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Dow University first-ever semester exams
First-ever DUHS semester exams from April 12
Karachi, March 29, 2008: The first ever semester exams of MBBS first year at Dow
Sindh and Dow International Medical College will begin on April 12. According to
DUHS Controller Examination Rashid Ali, papers of Anatomy, Physiology and
Biochemistry will be held on April 12, 14 and 15 respectively. The deadline for
exam fees submission is April 2 and the fees is Rs 1,250. ppi
DUHS to set up 'skill labs'
Karachi: 'Skill labs' will soon be set up the Dow University of Health
Sciences (DUHS) as well as the Sindh Medical College (SMC) where students will
be trained in accordance with the trends in the profession, said the Pro-Vice
Chancellor, DUHS, Professor Salahuddin Afsar at a workshop organised by the DUHS
and the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) on Friday. This was done in collaboration
with the ENT Department of the university.
Professor Afsar said that
skills as well as knowledge are important for medical students, adding that the
DUHS had established a Professional Development Centre four years ago, which had
so far given training to students, post-graduates and doctors in more than 400
workshops.
The ENT department head, Dr Jawaid Alam, while stressing the
need for improvement in the field said that cancer of the head and neck is on
the rise. He said, that the oral cancer is the most common form of cancer in the
country.
Dr Sultan Pradhan, a renowned surgical oncologist from India,
performed live surgery observed by a large audience. He also demonstrated modern
techniques of surgery. The News
Only 7% of our medical students want to become psychiatrists
Karachi: Only 7.6 percent of
third-year medical students from four medical colleges, including two from
Karachi, have reported psychiatry to be either their chosen career or a highly
likely choice, a survey has revealed.
The findings of the survey have
appeared in an article, 'Attitudes of Pakistani Medical Students Towards
Psychiatry as a Prospective Career: A Survey' published in the April issue of
the journal Academic Psychiatry.
These numbers are alarming, the
researchers wrote. Pakistan is facing a shortage of psychiatrists; there are
about 350 psychiatrists in a country of 150 million. The WHO Mental Health Atlas
2005 gives an estimated number of psychiatrists of 4.15 per 100,000 globally.
There are about 2.8 psychiatrists per 100,000 people in Pakistan.
Relatively small numbers of students have identified psychiatry as their
specialty of choice in other studies. Experts have earlier reported that out of
223 freshmen surveyed from three medical schools, only one student identified
psychiatry as the career of choice in the US.
A total of 381 students in
their third year in four medical colleges were approached to participate in the
survey: Aga Khan University Medical College and Karachi Medical and Dental
College, Punjab medical college, Faisalabad, and Ayub Medical College,
Abbotabad. Sixty percent of the students responded and their average age was 21
years with a little over half women.
In Pakistan, third-year students go
through general internal medicine and general surgery rotations, which bring
some clinical perspective to their medical education. In all but one medical
college (AKU), teaching of behavioral sciences and psychiatry is restricted to
the fourth year and beyond. At AKU, behavioral sciences are taught from the
first year. A psychiatry rotation is part of the fourth-year clinical schedule
in which the students spend 2–4 weeks in the inpatient unit as well as
outpatient clinics. There is great variation in the quality of these rotations;
in some places (e.g., AKU), there is a structured rotation with end-of-term
exams while at other places it may not be more than an observership.
There was also a significant difference between genders for the reason
to choose medicine as a career. More females cited personal interest while males
cited family pressure as the reason for choosing their career path. More males
considered careers other than medicine prior to entering medical school.
Among those who rated psychiatry as their career choice, significantly
more rated it very attractive or attractive in relation to lifestyle,
interesting subject matter, intellectual challenge, rapid advances in
understanding, having a bright future, and association with other psychiatrists.
Significantly lower numbers of students who rated psychiatry as their first
choice thought it to be financially very rewarding or attractive with respect to
the degree to which this specialty draws upon all aspects of medical training.
More people in the group rated psychiatry as a chosen career as compared
to the US but fewer as compared to Israel. A large number (over 60%) of the
students had a negative view of psychiatry. At 7.6% the findings are close to
the US figure of 7.7%, but far less then Australia (15.1%) and Israel (32.8%).
This is not very encouraging. The situation becomes even bleaker when seen in
the context of the already very low number of psychiatrists in Pakistan.
Perhaps Pakistani medical students in their early clinical years carry
the biases toward psychiatry that exist in our society. They may also be
reflecting the attitudes of their supervisors from medicine and surgery. One
assumption is that the societal influence may decrease as the students progress
in their career. Exposure to a psychiatric clerkship could also influence
attitudes positively or negatively. Assessment of their attitude at year three
therefore may have important implications and could be a weakness of the study.
The average age of entry to medical colleges is lower in Pakistan than
in North America. Many of the students choose the medical profession to fulfill
the wishes of their parents. It is not known how much the maturity level of
students and attitude of parents would affect students' attitude toward
psychiatry.
Similarly, increasing numbers of students are interested in
studying abroad. This observation is based on discussions with our colleagues at
different medical colleges. We do know, however, that a significant proportion
of medical students pursue psychiatry in developed countries such as the United
States and the United Kingdom, and they later practice in those countries. In
the United States alone there are about 10,000 Pakistani physicians training or
practicing, and this number includes many psychiatrists.
Another
relevant issue influencing the opinions of medical students could be the
availability and quality of postgraduate training slots in Pakistan. At present,
17 institutions are recognized for training in psychiatry, having 100 trainees
at levels 1–4. On average, only five trainees out of about 25 qualify each year
in the exit level examination to practice as psychiatrists. The numbers of
approved training posts are limited. Low passing rates and a shortage of
approved training posts might discourage the interested candidates even further.
Pakistan cannot even meet its needs for general health care given the current
levels of production. The situation is worse for mental health.
A low
number of locally trained and a tiny number of foreign trained psychiatrists
leave the system with a dearth of role models for our students to look up to,
thus maintaining a status quo in the areas of service and training. Daily Times
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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