Life Starts after 80
It was pleasant to read ‘wisdom words’ of Prof. Dr. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas in the Pulse International issue (Sep 15-30, 2024). I met Prof Abbas first time when he was a Professor and Dean Postgraduate Institute at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad. And then we served together at Shifa College of Medicine (SCM), Islamabad for a couple of years. He is a soft, gentle, sweet fellow with a good sense of humor. He has a charismatic personality and has always been well-dressed. He is a model of humanity and humility with scholarly attributes.
I found Khwaja Sahib a hарру man but, when one peeps into his pupils of eyes, one can see hidden tears lingering. He is a lovable figure. He is a Pediatrician with a touch of a class, good organizer, an immaculate artist, a writer and a literary man. His book” Living in Clouds” merges science with literature and art. We now eagerly look forward to his second book which will be transformed from his neurons and soul to the hard bound papers shortly. We wish and pray that Prof. Abbas writes a column one day on “ Life begins at a Century.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Aslam
professormaslam@yahoo.com
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Dr. Abbas lives his life on his own terms, I always find him doing something or the other, more so organizing musical soirees at his home. May he lives a long healthy life and keep his many friends, family and admirers around his admirable company.
Farzana
farzanaursani@yahoo.co.uk
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Learned doctor having passed almost eight decades of his successful life. It’s the ideological clarity of about the life itself and the world and the greater universe that makes a person healthy and fresh minded soul.
Imran Rashid
Email: sir_786@outlook.com
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Who will lead the Funeral Prayers
The leaders who are sincere to their institution always train and groom their potential successors. The ones who do not train the next leaders are responsible for the demise of their institution with their own demise.
Prof. Ahmed Badar
Saudi Arabia.
badarabbott@hotmail.com
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An excellent read
Dr. Lamia Yousuf,
University of Lahore, Pakistan.
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Very thought provoking
Dr. Hina Ahmed,
Lahore – Pakistan.
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Research Day at JMDC Karachi
This refers to the news report covering the Research Day meeting at Jinnah Medical & Dental College, published in September 15th issue of Pulse International. Coverage is Marvelous, thank you so much. Hope to see you soon
Prof. Ambreen Usmani
Principal
JMDC, Karachi.
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I would like to thank the distinguished speakers at the Research Day symposium organized by Jinnah Medical & Dental College i.e. Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid, Prof. Syed Mubeen and Professor Dr. Kashif Shafiq. Their presence and contributions are much appreciated for carving out time for our faculty and students at Jinnah Medical and Dental College despite their hectic schedules. It not only greatly inspired our teachers to participate actively in training research projects, but also to innovate in their next work and elevate their bar for mastering the art of presentation.
Dr. Zeelaf Shahid
Email: drzeelaf@jmc.edu.pk
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Research Day was an excellent event which you conducted in JMDC. I hope medical education department will achieve more success and main the quality of education in JMDC.
Dr. Soobia
Karachi.
Email: Soobiasaeed1@gmail.com
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It is brilliant work by the students. I can see the effort that the Department of Medical Education and Community Health Science has put into this
Fadieleh A. Sohail
Email: Fadieleha@yahoo.com
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Excellent write up and remarkable symposium well done Dr Zeelaf Shahid. Congratulations to the whole team.
Ambreen Usmani
Karachi.
ambreenusmani1@yahoo.com
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Know Thy Body
This refers to the above mentioned column by Dr. Munawar Aziz published in one of the recent issues of Pulse International. On literature search of well documented communities (mostly US, West and Australia) the allergy labelled prevalence in adults is1:3 and 1:4 in children’s though very variable. Also nomenclature difficulty of labelling drug-drug interaction than adverse or hypersensitivity issues remains clarification. The reported case here is apparently Quinolone intake. There are many more manifestations of the drug group including mental agitation and hyperpigmentation. The author has Ingenuously brought in food allergies as narrative, elucidating an important public information.
Prof. Tariq Mufti
Peshawar
Email: tariqmufti48@gmail.com
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6th National PAME Conference on Medical Journals
A very engaging article to read. Your writings always bring events and stories to life, making us feel we are right there in the middle of it.
Prof. Mariyah Hidayat
University of Lahore.
mariyah.hidayat@ucm.uol.edu.pk
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Biological Clock
Agreed Sir. Lack of sleep or disturbed sleep is a complex symptom that emanates from psychosocial forces that seem to be in abundance in all societies today. One causative factor is the relentless drive to achieve more wealth (and perceived status as a result). In doing so, an important aspect of parenting may be lost – quality time with children. Once you get into this rat race, it is inevitable that irritability sets in and short temper becomes the norm when one does not seem to be handling the stress of under-performing in terms of economics of the household. This leads to strains in family relationships and children will avoid aggressive parents. The result may be children seeking help elsewhere and may land themselves in the company of inappropriate people. Therefore, while it is right to make a living, there needs to be a balance in life.
Abid Ali Khan
Email: abidkhan7000@yahoo.com
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Functioning of a Basic Health Unit
This refers to the above off the Rescored column published in Pulse International recently. The first and foremost responsibility is of the senior officers of the government in health department to come out of the slumber, to visit the BHUs and fulfil the duty. The second is the monitoring team or in last the Public private partnership. To improve the primary health integration can offer better prospects also. The integration of basic health unit to the district hospitals and the district hospitals to the university hospitals is also an option. The geographical areas for the admission to medical colleges are already in use and demarcated. The same educational topography may be used for health delivery. The post graduates and graduate students can be posted /rotated also in their respective districts in BHUs, through supervisors, in collaboration with government (secretary health) and CPSP. I have described this model in my book, Health policies and public health in Pakistan.
