Message from the Programme Director​

As the Programme Director, I am the custodian of the postgraduate academic programme in surgery. I work under the chair to ensure the faculty and residents are delivering on the agenda for the department as agreed with the university. 

It is a challenge managing driven, independent minded, intelligent and accomplished people who are almost all Type A personalities, but it is an honour considering that I was once a trainee on this very programme. In addition to the above, there are administrative duties that I handle over and above my usual clinical practice.

Over the course of the next few years, with the imminent completion of the undergraduate medical school, we anticipate a sustained rise in tempo in the academic delivery to the students and residents, and look forward to even more research oriented departmental initiatives. Part of my duties will be ensuring that we are improving in all these fronts.

The expansion in faculty ranks of the department has made it among the largest and most vibrant, and we are at an advanced stage of introducing new residency programmes, further enlarging the ripple effect we hope to have in this nation in years to come. 

This strong excellent faculty carry an important role as the delivery agents of surgical learning and as mentors to our residents. Our dedicated faculty gives life to the curriculum by delivering education to residents in a way that inspires, builds and nurtures them. 

Being one of the largest academic programmes, we work closely alongside many other departments in clinical and non-clinical areas. This close peer-to-peer collaborations are some of AKU’s strongest attributes in delivering the highest quality clinical care in the region. 

The hospital and university administrative structures have been supportive to the programmes in the past, and there is even more room for synergies in our efforts as we pursue the academic agenda as part of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Aga Khan University. Deeper collaborations in both academic and clinical pursuits will serve the faculty, residents, the university and the nation very well indeed. It is much easier to develop a culture of excellence as a habit collaboratively rather than in our individual areas.

Furthermore, I am grateful to my residents, who are always pleasantly surprising and inspiring. I have the highest expectations for them and wish them all that is good in their career paths.

I warmly welcome you to our department and look forward to working with all of you.