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AKU - NAMA - Summer 2010
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AKU-NAMA Aga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni Summer 2010, Vol. 3, Issue 1
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Transcript of AKU - NAMA - Summer 2010
AKU-NAMAAga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni
Summer 2010, Vol. 3, Issue 1
2
Editor-in-Chief
Adeel A. Butt
Editorial Staff
Shain Amershi, Executive Assistant
Associate Editors
Faiz Bhora, Medical College
North American Chapter
Rahila Zakir, Medical College
European Chapter
Tazeen Jafar, Medical College
Pakistan Chapter
Umer Darr, Medical College
Pakistan Chapter
Erum Kabani, School of Nursing
Fahmida Mehdi, School of Nursing
Nadim Farooqui, Institute for Educational Development
Nilufar Shariff, Advanced Nursing Studies
East Africa
Balkis Rouached, Institute for the Study of Muslim
Civilisations
Marie Andrades, Postgraduate Medical Education
Ex-Officio Members
Firoz Rasul, President
Farhat Abbas, Dean
Medical College, Pakistan
Rozina Karmaliani, Interim Dean
School of Nursing, Pakistan
Muhammad Memon, Director
Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan
Yasmin Amarsi, Foundation Dean
School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Africa
Anjum Halai, Interim Director
Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
Mushtaq Ahmed, Associate Dean
Medical Education, East Africa
Farouk Topan, Interim Director
Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, UK
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are of the individual authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the editorial
board or Aga Khan University.
Contents
President Rasul with members of the University’s management team at the Alumni
Reunion 2009. AKU
IN THIS ISSUE ...
From the Editor's Desk 3
“Precious Freedom” 4
Alumni Reunite! 6
A Small Contribution to Karachi 7
Talaash 8
Taking Nursing a Step Beyond 9
Cricket … at AKU 10
To Know, to Do, to Be 11
Critical Care Journey: Take-off in Tanzania 12
Teaching Research Through Service 13
When Opportunities Knock, Take Them 14
On the Road to Burn-out? 14
Benefiting from Information Management 15
The Way We Carry AKU-SON With Us 15
A Big Thank You! 15
When Alumni Inspire Students 16
Campus Happenings 17
Awards and Honours 18
Class Notes 19
NRMP Match Results 21Co
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On a recent flight fromSeychelles to Dubai, I picked up acopy of Gulf News. A major featurewas on a free clinic run by doctors ofPakistani origin in Dubai. Under theauspices of the Pakistan AssociationDubai, the clinic caters to the poor ofall nationalities who cannot affordexpensive treatment. In these days,when Pakistan mostly features in theworst of news stories, this effort byhealth care professionals is a welcomebreath of fresh air.
The first faculty of Aga KhanUniversity was the Faculty ofHealth Sciences. Graduates fromthe School of Nursing and MedicalCollege have brought many hon-ours and laurels to the University.An alumnus is leading the NationalHealthcare Day in the UnitedStates under the sponsorship ofAPPNA (Association of Physiciansof Pakistani-Descent of NorthAmerica), with many other alumnilending a helping hand across thecountry. A nursing alumna, fea-tured in this issue, has worked bothnationally and internationally tohelp communities in resource-poorsettings, and there are many othernursing and medical alumni hold-ing leading positions in medicaland public health institutionsaround the world.
So, how do you measureimpact? Aga Khan Universityand its alumni have been workingon measuring the impact of theinstitution and its graduates. Withvarious schools and programmesit has been a challenge to developa uniform metric that can gaugethis adequately. But some meas-ures are easy to collect andassess. Peer recognition, mediacoverage of high stakes-highimpact projects, nomination tomajor professional and socialorganisations, leading nationaland international initiatives, andappointments at major institutionsof higher learning are a few waysto measure the ability to imple-ment change. And it must besaid, with great pride and joy, thatour alumni have done well in allthose categories, and more.
Other more recent programmesare not far behind. The AdvancedNursing Studies programme in EastAfrica, the Postgraduate MedicalEducation programmes in Pakistanand East Africa, the Institute forEducational Development on bothcontinents and the Institute for theStudy of Muslim Civilisations in theUK have produced alumni who haveexcelled in all the categories men-tioned above. Stories of their suc-
cess have been published in previousissues of AKU-NAMA and we willcontinue to recognise these membersof the AKU alumni. The real hopefor a brighter and prosperous futurefor the developing world and theworld at large lies with well-educat-ed, tolerant, progressive and main-stream professionals. And Aga KhanUniversity should take due pride inbeing at the forefront of producingsuch leaders.
3
recognising successAdeel A. Butt
From the editor’s desk
Alumni gather together at the Reunion. AKU
4
reunion
“Relations in human society areordered, are prioritised, accordingto power. Individuals and groups ofindividuals seek to enhance theirpower. But what is power? Power isthe capacity to produce intendedeffects. The more power you have,the more effectively you can attaina particulargoal.
Many different manifestations ofpower exist. There is physicalpower, the stronger side wins in aconflict. There is the power ofwealth, richer people manage to do alot more generally and rise higherthan the pecking order of society.And then there is the power of tech-nical knowledge, the very fact that
the doctors over here can cure apatient. But the power of
ideas exceeds that ofphysical force,wealth and techni-cal knowledge,and this is a con-cept that is not soeasily understoodor recognised.
Not allideas are equal-ly powerful;there aregood ideasand there
are very powerful ideas. Powerfulideas are incredible in terms of theeffect they produce upon society.They rule the world, they drive ouractions, they form our beliefs andthey unleash multi-revolutions.They have this enormous powerbecause they move our mind andshape our understanding of the
world. Like theswine flu, theymove from mind tomind, infecting anentire population,until they becomepart of common wis-dom and in thatprocess might toppleestablished beliefs.
It was VictorHugo who said that astand can be madeagainst the invasionof an army, but nostand can be madeagainst the invasionof an idea. One clas-
sic great idea was Galileo’s heliocen-tric universe, the notion that the earthorbits the sun. Although the CatholicChurch was not willing to accept thisidea, it was an idea, a concept whosetime had come and nothing couldstop it from taking hold of people’sminds and this is what we accepttoday. Take Charles Darwin asanother example, nothing could pre-vent natural evolution from becom-ing the very foundation of modernbiology. But these were ideas fromthe world of the physical domain;there are also ideas in the domain ofhuman affairs. These can be inter-
“Precious Freedom”
Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy, Chairman, Department of Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad gave thekeynote address at the Alumni Reunion in Karachi. Professor Hoodbhoy holds a PhD in nuclear physics from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, and has written and spoken on topics ranging from science in Islam to education in Pakistan. Excerpts from his speech are presented here.
In Pakistan, the true concept ofthe University is misunderstood;it is believed to be just a complex of laboratories, campusbuildings, and libraries. But thatis not true; universities are theproducts of the dominant socialattitudes, the values which existin the society.
“
”
preted as either good or bad but mostimportantly, they were transforma-tional, such as Napoleon conceivingFrance as one nation or MuhammadAli Jinnah creating Pakistan, an ideathat led to people willing to leave theland of their birth and move acrossborders andwilling totake enor-mous punish-ment andsacrifice.
In fact,we have aninstitution inhuman socie-ty that existsprecisely tonurture theintellect andto generatemore ideas;that institu-tion is theuniversity.An ideal uni-versityshouldencouragecriticalinquiry. Itwould createan environ-ment to devel-op more powerful machines, dis-cover more energy sources – allthings that could transform theeconomy of a country. It wouldtrain engineers, doctors, econo-mists, business managers. Its facul-ty would conduct research work inevery conceivable field, from doingwork on black holes to decipheringthe distinct language ofMesopotamia to documenting themating habits of tarantulas, andtheir fame would attract more facul-ty from every corner of the world.But most importantly, the ideal uni-versity would be modern – one thatis capable of fostering graduateswho think independently, scientifi-cally with an understanding of his-tory and culture. Its graduates will
be capable of coherent expressionsin speech and writing; they will bedemanded everywhere. And there’sno university in the world yet thateven comes close to this ideal one,not Harvard, not Cambridge, notOxford, none. But it’s something
AKU aspirestowards in itsplanned Faculty ofArts and Sciences.
