops, lectures, and seminars offered as part of the training programme;
• Acquire effective teaching and communicating skills in Pulmonology;
• Understand the psychosocial aspects of respiratory diseases, develop skills in counseling, and become knowledgeable of the ethical issues related to respiratory diseases;
• Develop the administrative skills necessary to operate a Pulmonology facility including knowledge of staffing needs, unit management, programme development, and grant proposals;
• Acquire the necessary research skills to design, conduct, evaluate, and prepare for publication a clinical or laboratory based research project through experience, mentoring, and formal courses in research design, biostatistics, and epidemiology.

Duration of training

Pulmonary Medicine Residency is a three- year training programme.

Eligibility

• MBBS or equivalent degree approved by PM&DC
• One year internship with six months in Medicine and Allied and six months in Surgery and Allied disciplines
• FCPS (Medicine) Part I or MRCP Part I is mandatory. FCPS Part II or equivalent diploma (e.g. MRCP or Diplomate ABIM) is preferred
• Two years approved training in Internal Medicine

Scope and content

Skills and clinical training

The programme will emphasise heavily on clinical and practical skills in evaluating patients with pulmonary diseases. The resident will be able to perform procedures such as pleural aspiration and biopsy, chest tube insertion, and fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The resident will be able to manage critically-ill patients in special care units and ICU independently. He will be able to conduct independent pulmonary clinics and to counsel patients regarding ways to prevent pulmonary diseases. The trainee will be able to teach and supervise the junior residents, interns and medical students rotating in Pulmonary Medicine.

Didactic content

The resident will be taught at the bedside and also in the form of formal lectures and seminars. He will actively participate in teaching ward rounds and clinics, journal club, Pulmonary-Radiology session and other conferences. The resident will also participate in other teaching activities such as medical grand round, presentation of clinical practice guidelines and mortality and morbidity meetings.

Research

Research opportunities are a major strength of this training programme. The resident will participate in clinical and/or basic research under the supervision of a faculty member. Approximately 20 months of training will be devoted to the acquisition of research skills. Numerous opportunities for clinical research exist. We also encourage residents interested in clinical research to pursue master's level training in statistics or epidemiology.

Evaluation

The trainees will be in almost daily contact with one or more faculty members. The faculty member will give regular feedback to the residents and to the Programme Director/Coordinator. The Programme Director or Coordinator will discuss the performance with each trainee every three to four months. When necessary, the Programme Director/Coordinator will discuss the performance of the trainee with them more frequently than the above schedule and will provide appropriate counselling. Consistent inability on the part of the trainee to meet the required standard would lead to discontinuation from the training programme. There are two formal examinations held per year for their formal assessment.

Positions available

Two candidates will be taken per year. The programme is fully established with five residents in training.

Administrative set-up

There are six full-time and two part-time faculty members in the section of Pulmonary Medicine. In addition to clinical and teaching responsibilities, these faculty members have administrative responsibilities and research interests.

Full-time Faculty

Professors

Professor Javaid A Khan
Section Head; MBBS Karachi; FRCP Edinburgh

Associate Professor

Dr Nawal Salahuddin
MBBS AKU
Diplomate American Boards of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, USA

Dr Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi
MBBS Karachi
Diplomate American Boards of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, USA
Programme Director

Assistant Professors

Dr Shahid Javed Husain
MBBS Lahore
Diplomate American Boards of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, USA

Dr Ahmed Suleman Haque
MBBS Karachi; MRCP UK

Dr Muhammad Irfan
MBBS Karachi; FCPS (Med), FCPS (Pulm) Pakistan

Programme Coordinator

Part-time Faculty

Dr Nisar Ahmed Rao
MBBS Karachi; FCPS Pakistan

Dr Asif Ali Imam
MBBS Karachi; DABA & CI USA