AKU Symposium Discusses Advancements in Health Sciences Education

Hailed by international scholars for the quality of research presentations and its meaningful content, AKU’s 10th National Health Sciences Symposium was held from September 19 to 21, 2005 at AKU’s Stadium Road campus on the theme of ‘Health Sciences Education - Trends, Opportunities and Challenges’.

The Health Sciences Symposium is a major event in AKU’s yearly calendar and is designed for professionals from nursing, undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and allied health fields. Renowned scholars, physicians, nurses and scientists from Pakistan, East Africa, Middle East, Far East, Europe and North America attended the event and addressed a wide range of topics. The discussions covered assessment, teaching and learning, monitoring and evaluation, support systems and resources, the broadening of health professionals’ education, curriculum and new programmes.

In his keynote address on ‘Educational Foundations for Health Professionals’, Dr Camer Vellani, Distinguished University Professor, AKU, said that the main objective of the Symposium was to enhance understanding about the processes of education and its application in health sciences. He emphasised that, “Continuous curriculum development and broadening of health professionals’ education are matters for specific consideration and deliberation.”

Dr S. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan, said in his presentation on ‘Research as the Main Driver of Education’, that research was the key to assessment and improvement of education standards. He said, “In the past couple of years, there has been a 20 per cent increase in research publications within Pakistan.”

Welcoming the speakers, Professor Dr Jamsheer Talati, Chair, Symposium Organising Committee, said that health sciences education is of vital importance as it moulds the actions and attitudes of future health professionals, affecting the general health conditions of the masses. He noted 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.”

Dr John Norcini, President and CEO of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), presided over the concluding session. He asked for research material presented at the Symposium to be disseminated internationally, noting that problems in education were the same all over the world. About the proceedings of the Symposium, he said, “There is evidence of clarity on the research question being asked, recognition of international knowledge on the topic, its application to the local context, and an impressive understanding of methodology.”

He further said, “There were contributions from all levels of authors, clear evidence of collaboration across disciplines, and the standard of papers was such that they would have been accepted at a universally acknowledged high level education conference such as the one arranged by Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE).”

An unprecedented number of workshops of exceptionally high quality accompanied this year’s Symposium. The proceedings of the Symposium shall be published separately to enhance the efficacy of the core findings. As with previous annual National Health Sciences Research Symposia, this Symposium encouraged holistic development in health sciences education and research. The workshops and proceedings of the Symposium have contributed significantly towards ensuring a continuous flow and exchange of information and helped the health education scene in this region to remain up-to-date and in step with the needs of today.