In Pakistan, thetrue concept of theUniversity is mis-understood; it isbelieved to be justa complex of labo-ratories, campus
buildings,and libraries.But that is not true; universities arethe products of the dominant socialattitudes, the values which exist inthe society. Funding is not the solemeans to creating an ideal universi-ty but it is to introduce a new wayof thinking that allows it to comeinto existence.
So how do we change highereducation into Pakistan? How dowe change the culture of our uni-versities? How do we make themreal universities? First of all, youhave to have a vision and then theresources. While its higher educa-tion budget increased 12-foldbetween 2002 and 2008, Pakistan
still needs to invest more money.So what’s the most important thingto do?
First of all, we want to free ourstudents so that they can think.Education is about thinking; it isabout liberating the mind. We can-not allow biased individuals toenforce their version of faith ontothe university community. And Idon’t mean the community here;this is a different thing all together.We cannot forbid boys and girlsfrom attending co-educational insti-tutes; we cannot allow fanatics toban music on campus, to destroy artand culture. We cannot ban studentunions because they are a way to
allow political debate in a healthway and without violence.
The bottom line is that univer-sities are all about thinking andfreedom, without personal andintellectual freedom there can beno thinking and hence, no ideas.We would be drones, unable toknow how to exercise our mentalcapacities to differentiate betweenright, wrong, unable to engage incivilised discourse. So Pakistan’schallenge is not to create morelibraries, better equipment or fasterinternet connectivity, but it’s theneed to change attitudes and toexercise precious freedom.”
5
reunion
Not all ideas are equallypowerful; there are goodideas and there are very powerful ideas. Powerfulideas are incredible interms of the effect they produce upon society.They rule the world, theydrive our actions, theyform our beliefs and theyunleash multi-revolu-tions. They have thisenormous power becausethey move our mind andshape our understandingof the world.
”
“
President Firoz Rasul with Professor Hoodbhoy following his
speech at the Alumni Reunion 2009. AKU
“In school, we weretrained to be foot soldiers,”said Dr Junaid A. Razzak,MBBS ’94, who came to theUniversity in 1989 aftercompleting his secondaryeducation at a governmentschool. He recalled thathe and his classmateswere instructed to mem-orise lessons and regur-gitate information onassessments, they werenot allowed to thinkcritically or defendideas, but merely acceptthem as fact.
But AKU was anentirely different,strange world wheredialogue was consid-ered a virtue. Initiallyresisting the change,Junaid recalls how hestayed aloof from dis-cussions, from the“batting” of ideas. Butover time, he learntthat debate can resolvemany issues. Thoughhe learnt this lessonduring his five years atAKU, it was all the more apparentlater in his career. And this is whathe defines as his “true education”.
Recalling his late father, Junaidshared how the University was“human”. Concerned about thehigh tuition cost of Aga KhanUniversity, at a parents’ receptionon the very first day of MedicalCollege, his father expressed hisfears to the former University
President Shams Kassim Lakha.And Mr Lakha turned around andsaid, “We select students based ontheir ability to be an asset for thiscountry. AKU will make sure thathe gets whatever he needs to be anexcellent doctor; do what you can,but he is now as much our respon-sibility as yours.” Junaid believesthat very few institutions can makethat claim and said, “I know that
my father is not the onlyrelieved parent that AKUhas actually helped.
Junaid returned to AgaKhan University and now isin charge of the Hospital’sDepartment of Emergency
Medicine. And tohim, the Universitystill upholds thesame principles.
“Success is not adestination that youever reach but ratherit is the quality of thejourney, a journeythat started at AKU,”said Alia Nasir, Post-RN BScN ’96, whocomes from a smalltown in theHyderabad district ofSindh and is current-ly the Principal,Liaquat NationalCollege of Nursing inKarachi. Through afortunate encounterwith the AKU PublicAffairs team, she wasintroduced to AKU-SON and realising
the potential of the nursing profes-sion in Pakistan, she enrolled.
Completing her Diploma inNursing in 1990, Alia started as anAKU community health nurse atBaba Island in 1992, one of the threesmall islands within the Karachi har-bour. She helped introduce the pri-mary health care model in the areaand a water and sewage system –many years later, this system contin-
Alumni reunite!
6
reunion
Reunion 2009 and the AKU Auditorium in Karachi was abuzz with conversation – friends who had not seen each other for months, or even years, could be heard reminiscing about professors, lectures, labs and the overall mischief during their time at the University. The session opened with a handful of alumni speaking about how AKU has helped shape their world.
From left to right: Farah Kamal, ADE ’99, Alia Nasir Post-RN BScN ’96,
Dr Rozina Karmaliani, Interim Dean, AKU-SON, Dr Saida Rasul,
President Firoz Rasul, Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy, Chief Guest, and Dr
Muhammad Memon, Director, IED. AKU
7
Reunions are becoming a timewhen the alumni can contributedirectly to a community all overagain. Over 100 alumni from theSchool of Nursing,Institute forEducationalDevelopment andMedical Collegeoffered free healtheducation and screen-ing sessions to threecommunities inKarachi as part of theAlumni Reunion 2009celebrations. Close to1,650 residents ofKarimabad, BilalColony, andSultanabad/Golimar,both children andadults, were providedcheck-ups that includ-ed an interview ondiet, anxiety anddepression screening,anthropometric or comparativebody measurements, and glucose,haemoglobin and cholesterol tests.
Undernutrition, skin conditions,worm infections and dental prob-lems emerged as the most commonhealth issues in children under 12and teenagers. Eighty per cent ofthe adolescents checked also suf-
fered from moderate to severestress. Adults had a different set ofissues, with high blood pressure,high cholesterol, diabetes, skin con-
ditions and gynaecological problemsseen most often. The camps alsohelped identify the people whoneeded further medical assistancewho were then referred to healthcentres and public hospitals for fol-low-up and consultations.
This year, the camps educatedparticipants on nutrition, mental
health and hygiene and offeredneeds-based individual and familycounselling. Dr Rozina Karmaliani,Interim Dean, School of Nursing,
Karachi stressed the sig-nificance of impartinghealth knowledge toparents, “AKU prefersto educate parents asthey can richly con-tribute towards thehealth and education oftheir children. Educatingparents creates healthyfamilies and societies.”Mothers play an integralrole as a child’s healthand education startsfrom a mother’s lap -which is why it is cru-cial to give her thehealth information sheneeds about not onlycaring for herself buther children and familyas well. “Maternal edu-
cation can only help in decreasingmorbidity and mortality rates,” shesaid. Children were also activelyengaged in health education ses-sions through knowledge-basedcompetitions, puppet shows, anddrawing and painting activities.
Many thanks to the alumni whogave their time and services.
A small Contribution to karachi
reunion
ues to provide the community with asupply of safe drinking water.
Alia credits AKU-SON withgiving her knowledge and skills,and particularly the gift of lan-guage. She spoke of how hergrooming in English, in both publicspeaking and writing, opened a dif-ferent world for her. Twenty-twoyears have passed and Alia’s jour-ney with the University has still notcome to an end.
The Institute for EducationalDevelopment taught Farah S. Kamal,
ADE ’99, how to identify a problemand to seek solutions. It was the footin the door that led to her completinga Master of Education from theUniversity of British Columbia andan executive programme for non-profit leaders from StanfordUniversity – quite an achievementfor the head teacher of a 1,600-stu-dent school in Karimabad.
