Review of Bilal Nama: A Memoir by Cardiac Surgeon Bilal Yousuf
Thank you for writing this article and sharing the memoir of Dr. Brig Bilal. His final act of improving his village despite opposition from most of family members is worth something and will be paying him in long term besides improving the life and culture of the local residents specially of the kids. Great
Another message is that you can be a seriously serious person in religion but that doesn’t bar you from being active in healthy events or from sense of humour. Thank you Shaukat Sahib for letting us read the crux
Dr. Nadeem Alam Zubair
Saudi Arabia.
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It was nostalgic to go through the Memoir by Prof. Dr. M. Bilal Yusuf (transformed form Pervaiz Iqbal) who is my classmate of Nishtar Medical, College Multan and a close friend. Prof. Bilal joined Nishtar after Fall of Dhaka in 1971 and got migrated from East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh). He is a staunch Muslim and hails from the core of Tabliqhi Jamaat. He was a studious and a hard task master throughout. He used to be an objective centered man during the study period. He rose in his career and professionalism through his righteousness and industrious trait. He is a truthful man with a good sense of humor.
He now spends his time in the post-retirement era by playing golf, participating in Tableeghi Chilla and roaming between Pakistan (Rawalpindi & Lahore) and the UK (Manchester & Birmingham). One can see the rays of “Noor” from the glow of his face.
His tremendous and remarkable asset has been to nurture his roots. He has developed his ancestral village located in far-flung area of Chishtian, Bahawalnagar and did scientific farming, He built a farm house, fruit farm, flower garden, kitchen garden, a free medical center and a guest house besides community center in the village. All these have been named after the names of his elders(s) of his mother ,father and near elderly relatives and also some common people who used to live there in the good old days. He considers it as a heaven on earth. We, the classmates, feel so proud of him.
Maj Gen [R] Prof. M. Aslam
MBBS, M.Phil, Ph.D, FPAMS, FCPS
House No.169, Street No.06,
Race Course Road,
Rawalpindi – Pakistan.
professormaslam@yahoo.com
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Certificate Course in Reproductive
Sexual Health by CFMP
Many thanks for the wonderful coverage and news of course inauguration.
Much appreciated and gratitude
Best regards.
Shehla Naseem
Secretary, CFMP
Karachi.
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Thank you for the excellent, extensive comprehensive coverage of inauguration of this Reproductive and Sexual Health course.
Prof. Zaman Sheikh
Course Director
Karachi.
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Dept. of Medical Journalism at UHS Lahore
It is a great news to formally establish the Department of Medical Journalism at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore. Several years ago, the efforts by the Pakistan Association of Medical Editors (PAME) in collaboration with the Eastern Mediterranean Association of Medical Editors (EMAME) were made with the guidance of Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid. Thereafter, Prof. Javed Akram (then VC UHS), Prof. Ahsan Waheed Rathore (current VC UHS) and Prof. Nadia Naseem (Current Pro-VC UHS) played an immaculate role to start CME and CMJE courses at UHS. The UHS has developed a “nidus” for Medical Editing and Journalism. I am happy, it has been patronaged by the Ministry of Health, Government of the Punjab. We need to make a sustainable financial model and to search appropriately qualified medical journalists to join as Full Time Faculty Members at UHS to launch Masters (MS/M.Phil) in Medical Journalism duly accredited by HEC, Pakistan in the coming years.
I congratulate PAME, EMAME and the leadership of UHS to open new vistas in the country in the horizon Medical Journalism: I promise to be of utmost assistance to PAME and UHS for this noble academic venture.
Maj Gen [R] Prof. Mmmad Aslam
MBBS, M. Phil, PhD, FPAMS, FCPS
professormaslam@yahoo.com
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Sugar coated Bitter Pills
I am indeed indebted for your kid gift of numerous issues of Pulse International and a copy of your latest book ”Sugar Coated Bitter Pills”.. No doubt you are a versatile medical writer who is shrewd and straight. The latest issue of August 15-31 Pulse suddenly carried me in the past and looking at familiar faces refreshing my memories. I hope to read and contribute in future.
Dr. Anwar Ahmad Bugvi
Former Addl Sec Health
Government of Punjab,
Lahore – Pakistan.
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History of Medical Education
I was amused to read an article written by Dr. HR Ahmed and Dr. Zabtain Gul from AKU-Karachi in the recent issue of Pulse. The authors have traced the history of Medical Education and Healthcare Delivery to mankind from the Greek and Roman empire Era. Then, they narrated the NHS system of the UK and the commercialized Health Insurance System of the USA. The authors overviewed the healthcare delivery system in the developing countries and for each of the provinces of Pakistan.
I do agree the importance of governance, education philosophy, institutional integrity, social equity and ideological ground work for the contemporary welfare state. This requires cohesion and financial health. The intellectuals of the state, senior medical doctors, social figures, economists and philanthropists must sit together in successive meaningful debate to design a model to deliver a quality healthcare to the privileged and to the deprived community of the country which fits in well to our socioeconomic and regional perspective.
I am thankful to Dr H R Ahmed to initiate a debate on this much-needed challenge. I do appreciate that the article has been dedicated to a scholarly physician scientist, Prof Dr. Mahmud A. Akhtar.
Maj. Gen. [R] Prof. M. Aslam
MBBS, M.Phil, Ph.D, FPAMS, FCPS
professormaslam@yahoo.com
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Theodore Roosevelt’s Journey to the White House
This refers to your latest column in Off the Record “Theodore Roosevelt’s Journey to the White House” which made an interesting reading. It had very pertinent lesson and actual inference learnt from the story of Roosevelt, which is applicable to the ‘land of pures’
Dr. Anwar Ahmad Bugvi
Former Addl Sec Health
Government of Punjab,
Lahore – Pakistan.