Address by Mr Firoz Rasul
President, Aga Khan University
Bismillah-ir-rahman-ir-rahim
Chief Guest, Professor Bo Lindblad of the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and Professor Emeritus at AKU
Chairman of AKU's Board of Trustees - Ambassador Saidullah Khan Dehlavi and Mrs. Dehlavi
Trustees
Provost - Dr. William Doe
Dean of the Medical College - Dr. Farhat Abbas
Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education - Dr. Mumtaz Khan
Graduates, Proud Parents, and Distinguished Guests
Faculty and Staff of the Aga Khan University
As Salaam Walaikum and welcome to the Post Graduate Medical Education (PGME) Graduation Ceremony.
To the PGME Graduates - Well done! Your hard work and perseverance has enabled you to accomplish this milestone. To get to this point many of you have balanced multiple roles and we are proud of your dedication and success.
To all the families of the PGME Graduates - Thank you and congratulations. It is your support and encouragement that has enabled our PGME graduates to attain this goal. So let us take a moment to acknowledge your contributions to the successes we celebrate today.
Of course we must not forget to acknowledge the hard work and efforts of all the Programme Directors and Coordinators, faculty and staff - it is your tireless efforts that enable the success of not only the PGME programme as a whole but in particular - our graduates today. Also invaluable is the contribution to PGME by the respective section and department heads.
Today is an opportune time to reflect on the history of PGME at AKU. Postgraduate training programmes at AKU started in 1986 and the Department of Postgraduate Medical Education was established in 1995. Since then AKU's PGME programmes are the resource that produce quality academic faculty for the region.
Based on its success in Pakistan, the PGME programme was introduced in East Africa. Currently AKU runs 5 PGME programmes there: Anesthesiology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Radiology, and Pathology. And we are adding to that mix by launching 3 more fellowship programmes in Pakistan: Neurovascular, Adult Infectious Diseases, and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.
The PGME model is also being introduced in Kabul which has proven to be a fertile ground for collaboration and capacity building enabling AKU to support quality health initiatives in the region.
In pursuit of this quality and excellence, AKU remains committed to the highest standards in education. This requires constant and consistent assessment, evaluation and appraisal so that improvements are identified and implemented.
As AKU's PGME Programme emulates global best practices to uphold our international standards - we are constantly reviewing internal processes to ensure quality. For example this year, we piloted end of the year examinations for all residents. From next year, the examination results will be analysed and evolve into criteria for promotion.
Another important quality measure has been the strengthening of the Intern induction process which has become more rigorous. This year for the first time candidates were required to undergo multiple mini interviews - a novel experience indeed and one that ensured higher quality admissions.
AKU is well aware that it is only by openly discussing challenges that we are able to move forward and remain at the forefront of academic postgraduate medical education programmes. And of course produce high quality specialists to serve the region.
We are indeed proud to have added substantial value and capacity to the health services in this region. Graduates to-date include: 927 Interns, 617 Residents, and 68 Fellows - a total of 1,612 health professionals.
The number of graduates this year is also significant: 65 Interns, 68 Residents, and 13 Fellows - resulting in 146 more well qualified and superbly trained health professionals to help meet the health needs of this region.
In fact two-thirds of all PGME graduates are working in Pakistan and one-third of all clinical faculty at AKU are graduates of our own PGME programmes. This year alone, almost 400 Interns, Residents and Fellows are on-board; all of whom are essential parts of the university and enable us to fulfill a key component of AKU's mission: to positively impact our society.
Postgraduate Medical Education remains a core function of AKU and has yielded significant influence on the practice and dissemination of academic medicine in Pakistan and the region.
As AKU graduates, you stand on the shoulders of others who have gone before you - and have contributed to the improvement of health care. Now you have opportunities to develop innovative medical technologies and practices that are culturally sensitive and contextually relevant.
As you have no doubt heard in your time here, AKU emphasizes the focus on continuous learning and growth. And AKU understands that growth is about getting better - not just getting bigger. So AKU is committed to helping you translate these innovations into ethical global best practices. We cannot grow without you - it is your expertise and intellect that help AKU remain the change agent and role model it has always been. As representatives of AKU, we hope that you will remain committed to taking the best practices learned here out into the community; and helping to advance the innovative spirit that epitomises AKU.
You are graduating from a pre-eminent institution for medical education and there are many who will depend on your leadership. The strength of leaders is their ability to engage and motivate those around them - so I urge you to use your knowledge judiciously and go bravely into the future to fulfill your dreams and ours.
Let me close with a quotation by His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor, the Aga Khan University, made during the Convocation Ceremonies in November, 2003:
" The path we have chosen is not easy to chart - and it is certainly not risk free. But it is both a necessary and an exciting road - filled with the promise of high adventure. Even as our University moves on down such a path, so I hope will each of you . for wherever you go, this University also goes - we are inevitably a part of one another's future."
Welcome to the AKU alumni family - I encourage you to stay connected to us and to remain focused on positively impacting the community here.
Once again, congratulations to you all.
Enjoy your day!
