AKU-NAMAAga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni

Winter 2008, Vol. 1, Issue 2

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Contents

Editor-in-ChiefAdeel A Buttaabutt@gmail.com

Editorial StaffShain Amershi, Executive Assistantalumni.nachapter@aku.edu

Associate EditorsFaiz Bhora, Medical College North American Chapterfybhora@chpnet.org

Rahila Zakir, Medical CollegePresident, European Chapterr.zakir@btinternet.com

Tazeen Jafar, Pakistantazeen.jafar@aku.edu

Umer Darr, Pakistanudarr92@yahoo.com

Rubina Barolia, School of Nursingrubina.barolia@aku.edu

Sharifa Lalani, School of Nursingsharifa.lalani@aku.edu

Nadim Farooqui, Institute for Educational Developmentnadim.farooqui@aku.edu

Nilufar Shariff, Advanced Nursing Studies, East Africanilufar.shariff@aku.edu

Balkis Rouached Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisationsbalkis19hope@yahoo.ca

Haider Naqvi, Postgraduate Medical Educationhaider.naqvi@aku.edu

Ahmed Naqvi, Postgraduate Medical Educationahmed.naqvi@aku.edu

Ex-Officio MembersAsif Fancy and A Haque Wahedna Alumni Office Representativesasif.fancy@aku.eduahaq.wahedna@aku.edu

Mohammad Khurshid, Dean, Medical Collegemohammad.khurshid@aku.edu

Yasmin Amarsi, Dean, School of Nursingyasmin.amarsi@aku.edu

Muhammad Memon, DirectorInstitute for Educational Development muhammad.memon@aku.edu

Richard Ganga Limando, DirectorAdvanced Nursing Studies, East Africaganga.limando@aku.edu

John Hough, Head of Administration Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisationsjohn.hough@aku.edu

Marie Andrades, Acting Associate DeanPostgraduate Medical Educationmarie.andrades@aku.edu

Rizwan KhalidPresident, North American Chapterrizwan_khalid@yahoo.com

From the Editor’s Desk .................................................................................. 3

Messages .......................................................................................................... 4

Naam Hi Kafi Hai ........................................................................................... 6

Preparing Nurses for Disaster Management ............................................... 7

Helping Transform Education Standards .................................................... 8

Nurses Take House Calls ............................................................................... 9

Reality Bites .................................................................................................. 10

On the Frontiers of Change ......................................................................... 11

Clinician and Researcher Dichotomy: Anecdote........................................ 13

Going Back to School ................................................................................... 14

I Shall Not Become an Alumnus ................................................................. 15

Achievements ................................................................................................ 16

Third Kenya Alumni National Forum .................................................... ... 18

AKU Alumni in Europe ............................................................................... 19

NRMP Match Results .................................................................................. 20

Medical College alumni in North America with the President, Dean of the Medical Collegeand Director-General Resource Development and Public Affairs.

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From the Editor’s Desk

Yes We Can. These three words have now

inspired a generation, and the world.And in ways which are far more thanpolitical. In the context of our almamater, from our individual accomplishments in our professionallives, to the collective change theUniversity has brought about, it isclear: Yes We Can. From the awardsand leadership positions earned bythe alumni from our East Africa campus, to the lives being touchedby the Institute for EducationalDevelopment alumni: Yes We Can.From the achievements of thePostgraduate Medical Educationalumni, to the research contributionsof the Medical College alumni andthe outreach efforts in the communityof the School of Nursing alumni: YesWe Can. The first class of theInstitute for the Study of MuslimCivilisations graduat-ed this year and ispoised to make itsown mark: Yes WeCan.

The Universityturned 25 this year.While we have come

this far, we have a long roadahead. It is time for thealumni to get together, organ-ise and become the cohesiveunit that drives the engine ofthe University.