Prof Asghar Channa
Karachi.
asghar.channa52@gmail.com
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Late Prof. Kh. Sadiq Husain
Thank you for writing a befitting obituary of Prof Khawaja Sadiq Hussain. He was indisputably the most respected elder in the medical fraternity. You had a special relationship with him that is reflected in the series of letters that you shared. I wish all the readers add their personal memories about Khawaja sahib in replies. I met him for the first time when I had ADC duty with him in 1985 conference of medical college principals. He gifted me his signed book (checklist for clinical examination). Ever since then whenever I met him he would recall that conference and its arrangements. May Allah give him the best place in Jannah. Thank you Shaukat sahib, for including these photos of 2019 conference.
Ahmed Badar
badarabbott@hotmail.com
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“The Manufacturing Fault”
Thank you for your insightful and thought-provoking column. Your dedication to highlighting these critical issues in the medical profession is commendable. I pray for your health and well-being, and may you continue to be a guiding light in advocating for ethical practices and better healthcare in Pakistan. Aameen.
Mariyah Hidayat
drmariyah.hidayat@gmail.com
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Urgent Publication of manuscripts
Author wanting quick publication of their manuscript should clearly say:— “Please be quick. I am in a hurry. I want to read my Paper before my scheduled suicide”.
To the Editor: Please be patient with the impatient ones. Thank you.
Alaf Khan
United States
alafkhan1972@yahoo.com
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Thank You Prof. Zafarullah Chaudhry
May ALLAH bless him with a high place in Jannah. Aameen. Thank you for a very candid overall review of Prof. Zafarullah’s time with CPSP. A good wisher or a friend is one who is open and clear in his or her opinion about a friend or institution. Thank you for that and this should be a guidelines or lesson for juniors. May ALLAH bless Pakistan, all Pakistanis and it’s institutions.
Nadeem Alam Zubairi
drnadeemzubairi@gmail.com
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Obituary, tribute, history, qualities, deficiencies, and lessons to learn; this excellent “Off the record” article has all of them.
Ahmed Badar
badarabbott@hotmail.com
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An autobiography by Prof. Tariq Saeed Mufti
Your one sentence introduced him very I had a good rapport but I always found him a bit abnormal personality”. Prof. Tariq Mufti is my teacher, mentor, and then biggest support when “going got tough”. He is not a “bit abnormal” as you suggested, he is “totally abnormal”. That is why he was always totally different from all his contemporaries. There were people who loved him and people who hated him. He continued his progressive approach. He is a shrewd planner. He achieves whatever he plans in 90% cases. The 10% where he fails, he boldly accepts, reorganizes and starts again.
The biggest failure was Community Oriented Program (COME), the biggest successes in my opinion were three, Journal of Ayub Medical College, Kohat Medical institution and Rehman Medical Institution. He had a keen eye for recognizing talent, you named one of them Prof Akhtar Sherin, but I know at least 100 of them, which range from class IV employees to renowned surgeons, masons and plumbers to engineers, clerks to editors. He carried some of those gems alongwith him to the institutions where he moved. He was in the initial batch of CPSP master trainers and then conducted 100s of workshops. I can write another 300 pages on different aspects of his versatile (and multidimensional) personality but I will now close by sharing a secret that he partially shared in his autobiography…historians tell that actually by birth he is LEO and was born in August. I wish Prof Tariq Mufti the best and thank you very much Shaukat sahib for publishing this nice review.
Ahmed Badar
badarabbott@hotmail.com
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First of all the editor pulse has read the whole book which is highly appreciated. Secondly the editor has crystallized the messages from this book for new generation medics. Thirdly the historic medical mistakes or blunders. It is a meaningful review of the autobiography. The editor in fact has transformed the book in an editorial form. I testify most of the aspects of this book that I personally witnessed.
Prof.Khalid Mufti
Pershawar.
kamufti2001@gmail.com
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Prestige personality with lots of knowledge and experience. This autobiography is very helpful to all those young medical doctors and general public as well because there is so much to learn for everyone. Must read.
Ijaz Hussain
ijazmn93@gmail.com
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8-Days visit to Shanghai & Changsha cities of China
Your vivid descriptions of Shanghai’s transformation over the decades, from the humble airport halls to the bustling metropolis of today, truly paint a picture of China’s remarkable progress. Your journey through the intricacies of airport lounges and the unexpected twists of navigating airport gates is so adventurous.
As you explore the heart of Shanghai’s medical community, your encounters with esteemed professionals and the immersive experiences at Xinhua Hospital and Changsha’s First Hospital come alive. From the bustling streets to the serene riverbanks, your storytelling captures the essence of each moment, making me feel like I am right there with you!
Mariyah Hidayat
drmariyah.hidayat@gmail.com
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Academic collaboration between China and Pakistan
Your post beautifully showcases China’s impressive advancements in medical research and its commitment to international collaboration. The detailed narrative of your visit to Shanghai and Changsha emphasizes the significant role of such interactions in advancing academic cooperation. It’s inspiring to see your dedication to fostering relationships and sharing knowledge across borders. Your dedication to bridging academic communities is truly commendable and serves as an inspiration to us all.
Mariyah Hidayat
drmariyah.hidayat@gmail.com
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Processionary Caterpillar Syndrome by Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan
Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan’s efforts for promoting public health education at HSA Islamabad are although a drop in the ocean, yet innovative, bold and based on lateral thinking. To fix the health care system especially the PHC, a system thinking or system’s approach is needed, advocated back in 1978. A multisectoral engagement and contribution is a pre-requisite; which is not easy. Unfortunately, our institutions & departments and the provinces are disincentivised to work with each other, to share resources and to strive for one common vision.
Dr. Babar Shaikh
shaikh.babar@gmail.com