Farah is currently the CountryCoordinator for InternationalEducation and Research Network(iEARN) in Pakistan. iEARN, which
operates in 125 countries, is thelargest non-profit global networkthat allows teachers and students touse internet and other communica-tions technology to collaborate onprojects that promote global learn-ing. The programme supports 1,500schools in Pakistan, reaching over1,000 teachers annually throughonline and face-to-face training pro-grammes besides benefiting over5,000 people through communityservice programmes. This is whatFarah calls impact.
AKU
Life is indeed a kaleidoscope, anamalgamation of emotions: love,fear, joy, sorrow, inner struggle, selfevolution and salvation. But undeni-ably the first and the last wordetched on the slate of life emergesfrom the inner voice of one’s soul,the conscience. This idea was theessence and the main theme inTalaash, a production of AKU’sdrama club, ACT (Aga KhanUniversity’s Club for Theatre), for
the Association of Physicians ofPakistani Descent of NorthAmerica’s (APPNA) annual dinnerin Karachi in December.
Writing a play and encompass-ing this theme were in themselvesherculean tasks. Conveying themundane activities of everyday lifeis easy but trying to convey some-thing abstract and essential is a truetest of one’s skill.
The plot revolved around sixmain characters, four of whom pre-sented familiar and yet somehow
unique stories spanning from childabuse and materialism to despairand patriotism, issues that we canrelate to on an individual as well ascollective level.
These four characters, from dif-ferent walks of life, mysteriouslyland in an incredibly beautifulplace. All suffer from one vice oranother, their personalities seem tobe defined by suffering and so, theiremotions evolved. The characters
do not know the rea-son for their arrivalnor the time of theirdeparture but they allhave one ‘ambition’ incommon – they allwant to escape. Theywant to run away fromtheir problems as theyare terrified to con-front them.
The two othercharacters, Mehru andShero, are odd and yet
somehow seem to fit perfectly intothe picture. Initially baffling withtheir clandestine motives, darkhumour and sarcasm, it eventuallyemerges that they are personifyingthe different aspects of our innervoice. The strings of these puppetsare all in the hands of a magician orrather the narrator, appearing fromtime to time to both entertain andfacilitate the direction of thought.
Under the watchful eyes ofMehru and Shero, the other fourcharacters develop, discover theirshortcomings and, at last, embarkon the road to redemption.
Talaash was not just a play, buta reminder that life is ephemeral,that with all its limitations, regretsand heartache, the human soul hasthe potential to experience, learnand change. The question left echo-ing in our heads at the end of theplay, was whether we can hear ourinner voice? And like the charac-ters portrayed, can we too reachsalvation in this three-penny showof life?
8
reunion
talaashhira Waseem, mBBs ’12, najiha B. Farooqi, mBBs ’13 and maryam Zulfiqar, mBBs ’13
9
What factors motivated you tochoose nursing? I have a totally unconventional storyof why I chose nursing as my profes-sion – I got attracted to the buildingand the courtyards of the AKU-SON.When I joined AKU, the hospital and
the medical school were still underconstruction and the School ofNursing seemed like an oasis in thedesert with its beautiful red buildingand lush green gardens. I just want-ed a taste of living and studyingthere – the rest is history.
How do you think your educationat the AKU helped you in yourcurrent role?During my education and then in myfaculty role at AKU-SON, I was fas-cinated by the extensiveness ofAKU’s vision, operations and itsactual and potential impact on socie-ty. Thus, even though I have workedin a variety of health care settings inthe New York area, I tend to gravi-tate towards academic institutionsand love teaching.
What do you believe is the impactof your work? How are peoplebenefiting from it?I am currently conducting my doc-toral dissertation on employmentoutcomes of internationally-edu-cated nurses (IENs) in the US. Ithink this study and my futureresearch in this area will have atremendous impact on policiesrelated to the treatment of IENs inthe US labor market.
Furthermore in my faculty role,I think the global perspective that Ibring into my teaching has had aninfluence on how my studentsdefine their roles as nurses in thisera of globalisation.
How do you think the AKU alumniand the University can worktogether to achieve common goals?Any message to the other AKUalumni?Let’s stay connected. I recognise thatwith alumni spread all over the world,
it is hard for the University and us,the alumni, to engage in projects, butin this digital age, there are so littlebarriers that if we tried, we can over-come them with a “click”.
What role do you envision for AKUqualified nurses within an interna-tional community of nurses?AKU nursing alumni have alreadymade advances to improve nursingin countries such as, Afghanistan,Tanzania, Syria, Kenya, and Egypt,and I am sure I am missing some. Iforesee that AKU-educated RNswill have a greater role in promot-ing programmes of higher nursingeducation in the Middle East. I alsoconclude from my communicationwith the nursing alumni in the US,that many of us who have leftPakistan are craving to find a rolein AKU initiatives – it is just amatter of time.
The Editorial Board seeks nomina-tions for distinguished alumni from allAKU schools and programs for thissection. Please send a short profile ofyour nominee to: [email protected].
taking nursing a step Beyond
distinguished Alumni
Salimah Walani, RN ’87, holds aMaster of Science in Nursing fromSimmons College and a Master ofPublic Health from Harvard School ofPublic Health, both in Boston.Currently, she is a PhD candidate atNew York University, where she isworking on her doctoral dissertation.She recently received a grant from theSigma Theta Tau Honor Society ofNursing, Upsilon Chapter to conducther research.
Salimah was a faculty member atAKU-SON before moving to NewYork. After relocating to the US, sheworked for the New York CityDepartment of Health as an epidemiol-ogist and consultant public healthnurse, focusing on tuberculosis out-break work. She then worked as thedirector for a mobile health initiativefor school children in Brooklyn, NY, aprogramme under New YorkUniversity. At present, she teachesgraduate nurses at Felician College.
While working for these pro-grammes, Salimah developed aninterest in global health. Her out-reach activities took her toNicaragua and India, where she waspart of a team of nurses that con-ducted health assessments and edu-cational sessions for school childrenin under-served communities.
Salimah served the National AgaKhan Health Board for USA from2005 to 2009, which allowed her toplay a leading role to develop RemoteHealth Access for HealthProfessionals, a collaborative pro-gramme between Ismaili health pro-fessionals in the US and Aga KhanHealth Services in East Africa.
Cricket fans know that sport is ametaphor for life. There is struggleand heartbreak, joy and fulfillment,bitter competition, and flawed justice.Cricket buffs at AKU understand thatthe analogy can also be nicely extend-ed to faculty life at our institution.
Research is like batting. Youget big grants, publish greatpapers. It is like scoring hun-dreds and double hundreds.A publicationin NewEnglandJournal ofMedicine is like atriple-hundred in Australia. Apublication in Journal of thePakistan Medical Association islike a century in Bangladesh.The output is quantitative andclearly measurable. Just likeruns and centuries, there arenumbers of papers and the num-ber and amount of grant fund-ing. The top researchers are cel-ebrated like great batsmen. Theyare the heroes evoking theUniversity's admiration and awe.They win many man-of-the-match awards.
Clinical service is like bowl-ing. Again, the output is unam-biguous and numerical. Just asthe best bowlers take the most wick-ets with the lowest average, similar-ly the most valued clinicians see themost patients in the shortest time.Just as the difficulty of each wicketvaries, so does the difficulty of eachpatient. An ICU patient is like thewicket of a top-order batsman,requiring time, energy and concen-tration. A brief follow-up in clinic islike a tail-ender's wicket. Doingclinical procedures is like takingwickets in foreign countries. Majorprocedures are like taking wickets in
Australia; minor procedures, morelike Zimbabwe. You cannot winmatches without bowlers, just likeyou cannot run AKU without clini-cians. But clinicians are a notch
below researchers in thereckoning. They are still
heroes, but win fewerman-of-the-matchawards than batsmen,just like clinicians are
also looked up to by theUniversity, but a touch
less so than researchers.
