Provincial Ministers of Health Kh. Imran Nazir, Kh.Salman Rafique invites Principals, Vice Chancellors to discuss the issue
8th IHPE 2024 Conference at UOL
LAHORE: Provincial Health Ministers for Primary, Secondary Healthcare and Specialty care and Medical Education Kh. Imran Nazir and Kh. Salman Rafique respectively have stated that the provincial government is prepared to establish a commission headed by Prof. Javed Akram to improve the health system so that the healthcare professionals could optimize their performance. The response from Kh. Imran Nazir came when Prof. Farid Al-Zafar commending the contributions by late Prof. M. A. Rauf the founder of the University of Lahore remarked that he resigned from government service early as he could not have done all this while in service. Those working in the public sector have to face lot of hurdles, bureaucratic hindrances which at times is very frustrating, he remarked.
Kh. Imran Nazir further stated that by accepting the Ministerial responsibilities his business has suffered a lot but we all do this in the national interest. We do need to improve the health system and let us all do it together. My brother Minister for Medical Education Kh. Salman Rafique is here and we are prepared to do whatever is required to introduce meaningful reforms in health sector. We are open to any suggestion which will be implemented, he stated. He invited the Principals, Deans of Medical Colleges and Vice Chancellors of Medical Universities to sit together and we can formulate an agenda to move forward. Paying rich tributes to late Prof. M. A. Rauf he said institutions like UOL should grow and flourish. Private health sector is supplementing government efforts hence it should be strengthened. If we can improve healthcare in rural areas, it will greatly reduce rush at teaching hospitals, he added.
Kh. Salman Rafique in his speech appreciated the functioning and performance of University of Lahore ever since its inception with eleven faculties. During the last decade we have seen rapid advances in technology and AI has also revolutionized medical education and research wherein it is being increasingly used. Improving medical education and such academic activities, development both vertical and horizontal will further enhance the image of the university. UOL’s training in undergraduate, postgraduate, Health Professions Education and Research are commendable. He hoped that other institutions in private sector will also initiate various programmes. We need to improve the primary healthcare which should get priority. During our tenure as Health Minister we established four new medical colleges and four medical universities and bringing them up to the mark to get PM&DC recognition was an uphill task which we accomplished successfully. Let us give respect to the teachers. Recalling his experience of visit to various healthcare facilities, he stated that we need to improve our system. Prof. M. A. Rauf will be remembered for all days to come because of his contributions. We all have to deliver and ensure our contributions if we wish to be remembered with good words, he remarked.
Earlier Prof.M. Ashraf Rector of UOL pointed out that at present UOL has thirty five thousand students with eleven faculties. We have set some milestones which are remarkable. 7th ICHPE is an important event organized annually which has been a great success. Credit for all this goes to Prof. Mahwish Arooj and her team of committed devoted professionals. In the AI era promising advances are being made in the health sector. Data and Innovations are being made at a fast pace. We need to learn Genome technology as now sequence of Genome can be identified. We have to keep in mind how best we can use these advances, he added.
Mr. Ozair Rauf Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors of UOL speaking on the occasion said that it was a privilege for us to welcome medical educationists from all over the country and distinguished speakers from abroad. He further stated that it was late Prof. M. A.Rauf, late Prof. M.H. Qazi and late Prof. Ijaz Ahsan who started this journey. Prof. Rauf left government service early, had energy to establish this institution. We will try to take it to new heights in the days to come. We will try our best to come up to their expectations. We are keen to collaborate with other institutions and organizations in the country and at global level, he stated.
Prof. Mahwish Arooj Principal of UCMD and Chairman of the organizing committee said that we are celebrating two decades of this institution. It was the vision of late Prof. M.A. Rauf who made it possible. UCMD was established in 2002. We established a small Department of Medical Education which has now emerged as an Institute of Health Professions Education and Research. Apart from local institutions, we have established institutions in Kenya and Uganda. We have five teaching hospitals affiliated with UCMD, three primary healthcare centers, first Paediatric Cardiac surgery institution in private sector and UCMD is now ranked among the top five medical colleges. UOL has emerged as one of the best and biggest universities in the country. We have introduced integrated curriculum, established a Simulation Center for training and we are collaborating with thirty one medical colleges, universities in this conference. We wish to further enhance our collaboration locally and at global level. Late Prof.M. A. Rauf will live forever in the shape of his legacy UOL which he built, she added.
Prof. Mahwish Arooj said that UOL has been the trend setter. We have three thousand Alumni, have so far trained two hundred twenty Masters in Medical Education and currently has more than two thousand trainees in various disciplines. Prof. Mughees Baig in his welcome address said that ICHPE is an important annual event. During the last two decades we have held numerous conferences in various disciplines. We have Masters and PhD programmes as well. Such conferences offer an opportunity to share knowledge and experienced with national and international colleagues. We have invited distinguished experts to discuss how we can now move forward, what strategies we should employ to achieve our objectives. International Society of Medical Education has endorsed this conference. Prof. Devi from Malaysia remarked that it is a family get together for AEME members. Continuous Professional Development and Research is a passion with us and we are all doing that by participating in this conference.
The inaugural session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Zahid Pervez who thanked all the Principals, Vice Chancellors, national and international speakers, the chief guest and guest of honour for their participation which made it a great success. Detailed reports of some of the presentations at different scientific sessions will be covered in subsequent issues.
Thank you for the detailed report on the inaugural session of ICHPE. It was truly a memorable event and a remarkable tribute to our esteemed leader, the late Mr. MA Rauf. His vision of a university, providing a vibrant learning environment for thousands of students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful dreams that has become a reality.