UHS reviews curricula of Level-IV MD, MS programmes

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Wednesday hosted a joint meeting of the Medical Specialty Advisory Committees for Level-IV MD and MS programmes under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore.

The meeting was attended by specialists in endocrinology, electrophysiology, gastroenterology, paediatric dermatology, paediatric infectious diseases, cardiac thoracic anaesthesia, paediatric critical care medicine, paediatric cardiology, paediatric endocrinology and diabetes, paediatric neurology, radiotherapy, paediatric urology, vitreoretinal ophthalmology, neonatology and neuro-spine surgery, among other disciplines.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Rathore said the university had launched discipline-specific faculty councils, which were already working in the basic medical sciences. Starting in October, he added, similar councils would begin monthly seminars in the clinical sciences as well.

The vice chancellor said the councils were being set up in 76 specialities and would include faculty from the level of assistant professor to professor. “This initiative will not only contribute to the capacity building of faculty but also directly benefit students,” he noted.

Prof Rathore stressed that all programmes had been redesigned on an outcome-based model. “While writing research papers is important, research itself has fundamental value. This is why a thesis must remain compulsory in Level-IV programmes,” he said, adding that doctors pursuing super-specialities must demonstrate competence in research along with clinical expertise to set them apart.

The VC said more than 2,000 research projects had been completed under the MD and MS programmes over the past three years. Some curricula for Level-IV programmes had already been finalised, he informed, while the remaining committees would submit theirs by October, after which induction into these programmes would begin.