Teaching is like fielding. It isinvaluable for the success of yourteam, but the output is difficultto measure and most of it doesnot even get recorded.Everybody knows who thebest fielders are, just likethe University knows fullwell its best teachers. Peoplealso understand that a finepiece of fielding – an impossiblecatch or an amazing run-out – canturn around a match, just like fantas-
tic teaching can create an extraordi-nary University. But great fielders,like the best teachers, go unreward-ed as individuals. Everybody willappreciate what a great fielding sideyour team is, and your fielding caneven prove decisive in winning amatch, but nobody will give you theman-of-the-match award.
Then you have the administra-tive hierarchy. The captain is like thedepartmental chair. He is supposedto tell you what to do and guide youto make the most of your ability.And the dean is the chairman of thecricket board, because he appointsthe captain. Finally you have thePresident who has the best job in the world, both in realityas well as metaphori-cally, because hegets to shape thewhole enterprise.
10
FeAture
Cricket ... at Akusaad shafqat, mBBs ’88
Teaching is like fielding. It is invaluablefor the success of yourteam, but the output isdifficult to measure andmost of it does not evenget recorded. Everybodyknows who the bestfielders are, just like theUniversity knows fullwell its best teachers.
”
“
11
FeAture
Educating young people todayis not just about inculcating values.Instead, it is about liberating themind and providingthem with the abili-ties and skills thatcan transform theminto caring andresponsible citizensof a global village.This means thatgood exam resultsare no longer theonly desirablelearning outcome;it is the qualitiesthat can help stu-dents be productivemembers of societythat are in demand.This means thattoday’s challengesare forcing us toreconceptualise ourapproach to studentlearning outcomes.
Learning out-comes fall into threemajor tiered cate-gories. The first and lowest tier is‘knowing’, the ability to understand;the second tier is ‘doing’, to useproblem solving, critical thinking,effective communication and tech-nology. And the top learning out-come is ‘being’, to be tolerant,responsible and caring.
Schools have found achievingthese learning outcomes is a chal-lenge. Experiences in the class-room have revealed that teachersfocus solely on ‘knowing’. One ofthe reasons could be a lack of pro-fessional skills. It could also be alack of awareness as to what othercategories of student learning out-comes exist and how they can beachieved. There is one argument
that helping students achievedesired learning outcomes dependson the professional background of
a teacher. Improving a teacher’sknowledge, skills and disposition isone of the most critical steps togiving students a proper education.If we want students to realise cer-tain outcomes, we have to look forways to enhance the pedagogicalskills of teachers.
Exposing teachers to variousprofessional development activitiesdoes not guarantee that they will beable to successfully help students.Teachers will need, in fact, to beprovided with practical ideas tosharpen the higher abilities of stu-dents such as ‘doing’ and ‘being’.Teachers who attend developmentworkshops usually acquire the theo-ry. But once they return to the class-
room, they fail to put theory intopractice and regress back to theirprevious habits due to a lack of
classroom strate-gies. Teacher pro-fessional develop-ment programmesneed to focus onhow to makeknowledge experi-ential, how torelate new con-cepts to a stu-dent’s daily life.They need to beexposed to thevariety of methodsthat include takingexamples and sto-ries from students,giving worth tostudents’ existingknowledge, creat-ing situationswhere studentscan discoversomething forthemselves, dis-cussing issues that
exist in the student’s environment,and engaging students in learningthrough interactive methods.
Existing approaches to teachingand learning in the sub-continentcontext have not been successful.We should develop our teachers insuch a way that they should not onlyappreciate the higher level learningoutcomes for their students but alsoinvolve young people in activitiesthat will ensure that they learn notonly how to ‘know’ and ‘do’ butalso how to ‘be’.
Ali Nawab is an AssistantInstructor at the Aga KhanUniversity Institute for EducationalDevelopment, ProfessionalDevelopment Centre, Chitral.
to know, to do, to BeAli nawab, med ’09
Gary Otte
12
There has been a dis-tinct improvement in healthcare services in Tanzaniaover the past decade largelydue to the socio-politicaland economic situation sta-bilising, even though finan-cial constraints are still ahard reality. HIV/AIDS andmalaria efforts absorb amajor portion of the budgetleaving other health caresectors, especially criticalcare, struggling for attentionand funds.
In the last two years,the situation has changed atAga Khan Hospital (AKH)in Dar es Salaam. We haveseen the formation of ateam of dedicated criticalcare professionals includingfour full-time residents,about 17 full-time nursesand one critical care nursingmanager. We now have ven-tilators, monitoring equip-ment and well-trained inten-sive care unit (ICU) staff,capable of managing adults, chil-dren and newborns, as well as pre-mature babies. We have witnessedan intensive care facility that hasdoubled from its original four beds.
As intensivists, we are proudto have played a vital, pioneeringrole in developing the ICU facilityat AKH, faced as we were with aserious lack of human resourcesand many other major problemsduring the start-up phase. Thesedifficulties did not deter us fromworking in collaboration with theUS Society of Critical CareMedicine to conduct a FundamentalCritical Care Support course – com-prehensive coverage of fundamentalmanagement principles for the first
24 hours of critical care – and withthe Ismaili Health PhysiciansAssociation North America andinstructors from American Societyof Critical Care Medicine to con-duct Advanced Cardiac LifeSupport and Paediatric AdvancedLife Support courses. The ICU con-tinues to be upgraded and recentlytelemonitoring via a central moni-toring station was set up. With thisintroduction, AKH has entered anew era of patient health care andquality improvements. Future plansinclude a separate neonatal inten-sive care unit and services such asbedside dialysis, continuous renalreplacement therapy and bron-choscopy, among others.
The AKH ICU has evolved intoa major referral centre, accommo-dating over 20 per cent of directreferrals as well as transfers fromother hospitals around the country.Data collected by us shows lowermortality rates in both adults andchildren. Of those patients who arecritically ill and mechanically-venti-lated, the survival rate is 59 per centin adults and 47 per cent for chil-dren with an average bed occupancyof 85-90 per cent.
While critical care is a novelconcept in Tanzania, authorities arebeginning to invest in it. But fornow, the ICU at AKH is the onlyone providing state-of-the-art facili-ties, particularly for babies.
Critical Care Journey: take-off in tanzaniadr tahir saeed, Pgme (Anaesthesiology) ’05 and dr Aijaz samad, Pgme (Anaesthesiology) ’08
FeAture
Jean-Luc Ray
13
Learning, based on exploring orsolving real problems, influences andtransforms students. Having learnedthis concept at AKU-IED in Pakistan,the next step was to put it into prac-tice at Aga Khan Academy, in theKenyan port city of Mombasa. TheAga Khan Academy prepares studentsfor the International Baccalaureate(IB) exam. The IB is an educationprogramme that develops inquiring,knowledgeable and caring youngindividuals through its challengingcurriculum and rigorous assessment.Diploma students, between the agesof 16 and 19, besides studying sixcourses, are required to fulfil threecore requirements: an extended essay,theory of knowledge and creativity,action, and service.
To teach my students researchskills initially I get them to engagein mini-research initiatives, in smallgroups and then in pairs. Thisprocess hones their skills for theindividual work that they eventuallywill have to complete.
Groups: I divided students intorandom teams and delved into issuesaffecting the community. Eventually,we zeroed in on hygiene issues inslums around Mombasa. One topicwas intestinal worms: how do chil-dren get infected and how can they beeducated to avoid infections. Beforevisiting the area, we prepped by iden-tifying an appropriate school, askingthe management for permission tovisit and developing our researchquestions. We also asked a doctor forde-worming medicine. Off we pro-ceeded for our field work, accompa-nied by our school nurse. My studentsinterviewed their counterparts abouthow they access hygiene informationand how many times a day they washhands; another group provide hygieneinformation to a number of their
inquisitive peers. All the students whotook part in the survey were providedde-worming medicine, with the helpof the nurse, as well as toothbrushesand antiseptic soap.
A lot of information was collect-ed during this exercise and it was
used to gain knowledge about datahandling and analysis. The resultinginformation was used by the studentsto write their research reports. Thisapproach was successful in teachingstudents research skills while encour-aging them to engage in communityservice – raising awareness aboutmedical and hygiene issues that affectphysical growth and cognitive devel-opment among children sufferingfrom water-borne diseases.