The launching of thealumni magazine, AKU-NAMA, was one such step.You have the second issue inhand now, and we plan tobring out two issues per year.The University now has pro-grammes in three continentsand alumni spread over fivecontinents, and we invite allof you to participate in thiseffort and contribute toAKU-NAMA. Our next taskis the formation of a cohe-sive Alumni Association thatwill encompass all pro-grammes which are spread

across the globe. Acore team of volun-teers representing allthe programmes hasbeen working ondrafting the by-lawsof the association.These will have beendistributed widely to

all alumni in the University’s data-base for comment by the time youget this issue, and will be presentedto the general body for ratification atthe Grand Alumni Reunion inKarachi from December 15 to 21,2008. We urge you to actively partic-ipate in all alumni activities, since itis your participation that will helpmove us forward.

So, again, taking words from apolitical campaign, change is com-ing. And we are all the agents ofchange.

And together: Yes We Can.Adeel A Butt, MBBS ’90

What’s in a Name?

A name can be more than just ameans of identification. It candescribe the history, ideology or philosophy behind the entity that isnamed. We wanted the name of ouralumni magazine to reflect at leastsome of that. AKU-NAMA is anacronym for “Aga Khan UniversityNewsletter and Magazine forAlumni”. However, there is more toit than just this acronym. Nama is aFarsi (Persian) word which can betaken to mean a letter, a communica-tion or a narrative. Several Moghulemperors’ autobiographies are namedsuch, for example, Babar-Nama,Akbar-Nama, and Humayun-Nama.We intend this publication to be allthat it can mean - a history of AgaKhan University alumni, a form ofcommunication between all alumni,and a narrative of our individual andcollective achievements.

Change is coming and we

are all the agentsof change.

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Messages

Firoz Rasul President, Aga Khan University

Among the many celebrations the University has held during its 25th

Anniversary year, the Grand AlumniReunion, December 15 to 21, 2008,marks an opportunity to bring ouralumni together again from aroundthe world.

As graduates of this University,you are the manifestation of the dedication of leading scholars,researchers and teachers whobreathed life into an idea, and whosecollective efforts have nurtured andbrought to fruition a University ofinternational standard in a relativelyshort period of time. As products ofit, you are an integral part of theAKU family.

Many of you are making signifi-cant contributions to universities inNorth America and Europe; equally,many of you have returned home,and even to your alma mater, toassist as specialist doctors, nursesand educators. You have proven to berole models in Pakistan and interna-tionally and have harnessed opportu-nities in the wake of global and

regional change. Yet, we have losttouch with some of you.

Reunions offer the opportunity torefresh memories with friends, renewold bonds and even forge new ties. It also offers the chance to reconnectwith your alma mater. As an alumnusof Aga Khan University, you are partof a powerful global network. Accessthese bonds to benefit your profes-sional careers and harness yourcollective power as alumni to assistyour University in achieving greaterheights.

I look forward to meeting withyou at alumni reunions.

Asif FancyDirector-General,Resource Development andPublic Affairs

The Alumni Association is a valuable member of the Aga Khan Universityfamily and its work is being support-ed by the Alumni Office. In line withthe practice at many universities,charge of the Alumni Office waspassed to Resource Development andPublic Affairs last year. Since then, Ihave had the pleasure of being moreactively involved with the alumni.

What are the needs of AKU alumni? The Alumni Association and

the Alumni Office worked together todevelop an online survey to which over 1,000 of you responded.Amongst other findings, it highlight-ed the need for increasing network-ing and communication amongst thealumni as well as between the alumniand the University. It led to AKU-NAMA, the alumni newsletter, beingpublished once again, and theAlumni Office has been pleased to beof assistance in this endeavour.

Aga Khan University is commit-ted to strengthening the bondsbetween the University and the alum-ni, who are the pillars of the institu-tion and important partners in ourfuture expansion programmes. Welook to you to share your skills andknowledge with the University and toassist with projects.

A Grand Alumni Reunion is beingcelebrated this year and I am lookingforward to meeting several of you onthis occasion.

