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From our
correspondent
LAHORE: Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College (AMDC) located in the
South West on national highway from Lahore to Multan in calm and
fascinating suburb known as Baharia Town appears to be a good addition
to the newly established medical institutions in Pakistan in the private
sector. It is the brain child of Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan and his
colleagues. The commitment of the people behind this venture is evident
from the fact that they have so far invested over fifty crore rupees and
the purpose built building of the college campus with all the basic
sciences departments and laboratories were completed before the college
even started calling for applications for the First Year class last
year. To begin with they have started the medical college while dental
college will be established later. The campus also houses the Akhtar
Saeed College of Pharmaceutical Sciences which is a part of this
project.
Prof. Eice Mohammad
Principal,
Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College Lahore.
A visit to the AMDC campus recently and detailed discussions with some
of the faculty members including Principal Prof. Eice Mohammad and Dr.
Farooq Saeed Khan Chairman AMDC and Akhtar Saeed College of
Pharmaceutical Sciences (ACPS) was a fascinating experience. The college
started in 2008 and it is allowed to admit one hundred students in MBBS
class. The college campus has four lecture halls with seating capacity
for one hundred in each which are equipped with multimedia and modern
audiovisual aids. Biochemistry department has a spacious laboratory and
a demonstration room for 35-40 students. Histology laboratory is
equipped with thirty microscopes. Anatomy department has all the
essential specimens taken from cadavers. Anatomy museum has plastic
modules and a dissection hall. Pathology department has all the
requisite facilities and equipment and so are the Departments of
pharmacology, community medicine and forensic medicine which have their
own museum.
A view of the Akhtar Saeed Medical and
Dental College campus at Lahore
The college has set up a modest central library as well fully equipped
with internet facility and twelve computer terminals for faculty members
and the students. It has medical books, indexed medical journals and
informatics laboratory. Then each department has a departmental library
as well. On every Friday a CME meeting is arranged. Department of
medical education is also equipped with internet facilities where
planning for education and evaluation besides assessment is undertaken.
It also organizes CME and CPD programmes for the faculty members in
collaboration with University of Health Sciences (UHS) and College of
Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) from time to time. As per
requirements of UHS with which this college is affiliated, the entire
requirements essential for affiliation have been provided.
Akhtar Saeed
College of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Akhtar Saeed
College of Pharmaceutical Sciences headed by Dr. Ikramul Haq PhD will
admit one hundred twenty students and award D. Pharm, degree after a
five years course. This section has a separate computer lab and two
lecture halls with seating capacity for hundred students in each.
Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan Chairman of Akhtar
Saeed Medical and Dental College (Centre) photographed along with Mr.
M.Sabir Administrative officer of Farooq Hospital and Dr.Abrar Elahi
Malik Medical Supdt. of Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College the two
affiliated teaching hospitals of AMDC.
It has the departments of pharmaceutics, pharmacy practice,
pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy and phytochemistry all fully
equipped with appropriate laboratories. Even before the students
admission Akhtar Saeed Ccollege of Pharmaceutical Sciences has provided
all the basic minimum facilities for teaching and training for the
pharmacy students. The campus has a beautiful auditorium with seating
capacity of four hundred fifty.
Affiliated teaching hospitals
The 300-bed
Akhtar Saeed Trust Hospital is the main affiliated tertiary care
healthcare facility attached to Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College.
Brig. (R) Balal Ahmed Khan is the Chairman of this Trust Hospital. It is
a charitable hospital having all the specialties required for
undergraduate medical education. It is governed by the Board of Trustees
of Akhtar Saeed Trust. Farooq Hospital is the other affiliated teaching
hospital with bed strength of seventy two. It is located in Allama Iqbal
Town Lahore. It has all the modern diagnostic and therapeutic facilities
including CT scan, MRI, Echocardiography, ETT, Emergency Room, and PCR
laboratory with a well equipped pathology laboratory, Intensive Care
Unit, Coronary Care Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Picture on left shows an affiliation team
from the University of Health Sciences being welcomed during its visit
to AMDC by the faculty members while on right Prof. Mowadat Rana and
others from the UHS Affiliation committee visiting various section of
the college. Prof. Eice Mohammad Principal of Akhtar Saeed Medical and
Dental College is also seen on extreme left.