Pairs: To further enhance skills,we used the same approach in pairs.We identified issues in the schoolcommunity that concerned studentsand, after a brainstorming session,selected the top 17 issues. Some ofthem included using social mediasuch as blogs and Facebook; theschool’s use of resources like paperand electricity; and student-relatedthemes such as study time and peergroup support. The students con-ducted their research within theschool, with fellow students, teach-ers and members of the administra-tion as their subjects. This piquedthe ‘subjects’ curiosity and out-comes were eagerly awaited. Thefinal reports were of great interest tothe respective groups and some stu-dent recommendations are beingconsidered for implementation.
My groups and pairs approachesdemonstrate the interdependencebetween students and their communi-ty, be it their immediate communityor the larger one. It is an experiencethat has also taught my students thepurpose of research and how issuescan affect them directly or indirectly,experiences that can help transformthem into responsible citizens. This isa crucial aspect of sustainable learn-ing – an approach I learned during mytime at IED. In simple words, it isputting principles into practice.
teaching research through service Anthony gioko, med ’07
The extended essay is a require-
ment for students to engage in inde-
pendent research through an in-depth
study of a question relating to one of
the subjects they are studying.
Theory of knowledge is a course
designed to encourage each student to
reflect on the nature of knowledge by
critically examining different ways of
knowing (perception, emotion, lan-
guage and reason) and different kinds
of knowledge (scientific, artistic, math-
ematical and historical).
Creativity, action, service requires
that students actively learn from the
experience of doing real tasks beyond
the classroom.
Students can combine all three
components or do activities related to
each one of them separately.
The IB Diploma Programme
http://www.ibo.org/diploma/
A child receives de-worming medicine
from a student.
FeAture
14
Armed with BScN degrees from AKU-SON, we entered the ‘realworld’ with a passion to work with babies and their mothers. We weretrained to provide new mums with postnatal health and fitness educa-tion, and were focused on this goal from the very beginning.
At the same time it soon dawned on us that while nurses mayexcel in their routine responsibilities, they often remain unawarethat there is much more ‘out there’ that can be achieved – all that isneeded is an extra bit of zeal and enthusiasm. In our case, we gotthe opportunity to work in managerial roles and took up the chal-lenge to broaden our horizons and to look for ways to innovate, tothink ‘out-of-the-box’. And we did exactly that. We began develop-ing guidelines and checklists for postnatal care so that all nursescould refer to one operational framework. We encouraged mothersto attend daily postnatal education classes and we constantly pushedfor quality innovations.
Has there been any impact? We designed a small group-basedsurvey to identify the effects of our new steps on the health ofpatients and awareness among nurses. The survey, conducted fromFebruary toMay 2009,revealedencouragingoutcomes – wewere able tomake a differ-ence to a moth-er’s knowledgeand staff prac-tices. Our studyled to the intro-duction of dailypostnatal educa-tion sessions inour unit.
It is saidthat one createstheir own luck.For us, it wasmore thanenough that our efforts were recognised and patient satisfaction ratesimproved remarkably. We were also invited to attend the 13thBiennial Scientific Conference of the Society of Obstetricians andGynaecologists of Pakistan in February this year. Our presentation, onenhancing breastfeeding practices in new mothers through a postnataleducation programme, was well received. Such appreciation can onlymotivate us to stretch ourselves even further.
When opportunitiesknock, take them
On the Road to Burn-out?
Medical staff often experience high levels
of stress and burn-out and nurses are no
exception. A heavy workload, extended
hours, understaffing, dealing with death,
managing difficult family members and
patients, and conflicts with other nurses
and doctors, contribute to physical and
emotional exhaustion among nurses.
A high rate of burn-out can affect not
only the individual nurse, but an entire
health care setting. Nurses, as caregivers,
must learn to care for themselves – to
cope with stress and deal with anxiety.
Here are some tips to control burn-out:
* Realise that anxiety is part of the job.
* Laugh at yourself and the situations
you face; it is one of the best techniques
for preventing stress and burn-out.
* Reflect on difficult situations as
opportunities for positive learning.
* Realise that you are not a super
nurse. Manage your time better; half
of the techniques for managing
nursing stress are based on effective
time management.
* Find someone you can talk and discuss
feelings with such as another colleague,
family, friends, or even a therapist.
Attend stress reducing workshops.
* Maintain good health. Take care of
your body and mind by eating a bal-
anced diet, getting the right amount of
sleep to keep functional through the
day, and exercising to increase blood
flow and keep alert.
* Take time off. Engage in activities with
family and friends such as dining out
or going to the movies. Find a hobby or
other recreational activity. Use holidays
as time to recharge your batteries.
* If you experience stress due to a par-
ticular field or department, consider
moving to a less stressful area or
switching to another shift that may
not be as busy and stressful.
You CAN control how you feel.
shaheena salim Jumani, Bscn ‘05 and shazia naz Waris Ali,Bscn ’09
Farzana mukhi Jaffer, Bscn ’03
FeAture
15
Benefiting fromInformation Managementrozmin Pirwani, Post-rn Bscn ’93
I currently work as a SeniorApplication Analyst at NorthShoreUniversity HealthSystem inEvanston, Illinois. Here, I have hadthe opportunity to connect my pastclinical experiences with mynewly-attained knowledge in infor-mation technology. Informationmanagement is critical to the pro-vision of quality health care in the21st century. Medical infor-matics help make patientrecords more effective andsafer, and the increasing useof electronic files promisesenormous cost savings andimproved efficiency. Asmodern health care becomesincreasingly dependent oninformation management,employment prospects forthose skilled in this fieldwill continue to grow.
I graduated with a Post-RN BScN in 1993. In 2010,I earned my Master ofScience in MedicalInformatics fromNorthwestern University inIllinois. My classmates andI were the second batch ofgraduates from this new andunique programme. TheMSc gives clinically-trained healthcare professionals the knowledgeand experience of informationtechnology. These individuals canthen develop careers in informationservice sections within hospitals,health systems, academic environ-ments, and the health systems andequipment industry.
At the inauguration of theUniversity’s Faculty of HealthSciences in Nairobi, His Highness,the Aga Khan cited the words of thefirst hereditary Imam of the ShiaMuslims that “no honour is likeknowledge”. I look forward to avail-ing such stimulating opportunities inthe near future.
The Way We Carry AKU-SON With Usnatasha rehman Bscn ’07,rozeena gillani Bscn ’08, sanakarim Bscn ’07 and shireen Arif,Post rn ’09
Working outside the AKU envi-ronment may be a challenge in itselfbut as we have found to our pleasantsurprise (or maybe no surprise at all)any difficulties are offset by theappreciation and kudos that soonflow. We had simply put to work all
that we learned at AKU, from ourstudent days at the School ofNursing to Nursing Services at theHospital: the theory, the practice,and perhaps most importantly, theattitude. Creativity and innovationhave always been encouraged as themain ingredients to further polishour professionalism - and we arevalued for these qualities.
The four of us joined BaqaiMedical University’s (BMU)College of Nursing in Karachi rela-tively recently as nursing instruc-tors. It is a matter of great pride forAKU-SON that its alumna, AmynahMevawala, MScN ’07, is theDirector of the BMU College of
Nursing, and we feel extremely for-tunate to have her as a guide andmentor. Mevawala has been at BMUfor the last 13 years and continues tobelieve that she has ‘not stopped herlearning journey’.
A Big Thank You!karimah Pabani Bscn ’02
It does not need to be said, but I willsay it anyway - I am deeply hon-oured to be an alumni of Aga KhanUniversity School of Nursing.
Harry Emerson Fosdick oncesaid, “No horse gets anywhere untilhe is harnessed. No steam or gasever drives anything until it is con-fined. No Niagara is ever turned intolight and power until it is tunneled.No life ever grows great until it isfocused, dedicated, disciplined."