Mohammad KhurshidDean, Medical College

Assalam-u-Alaikum and greetingsfrom the Medical College faculty andmyself in Karachi.

Time is passing by rapidly andthe most important and anticipatedevent of this year calls for your par-ticipation - the Grand AlumniReunion from December 15 to 21, 2008. This is also the time when weneed your input about how your almamater should move forward over thenext 25 years and how you can helpshape the future.

The launching of the MeedicalCollege ceremony of the 25th

Anniversary of the Medical Collegewas a success and well attended byfaculty, students, staff and alumni.Mr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, formerPresident of the University, reflected

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on past achievements, whilePresident Firoz Rasul gave us a vision for the future.

Other events included the creationof the Department of EmergencyMedicine and the appointment of Dr Junaid Razzak (MBBS ’94) as itsfounding chair. The postgraduateprogrammes were recently reviewedby an international team headed byProfessor Janet Grant, Director, OpenUniversity, Centre of Education, UK,and their recommendations are beingimplemented. An office forProfessional Education has also beenestablished with Dr Wasim Jafri asthe Associate Dean.

John Hough Head of Administration,Institute for the Study ofMuslim Civilisations

It is with much pride that AKU-ISMC saw its first cohort of studentscomplete their Master of Arts (MA)degree in Muslim Cultures thisSeptember. After two years of inten-sive work and many challenges,these 11 stalwarts, who have bravedthe rigours of many hours of lectures,research exercises, field trips andlanguage immersion courses, are nowset to take on new opportunities in

their respective countries. What isparticularly gratifying is the news that three graduates from the classwill continue their studies at the doc-toral level in the UK: two at theUniversity of London and one at theUniversity of Birmingham.Following in their footsteps will benine students who enter their secondyear of the MA programme and 20new students who joined thisautumn.

Sharing the perspectives andapproaches of the Institute with awide audience is a priority and itsnewly established professional edu-cation programmes have now beenestablished. These programmes willtarget a variety of audiences, includ-ing the diplomatic, professional andmedia communities with tailor-madecourses that convey key principlesand information about contemporaryMuslim contexts as well as topicsthat focus on the traditions and her-itages of Muslims.

In other news, the Institute hasdeveloped a three-year plan whichwill see it focus its efforts on newinitiatives in research. The Institutehas highlighted, under the heading,‘Knowledge Construction’, the needfor an exploration of the ways inwhich Muslim heritage is under-stood, including an analysis of thetools used to build perceptions of thepast. In addition, the Institutebelieves it is necessary to engage inthe study of social and culturalchange, achieved through scrutinis-ing specific areas and particularmoments in history and through theuse of the tools and approaches ofcontemporary social sciences. Ofequal importance is the opening ofavenues for serious moral reasoningacross the Muslim world and in dia-logue with other areas, in the West,India and China, among others. The

Institute’s research activities com-prise seminars, workshops, confer-ences, fellowships and in due course,will include substantive researchprojects that will bring togetherscholars from around the world.

Building capacity amongst schol-ars who focus on the above researchis critical. In this regard, a substantialfellowship programme has beenlaunched. Such an initiative willenable talented researchers from vari-ous parts of the world to address theabove concerns and to reach out topeers and interested public.

Following on from a very suc-cessful AKU 25th Anniversary cele-bration dinner, which was the firstopportunity to bring together alumniand current ISMC students, theInstitute was delighted to host agroup of School of Nursing andMedical College alumni for a usefulplanning meeting and reunion inOctober, 2008. This important initia-tive has identified a group of volun-teers who will work on hosting amajor event and gathering, scheduledfor mid-2009. The Institute verymuch hopes to be involved and tohave some of our newly minted graduates in attendance.

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Naam Hi Kafi Hai

In a remarkably short period of time,Aga Khan University’s MedicalCollege has established itself as afavourite among residency pro-gramme directors in the UnitedStates. To fully appreciate what thatmeans, consider this: the AmericanUniversity of Beirut was foundedmore than 100 years ago, while AKUis only celebrating its 25th birthday.

