Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Impacting Reproductive Health

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at AKU has 13 full-time faculty, two instructors and four part-time faculty. It aims to address the need for human resource capacity building by producing graduates who will be life-long learners. The department seeks to achieve excellence in clinical skills, academics and relevant research for providing compassionate and ethical care to patients based on the best available evidence. From its humble beginnings in 1986, it has gone from strength to strength in provision of quality services and care.

In the last few years, the department initiated the development of five sub-specialties, offering state-of-the-art inpatient and outpatient services. The Feto-maternal unit was the first sub-speciality to become operational. Headed by Dr. Shama Munim, Assistant Professor, it has three faculty members who have a special interest in this area. They are Professor Jehan Ara Pal, Honorary Consultant, Dr. Lumaan Sheikh, Senior Instructor, and Dr. Romana Hamid, Assistant Professor.

Dr. Javed Rizvi, Professor and Chair of the department, with his team of Obstetrics and Gynaecology consultants.

There are four other sub-specialities in the process of development. Gynaecologic Oncology, providing comprehensive service for screening and management of gynaecological cancers, has Dr. Aliya Aziz Begum, Assistant Professor, working in close collaboration with Dr. Javed Rizvi, Professor and Chair of the department, and Dr. Nasreen Chaudhry, Associate Professor. The Urogynaecology team, comprising Dr. Javed Rizvi and Dr. Tahira Yasmin Naru, Associate Professor, will soon be strengthened with the arrival of Dr. Raheela Mohsin Rizvi, Senior Instructor, currently training in this sub-speciality in Australia. The department offers Infertility services at primary and secondary levels, and is developing advanced tertiary care management in this discipline. Dr. Javed Rizvi and Dr. Rahat Najam Qureshi, Associate Professor, have a special interest in this area. Finally, the department offers Minimal Access Gynaecologic Surgery, for which Dr. Nadeem Zuberi, Assistant Professor, will soon be leaving for training overseas.  Apart from the above sub-specialties, and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of routine gynaecological disorders, the department also has strong Obstetric services, headed by Dr. Zeenat Eva Khan, Assistant Professor. Dr. Khan is collaborating with the Nursing Services and the Hospital's Management Review Committee, chaired by Dr. Shama Munim, to ensure provision of care based on best available evidence.

Along with the provision of clinical services, the department also seeks to provide high quality education and training at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. At the undergraduate level, it is actively developing innovative strategies to facilitate learning. These include evidence-based and problem-based learning, a student mentorship programme and the use of core logbooks, enabling students to keep a record of clinical work undertaken. The department is currently developing a study guide for undergraduate students, to facilitate self-learning. At the postgraduate level, directed by Dr. Rozina Sikander, Senior Instructor, the department has an effective and efficient postgraduate training programme and a postgraduate committee. The four-year programme inculcates postgraduates with sound knowledge, appropriate skills and attitudes towards practice. Sixty percent of the department's faculty are AKU graduates, while others trained at the University are working throughout Pakistan and overseas. In the area of research, the department has been collaborating with partners both inside and outside the country. Faculty members are working on thematic research topics in collaboration with other departments within the university. 

"In its future endeavours, the department seeks to be a pioneer in establishing sub-specialities along with professional development of specialists and faculty by inculcating research potentials. The department is also focusing on developing innovative teaching and learning strategies in undergraduate and postgraduate education," said Dr. Javed Rizvi.