The board of management of Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College is
headed by Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan who is a consultant radiologist. Other
members are Dr. Fariha Farooq consultant obstetricians and
gynaecologist, Engineer Brig. Balal Ahmad Khan, Engineer Khalid Saeed
Khan, Malik Riaz Hussain Chief Executive Bahria Town, Dr. Abrar Ilahi
Malik, Dr.Salman Ahmad Khan and Prof.Eice Mohammad is Secretary who is
also principal of the college. The college is lucky to have quite a few
Ph.Ds in its faculty in the basic sciences.
Goals
of AMDC
Akhtar Saeed
Medical and Dental College will endeavour to produce medical and dental
graduates competent in cognitive and psychomotor skills as doctors
possessing higher human qualities. While practicing medicine, they the
college administration claims, will act as servants of the ailing
humanity and prove to be beacon of hope and benevolence for the poor.
These are no doubt very tall claims and how far they are able to
accomplish it will be watched with interest by all those concerned.
Among its other goals it is said that the college will establish
standards or teaching and training of medical students comparable to
international standards, have an integrated modern cognitive curriculum
involving multiple teaching and learning strategies, will introduce a
research culture among the faculty and students and uphold international
standards of patient care which will be enforced in its affiliated
teaching hospitals. The college intends to ensure achievements of
clinical competence and soft skills by exposing the students to state of
the art health facilities in its affiliated teaching hospitals from the
very beginning. It will impart health education to the community and
later on embark upon postgraduate medical education as well in the days
to come.
According to Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan Chairman of AMDC the faculty members
they are hiring will be joining the academic community which puts too
much importance on learning and research setting highest standards and
will foster independence of thoughts among the students. The students
will be equipped with long learning competencies and our emphasis will
be on instruction of how they learn and take the responsibilities for
their own learning. We will inculcate in them critical thinking,
decision making, problems solving, communication, team management and
leadership qualities besides clinical skills.
Prof. Eice Mohammad Principal of the College who has earlier served as
Principal in a number of public sector medical colleges hopes to
establish it as a center of excellence. The medical students who will
graduate form this institution, he opined, will not only be
professionally competent doctors but also excellent human beings.
The college has already constructed hostels for boys and girls while
another new hostel is fast nearing completion. Responding to a question
Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan clarified that Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental
College has nothing to do with Baharia Town. We have just purchased land
for these institutions in Baharia Town and it is located here and that
is all. However, Malik Riaz the chief executive of Baharia Town is a
member of the Board of Management. Replying to yet another question
regarding difficulties in acquiring experienced and well trained faculty
particularly in the basic sciences, Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan said that
there is no denying the fact that it is a rare commodity in Pakistan.
However, efforts have been made to acquire the services of well
qualified and experienced faculty members. They are offered contract
whereby it is ensured that no one leaves in between the session.
However, in view of the increasing number of new medical and dental
colleges being established, finding basic science staff is quite
difficult. He was of the view that the Pakistan Medial and Dental
Council as well as other government institutions should encourage and
allow some percentage of visiting faculty which will ease the situation
to a great extent. The PM&DC he further stated is quite receptive and
helpful and listens to our viewpoint which is quite encouraging. The
government he feels should encourage the private sector offering them
some facilities without compromising on quality and standards of medical
education. Visiting faculty is something which is being practiced by
many institutions and universities at home and abroad, he added.
Prof. Eice Muhammad and some other faculty members were of the view that
UHS as well as the PM&DC should undertake periodic inspection of all the
medical institutions in both public as well as private sector which will
help improve the situation to a great extent. Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan
opined that future lies with the private sector in every field, medical
and dental education being no exception. Some time ago the government
had started a few admissions on self finance basis in the public sector
medical and dental colleges which was a good step. It ensured
availability of some funds which the institutions could utilize for
further improving the teaching and training facilities but this scheme
has now been abandoned. Answering another question Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan
said that they were aware of the importance of bioethics and importance
of communication skills. Hence, all efforts will be made to ensure that
the students are provided enough exposure, teaching and training in
these fields.
On the face of it, the impressive college campus gives a refreshing look
and also shows the devotion and determination of the management to run
it on professional lines. How far they are successful and what place
this new institution can create for itself among the medical and dental
colleges in the country only time will tell. However, the mere fact that
unlike many other newly established medical institutions, they had a
purpose built building with lecture rooms, library, basic sciences
departments and even the auditorium ready even before they started
admitting students shows their good intentions and seriousness that they
are determined to accomplish the objective which they had set while
planning for setting up Akhtar Saeed Medical and Dental College. |
