UHS launches new MBBS, BDS curricula after province-wide academic overhaul
The University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Wednesday formally launched the final version of its MBBS Modular Integrated Curriculum 2K23 and the second revision of the BDS Integrated Curriculum 2K25, 24NewsHD TV reported.
The move marks the culmination of a rare, large-scale academic exercise that brought together hundreds of medical and dental educators from across Punjab.
The launch ceremony, held at UHS Lahore, was attended by Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique as chief guest, alongside senior academicians, university heads, former health ministers, principals of medical and dental colleges, and members of statutory bodies.
The minister inaugurated both curricula by pressing a button on a laptop, making them live on the university’s website.
The newly launched curricula will be implemented in all public and private medical and dental colleges of Punjab.
Their approval was granted by a joint meeting of the UHS Syndicate and the Boards of Studies for Medicine and Dentistry.
Registrar UHS Kiran Fatima presented the formal resolution, which was signed by the conveners of the boards, the chairman of the syndicate and the provincial minister.
Addressing the gathering, Rafique congratulated the UHS vice chancellor and his team on what he described as “work not of moments, but of generations.”
He termed the participants of the ceremony “legends” of medical education and said he felt fortunate to work alongside them. Stressing the importance of emergency care, he said Punjab’s biggest challenge remained emergencies, which made proper training of medical students essential.
Vice Chancellor UHS Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore, speaking on the occasion, said that “after decades of discussion, we have finally reached this milestone in 2025.”
He said curriculum reforms had not been limited to MBBS and BDS alone, but extended to nursing and postgraduate programmes as well.
Former health minister Prof Javed Akram also congratulated UHS on the launch, describing the exercise as timely and much needed, while also sharing light moments about his long association with the provincial health leadership.
UHS Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Nadia Naseem, said that the MBBS Curriculum 2K23 was completed after three consecutive years of stakeholder review, involving around 700 faculty members.
In total, nearly a thousand medical and dental academics across Punjab participated in the preparation and continuous review of the curricula.
The MBBS curriculum introduces a fully integrated, modular structure spread over five years, with strong focus on early clinical exposure, self-directed learning, professionalism, ethics, research and patient safety.
Mandatory training in emergency life-saving skills has been embedded to ensure graduates are better prepared for real-world clinical settings.
The BDS Curriculum 2K25 Version 2.0 follows a similar integrated approach, aligning foundational sciences with clinical dentistry and community needs.