The education at AKU-SON andthe dedication of its faculty mem-bers have turned an ordinary personlike me into someone valuable. Ithas helped me build a strong foun-dation for my career that will helpme grow every day of my life.
Today, I am a responsible moth-er, a loving wife, a dedicated stu-dent, and a proud alumna. I have
reFleCtions
16
almost completed my Master ofScience in Nursing from McMasterUniversity, where I was recentlyhonoured with some awards. I workas a professional practice educator ata community hospitalin the area and I alsoconduct research andscholarly activities.In fact, one of mypapers will be pub-lished in an interna-tional journal inSeptember 2010.
Reflecting on mysuccesses, I have toacknowledge theefforts of the AKU-SON faculty: thankyou very much forall you do! My workexperience in bothPakistan andAfghanistan as a reg-istered nurse, nursingfaculty member, andnurse educator and advisor hasenabled me to work in any challeng-ing environment. I would, onceagain, like to express my gratitudeto each of you! Thank you.
When Alumni InspireStudentsAlina sadaf, mBBs ’13
On the evening of April 9, 2010,Dr Adil H. Haider, walked into astudent-packed auditorium. For me,as a member of the StudentResearch Forum, this was a sight tobehold. Rarely has the Forum everbeen able to herd more than a hand-ful of medical students to a guestlecture and almost never withoutserving free refreshments. But thistime it was different: there theywere, students stacked wall-to-wall,eagerly awaiting Dr Haider’s lectureon the role of research in developingan academic career.
While the lecture was a roaringsuccess, it was fascinating to witnesshow alumni can develop an instant
rapport with students. After all, theyare familiar with the battles we arefighting, having waged war on thesame fronts. It is this commonalitythat draws us towards one another.
As I think back to the lecture, Ifind myself convinced that only analumnus could have persuaded anaudience of hardened medical stu-dents about approaching research asa tool to ‘seek the truth’ and ‘make adifference,’ and not just as a fancyaddition to resumes. He correctlyidentified that students believe in asad dichotomy between the thingsthey have to do and want to do to getinto a good residency programme.
To dispel this myth, he used hisown example and that of otherprominent AKU alumni who havebuilt their careers around their pas-sions. These ‘AKU superstars’, as DrHaider describes them, include:Anita Zaidi, MBBS ’88, Hasan B.
Alam, MBBS ’90, Adnan Hyder,MBBS ’90, Faiz Bhora, MBBS ’92,Abrar A. Qureshi, MBBS ’93, SaadBin Omer, MBBS ’98 and NaeemRahim, MBBS ’98. All of these
alumni have walkedthe corridors ofsuccess and theirwork is a lesson indedication for allAKU students.
Dr Haider also quoted wordsof the wisdom thatthese superstarshad shared withhim over the years,and Dr AbrarQureshi’s quote inparticular seemedto resonate themost: “I havestayed in researchfor many reasons,but the reason thatstands out by far is tasting small successes.”
The inspira-tional message thatDr Haider conveyedto his young audi-ence was how stay-ing focused andworking hard onthe task one loves
to do is rewarding in itself. He saidthat material achievements are sim-ply by-products of this labour oflove. As he spoke, he seemed toexude the kind of energy and pas-sion that only a person who has pur-sued his dreams and reaped thefruits of success can know; it madeus want to end this false dichotomythat has fenced our hard work fromour passions.
I graduate in 2013. By then, Ihope to have the opportunity toattend many more inspiring talks byAKU alumni. I’m sure other studentswill continue to be drawn to themlike moths to a flame and we willneed bigger auditoriums to accom-modate the crowd.
reFleCtions
Dr Adil Haider speaks to AKU students about the significance of researchAKU
I have stayed in research for manyreasons, but the reason that standsout by far is tasting small successes.“
”-Dr Abrar A. Qureshi, MBBS ’93
17
CAmPus hAPPenings
New Trustees on Board
Two new members were added tothe AKU Board of Trustees inJanuary 2010 while Dr IshratHusain, Dean and Director,Institute of BusinessAdministration, Karachi retired atthe end of 2009.
Dr Haile T. Debas is the ExecutiveDirector of Global Health Sciencesat the University of California, SanFrancisco. His career spans nearlyfour decades and includes positionsat hospitals, medical centres anduniversities in Canada and theUnited States. Dr Debas is a fellowof the Royal College of Physiciansand Surgeons of Canada and theAmerican Academy of Arts andSciences. He is a member of theUnited Nations Commission forHIV/AIDS and Governance inAfrica, American Association forthe Advancement of Science,International Society for DigestiveSurgery, American Association ofEndocrine Surgeons, NationalAcademy of Sciences, AmericanBoard of Surgery and AmericanMedical Association.
Dr Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka iscurrently serving her second,four-year term as Under-SecretaryGeneral and Executive Director ofUN-HABITAT. She is the firstAfrican woman to be elected bythe UN General Assembly asUnder-Secretary General of aUnited Nations programme. DrTibaijuka is a member of theWorld Health OrganizationCommission on SocialDeterminants of Health, and theAdvisory Board of theCommission on the LegalEmpowerment of the Poor. In2005, she served as Special Envoyto the Secretary General on HumanSettlement Issues in Zimbabwe.Prior to joining the UN, DrTibaijuka was a Professor at theUniversity of Dar es Salaam.
People in New Positions
A new Dean, Medical College hasbeen appointed - Dr Farhat Abbas,who has served AKU and AKUH in anumber of different capacities sincehe joined as a resident in theDepartment of Surgery in 1985. DrAbbas holds an MBBS from DowMedical College and is a fellow of theCollege of Physicians and Surgeonsof Pakistan, Royal College ofSurgeons of Edinburgh and Glasgowand American College of Surgeons.
Campus Talk
A ground-breaking ceremony to markthe start of construction of a secondAmbulatory Care Building (ACBII) was held on April 16, 2010. TheUS$14.5 million project is part of anexpansion plan which foresees a
series of ambulatory care buildingsadded to the Stadium Road campus,allowing AKUH, Karachi to dramati-cally expand its outpatient services.The proposed ACB II will accommo-date dentistry, ophthalmology, ENT,
general surgery, gastroenterology,psychiatry, radiation therapy, and daycare medical oncology clinics. Inaddition, surgical day care facilities,including four operating rooms, willbe housed in the basement. The threestorey-building will be located next tothe Ibn Zuhr Building, adjacent to themain entrance gate. The entire proj-ect, including a link bridge betweenACB II and the Service Building, willmeasure 129,033 sq ft.
The establishment of a newGraduate School of Media andCommunications in Nairobi startingin 2011 was announced by HisHighness, the Aga Khan. The Schoolwill offer five core programmes: agraduate school offering a Master’sdegree in journalism and short cours-es on various media skills through itsDivision of Continuing Education and
Professional Development. It will cre-ate a Centre for Media EnterpriseManagement to strengthen mediaownership and management, andencourage entrepreneurship; anAfrican Global Forum for Media and
Viewing a model of the ACB-II building during the project’s groundbreaking ceremony
on April 16, 2010. AKU
18
CAmPus hAPPenings
Pioneering Global Safety
Dr Adnan A. Hyder, MBBS ’00,was chosen to lead the JohnsHopkins Bloomberg School of PublicHealth’s effort on MichaelBloomberg’s US$125 million GlobalRoad Safety Program. Johns HopkinsUniversity’s International InjuryResearch Unit will join forces withfive partner organisations, includingthe World Health Organization.Together, they will develop and putin place activities, with local govern-ments and NGOs, in 10 priority low-and middle-income countries to tack-le injuries and fatalities caused byroad traffic crashes. Dr Hyder said,“This is an excellent opportunity anda superb group of partners to developand implement strategies for reducingthe extraordinary number of prevent-able traffic-related injuries andfatalities worldwide.”
Society to support a dialogue in theEast African region on how mediacan better inform citizens and workmore effectively with different sectorsof society; and other public serviceinitiatives that will share Africa-spe-cific academic material with regionalmedia institutions. The aim of thenew School is to enhance media qual-ity, performance and practice in thecontinent and the developing world.
Obituaries
AKU ProfessorEmeritusProfessorSheikh ArshadSaeed passedaway onNovember 19,2009. ProfessorSaeed wasamong the
founding faculty members of theMedical College and played a sig-nificant role in its growth and devel-opment. He joined AKU asAssociate Professor ofPharmacology in 1984 and becamea full professor in 1989. He retiredin 2004 but continued in theDepartment of Biological andBiomedical Sciences as part-timeProfessor of Pharmacology foranother four years. In 2008,Professor Saeed was conferred thetitle of Distinguished ProfessorEmeritus, the first from the basicsciences department. He had pub-lished more than 260 papers in 320internationally recognised journalsand held nine patents from Europeand North America. He was the firstPakistani to be elected Fellow ofRoyal Institute of Biology. In 2001,Professor Saeed was awarded theHilal-e-Imtiaz, the first AKU facul-
ty member to be presented thisaward by the President of Pakistan.
Dr Syed Arif Ali Zaidi, formerAssociate Dean,Student Affairs,passed away onMarch 28, 2010.He joined AKUin June 1983 asAssistantProfessor ofPhysiology andwas promoted toAssociateProfessor in 1988. Dr Zaidi served asAssociate Dean of Student Affairsfrom October 1992 until his retire-ment in May 2007. After leavingAKU, he joined the GovernmentCollege University, Faisalabad beforemoving back to Karachi as Vice-Chancellor of Ziauddin University inDecember 2008.
Fahim Siddiqui
AWArds And honours
19
ClAss notes
School of Nursing
1985Currently working as AssistantManager, Nursing Development,Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan,Mehmooda Khowaja is finishingher BScN and plans to join theMaster in Midwifery programme atAKU in the future. She is proud toshare that her daughter is currently aBScN student at AKU-SON.
Samina Badruddin Khowaja isdoing her BScN online withUniversity of Phoenix while work-ing as a staff nurse in the postpar-tum unit at Gwinnett MedicalCenter, Georgia.
1991Amynah Pradhan has completedher MsN in Family NursePractitioner and received an awardfor Excellence in Primary Care inNursing. She is also a proud motherof a baby girl born on March 4,2010. Pradhan appreciates AKU’sefforts to keep the alumni connected.
1993Rozmin Badruddin Jiwani is a PhDstudent at University of Texas HealthScience Center at San Antonio.
1995Munira Prasla, participated in theMosaic International SummerSchool programme held in the UKin 2009. The aim of the programmewas to develop the leadership poten-tial of participants selected fromvarious Muslim countries. Praslacurrently works at AKU-SON.
1996Shirin Noorali Valliani has almostcompleted a MsN in Family NursePractitioner. She deeply misses andcherishes her golden days at AKU.
2000Shirin Alwani was mentioned in anarticle in Hospital News, a Canadianhealth care newspaper. The article
talks about a project Alwani isinvolved in and how it is impactingthe quality of life of senior citizensliving in nursing homes and otherhealth care settings.
2002Farida Khan Himat is enrolled atthe Stellenbosch University’s Masterof Philosophy in Health SciencesEducation in South Africa.
2003Yasmin Noorani is doing her MsN,specialising in Education. Noorani iscurrently settled in Seattle whereshe is the proud mother of two kids,a 14-month old boy and a two and ahalf year old girl.
2005Anila Naveed is a faculty memberat AKU-SON. She proudly recallsher student life and believes her richclinical experience of working withcritical cardiac patients will be ben-eficial in providing quality educa-tion to other nursing students.
Azmina Shahnool Khowaja hasrejoined the intensive care unit atAKUH, Karachi.
Khairunnisa Shallwani is currentlyworking as a nurse educator at a pri-vate hospital in Dubai. Under herleadership, the hospital was desig-nated with training site status for theAmerican Heart Association BasicLife Support programmes.
Munira Abhavani was blessed witha girl, Zahra Amin, on June 9, 2009.
Saima Merchant, an instructor anda student at AKU-SON, defendedher MScN thesis on the Nature ofNurses Verbal Communication withthe ICU Incubated, Unconscious andSedated Patients. She also receivedthe Rho Delta Research Award for2009, and has been elected Chair,Publicity and NewsletterCommittee, Sigma Theta TauInternational Rho Delta Chapter.
2006Muhammad Basharatullah com-pleted a Graduate Certificate inNurse Education from University ofSouth Australia in 2009. Hereceived distinctions in all modules.
Niaz Ahmed joined a multination-al oil and gas exploration companyas an occupational health nurse inKarak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
2007Anita Aaandani Sadruddin is com-pleting a Master in Epidemiology andBiostatistics from the Dow Universityof Health Sciences in Karachi.
Kiran Khowaja is working in thecath lab at AKUH, Karachi.
Mehtab Qutbuddin Jaffer is serv-ing as a Clinical Nurse Instructor,Outpatient Services, Aga KhanUniversity Hospital, Karachi.
Natasha Rehman is serving as aNursing Instructor at BaqaiMedical University, College ofNursing, Karachi.
2008Rozeena Gillani, NursingInstructor, Baqai MedicalUniversity, College of Nursing, ispursuing a MBA in health and hos-pital management from Institute ofBusiness Management.
Sarfaraz Masih, Senior Lecturer,Liaquat National College of Nursing,Karachi, is a member of the NationalTask Force for nursing school at theNational Institute of Health andSocial Sciences. In 2009, he spoke ata national seminar on ImageBuilding: Making Difference forNursing and Midwifery Professionalsin Pakistan and scientific nursing ses-sion at the 6th Liaquat NationalHospital Symposium.
2009Shireen Pyarali Lalani is a SeniorNursing Instructor and Year
20
ClAss notes
Coordinator, Baqai MedicalUniversity, Karachi.
Wais Mohammad Qarani is servingas Technical Advisor and Consultant,Afghanistan Midwifery and NursingEducation Accreditation Board.
Medical College
1995Saima Khawaja is currently train-ing at Institute for FunctionalMedicine in Gig Harbor,Washington. She has successfullycompleted a course in structuralacupuncture for physicians fromHarvard Medical School, training inSomatic Experiencing (a form of trauma therapy) from theFoundation for Human Enrichmentin Colorado and clinical homeopathyfor physicians from ThomasJefferson University in Philadelphia.
1997Fatima Naqvi is working as a geria-trician in Maryland. She completedher residency in family medicine fromWayne State University in Detroit, MIin 2007, where she was honouredwith the Best Intern and OutstandingGraduating Resident awards. Shecompleted her fellowship in geriatricsfrom Stony Brook University in 2009.
After working for five years as a pae-diatric hospitalist at Children's MercyHospital in Kansas City, SimiRahman is now moving to LosAngeles and wants to reconnect withAKU colleagues residing or visitingthe Los Angeles area.
1998Adil Haider was appointed co-direc-tor of the Trauma Outcomes ResearchGroup at Johns Hopkins School ofMedicine in Baltimore. He also servesthe institution as a trauma surgeonand an assistant professor of surgery.
1999Residing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,M. Rizwan Khalid is a consultant
cardiologist, and advanced cardiacimaging and interventional cardiolo-gist at the Prince Salman HeartCenter, King Fahad Medical City.
2000Ghulam Haider Akhund is serv-ing as an honourary Epidemiologistat the College of Physicians andSurgeons Pakistan, Hyderabad.
The University of Arkansas forMedical Sciences recognised SaeedMahmood Khan, with its Circle of Excellence 2010 award. Khanwas one of 12 physicians whoreceived the award this year andthe only physician from theDepartment of Internal Medicine.The award recognises compassion-ate health care and respect forpatients and families.
2001Imran Ahmad Khan is a hospital-ist at Lourdes Hospital inBinghamton, New York. He com-pleted his residency in internalmedicine from BrookdaleUniversity Hospital and MedicalCenter, Brooklyn NY.
2004Shahzad Shah recently attendedthe Association of Physicians ofPakistani Descent of NorthAmerica (APPNA) youth con-vention and believes that organisa-tions such as APPNA should col-laborate with Aga Khan Universityalumni to groom new leaders in themedical field.
2005After completing a fellowship in angiogenesis and eye technolo-gy, Yureeda Qazi is working as apostdoctoral fellow in retina andrefractive development at EmoryEye Center in Atlanta. She is proudto share her work on modulatingangiogenesis through alternativesplicing at the Association forResearch in Vision andOphthalmology meeting this year.
2006Majid Shafiq recently led EmoryUniversity to win the GeorgiaChapter-American College ofPhysicians Medical JeopardyCompetition. Shafiq and his col-league, Imad Hussain, look forwardto welcoming four AKU graduates inthe incoming PGY1 class at Emory'sinternal medicine programme.
2008Tahir Saeed received a Gold Medalin anaesthesiology in the FCPSexamination held in June 2008.
2009Sidra Ishaque works as a ResearchMedical Officer in the Departmentof Paediatrics and Child Health atAKUH, Karachi.
Institute for EducationalDevelopment
1998Dilshad Ashraf has been appointedHead, Research and Policy Studies,AKU-IED. Earlier, he served asChair, Research and Policy StudiesAdvisory Committee.
2001At a head teacher conference inReading, UK, Mansoor NazVindhani made a presentation onConnecting Classrooms, a project ofthe British Council.
2003Shahid Raza Badami is serving asa head master at Ghulaman-e-AbbasSchool in Karachi.
2004Babar Khan has recently been pro-moted as an instructor at Aga KhanUniversity, ProfessionalDevelopment Centre North.
2005Shahida Sultan is servingUNESCO as an education specialistand consultant for the project:Strengthening Teacher Education in
21
ClAss notes
Pakistan. She believes the researchand analytical skills she gained atAKU-IED, and her job experiencewith Aga Khan Education Service,Pakistan are the major factors con-tributing to this career leap.
2007Anthony Gioko is serving asProgramme Coordinator,Professional Development Centre,Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa.
Khan Zada got the ErasmusMundus Scholarship from theEuropean Union for a two-yearMaster’s programme in EarlyChildhood Education and Care,offered in collaboration with theOslo University College inNorway, Dublin Institute of
Technology in Ireland andUniversity of Malta.
Rashida Haji sends her greetings toall former colleagues and alumni.
2008Shamsun Nisa is a head teacher atDiamond Jubilee Middle SchoolHyderabad, Hunza. She also sendsher greetings to all colleagues.
nrmP mAtCh results
Results for Medical College graduates who applied for residency positions in the 2010 National Residency MatchingProgram (NRMP) in the United States.
*C = Categorial, A = Advanced, P = Preliminary, TY = Transitional Year
Request for Contributions
The editors of AKU-NAMA invite you to contribute to the next issue ofthe magazine. Please send your contributions to any of the editors or toyour respective school or programme representative on the editorial board.
* Share stories of what you are doing now, and how you link your achieve-ments back to your experience at AKU.
* Send us pictures to accompany your articles. Pictures must be high reso-lution, A4 size digital images (at least 1 MB in size) which are separateJPEG files, and not embedded in a word or PDF document.
* When you send in an article make sure you include your degree informa-tion and year of graduation from AKU.
NAME SPECIALITY PROGRAMME CATEGORY
CLASS OF 2003
Kamran Mirza Pathology University of Chicago, Chicago, IL C
Saad Khilji Family Medicine West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV C
CLASS OF 2004
Hiba Arif Neurology Emory University, Atlanta, GA C
CLASS OF 2005
Madiha Koraishy Internal Medicine Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, CT C
CLASS OF 2006
Babar Junaidi Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Fahd Khalid Syed Internal Medicine Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA C
Farooq Khan Internal Medicine University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH C
22
nrmP mAtCh results
NAME SPECIALITY PROGRAMME CATEGORY
Jawad Ghazanfar Kiani Internal Medicine -
Independent Study
Project
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,
Pittsburgh, PA
C
Maria Maqbool Choudhary Internal Medicine Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH C
Pastoon Murtaza Kasi Internal Medicine -
Independent Study
Project
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,
Pittsburgh, PAC
Umair Syed Ahmed Internal Medicine West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV C
Zaman Shah Internal Medicine University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY C
CLASS OF 2007
Affan Umer General Surgery St John Providence Park Hospital, Novi, MI P
Ahmed Jawad General Surgery University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, PA P
Aiman Ghufran Internal Medicine University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI C
Aisha Afzal Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Ameer Hamza Khan Internal Medicine University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT C
Asma Mushir Khan Internal Medicine SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brookyn, NY C
Basmah Ather Jalil Internal Medicine University at Buffalo - SUNY, Buffalo, NY C
Fawad Muhammad Shuaib Internal Medicine Weiss Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL C
Hammad Bin Liaquat Internal Medicine Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN C
Hina Khawar Jamali Internal Medicine University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH C
Mahim Akmal Malik General Surgery University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN C
Muhammad Bilal Abid Family Medicine Penn State University Good Samaritan Hospital,
Hershey, PAC
Nauman Khalid Internal Medicine Grand Rapids Medical Education Center,
Grand Rapids, MITY
Quratulain Shabbir Internal Medicine University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT C
Raza Abbas Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Salman Jamaluddin Bandeali Internal Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX C
Sara Husain Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Sarah Aftab Ahmad General Surgery University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT P
Sumbal Ashraf Janjua Internal Medicine Caritas St. Elizabeth Medical Center,
Boston, MAC
Syed Kashan Abidi Internal Medicine Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN C
Syeda Sidra Waheed Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Umal Azmat Internal Medicine Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN C
Waleed Tallat Kayani Internal Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX C
23
nrmP mAtCh results
NAME SPECIALITY PROGRAMME CATEGORY
CLASS OF 2008
Abdullah Khan Internal Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, GA C
Ahmed Itrat Neurology Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH C
Anum Bilal Khan Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Ather Mohammad Taqui Neurology Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH C
Danesh Kumar Kella Internal Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, GA C
Fatima Aziz Obstetrics and
Gynaecology Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY C
Fatima Samad Internal Medicine University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey, Newark , NJC
Fazia Ahmad Mir Internal Medicine Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO C
Hammad Ashraf Ganatra Paediatrics Emory University, Atlanta, GA C
Kanza Abbas Internal Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX C
Maliha Iqbal Jumani Internal Medicine Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA C
Maryah Mansoor Internal Medicine Staten Island University Hospital, New York, NY C
Mohammad Bin Pervez General Surgery Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
New York, NY
P
Muhammad Awais Khan Neurology University of Arizona Affiliate Program,
Tuscon, AZ
C
Grand Rapids Medical Education Center,
Grand Rapids, MI
TY
Quratulain Rashid Internal Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, GA C
Roha Khalid Paediatrics University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX C
Rushna Pervez Ali Neurosurgery Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI C
Sana Shoukat Internal Medicine Emory University, Atlanta, GA C
Sana Waqar Internal Medicine West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV C
Saqib Ali Gowani Internal Medicine University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT C
Sarah Tehseen Paediatrics Children's Hospital of Michigan -
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
C
Syeda Hina Batool Internal Medicine William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI C
Talha Vaqar Neurology University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI C
CLASS OF 2009
Anam Akmal Internal Medicine Caritas St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Boston, MA C
Javad Tauseef Hashmi Emergency Medicine Wilson Medical Center, Johnson City, NY TY
Mirza Umair Khalid Internal Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX C
Najam ud Din Internal Medicine SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY C
Saad Ajmal General Surgery Brown University, Providence, RI P
Shuja ur Rehman Internal Medicine Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN C
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