Here are a few compliments Ireceived on behalf of AKU duringmy residency interview trail acrossthe US during the winter of 2007:

“This gentleman is from theHarvard of the East.” - Interviewer toone of his colleagues at AlbertEinstein College of Medicine.

“I know this place (pointing at theAKU emblem adorning my coat) …the Aga Khan University, yes! It’s afine university. Welcome to our pro-gramme.” - Dr J Willis Hurst, one ofthe most renowned cardiologists ofthis era, after whom EmoryUniversity’s Internal MedicineProgramme is named.

“With foreign applicants, we usu-ally don’t have any idea what to do

with this piece of paper (holding myAKU transcript). But when it comesto Aga Khan, we certainly do take alook.” - Interviewer at the Universityof Cincinnati.

“So where are you from? Wow,Aga Khan! Need I ask more?” - Afellow applicant from the UnitedKingdom, interviewing at MayoClinic in Rochester.

“We continue to be impressed byAKU graduates and will continue tointerview them.” - The InternalMedicine Programme Director at theDartmouth-Hitchcock MedicalCenter (DHMC), writing to me afterI had matched at a higher-rankedprogramme on my Rank Order List.On the interview day, he told appli-cants that DHMC was “verychoosy”, inviting foreign applicantsfrom only a few “hand-picked” insti-tutions.

At nearly every programme I vis-ited, from Emory and Indiana toBaylor and University ofConnecticut, the programme direc-tors or interviewers would make it a point to express their deep regard for

AKU. All of them would go on tocite the examples of specific AKUgraduates who had performed excep-tionally well in their respective pro-grammes. To the best of my knowl-edge, nearly every AKU graduatewho has interviewed for residencyprogrammes in the US has had simi-lar experiences.

It is very easy to underestimateAKU’s achievement without somedistance and I say that from personalexperience. It was not until I visitedthe US programmes myself that Itruly came to appreciate the remark-able manner in which AKU has risento prominence among the larger com-munity of American and internationalmedical schools.

While our institution producesonly a handful of honour studentseach year, the vast majority of thosewho complete five years at AKUcome out as ‘honour graduates’. May this tradition of honour andexcellence continue, and may itbecome even richer, Insha-Allah.

Majid Shafiq, MBBS ’07

The library has been recognised by the World Health Organization as a training facility. AKU/Ahmed A Zuberi

It seems like the name is enough.

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Preparing Nurses for Disaster Management

An Aga KhanUniversity Schoolof Nursing alumni team, ledby Rafat Jan(Post-RN ’91),and includingAmbreen ANoorani (RN ’01),Gul SharifSherwali (RN’99), HamidaIsmail (HealthEducator),MehtabQutbuddin (RN ’01), NadiaMulji (RN ’01),Rozina Doulat,Shadia Nazar(Post-RN ’06),Sobia Rasheed(Post-RN ’06) and Zahida Haji (Post-RN ’07) havebeen working in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu andKashmir over the past three years.They have focused on disease pre-vention, infection control and healthpromotion in the communities affect-ed by the earthquake in Azad Jammuand Kashmir.

Identifying the need for nurses indisaster areas, Salima Bano (Post-RN’03) and Laila Sewani decided toconduct an exploratory study at theUniversity in Karachi, to assess localnurses’ capacity to deal with disastersituations. The study revealed thatwhile nurses are competent at dealingwith emergency cases in a hospitalsetting, they face difficulties in managing many casualties in post-disaster areas, highlighting the needto include disaster preparednesscourses in the nursing curricula.

As a response to this study, andwith the help of Focus Humanitarian

Assistance, Pakistan, Bano and her team conducted two workshops ontrauma management and disaster preparedness at the 12th NationalHealth Sciences ResearchSymposium, August 26 to 27, 2008at the University in Karachi.Participants included nurses, doctors, engineers, clinical psychologists andstudents. The workshops weredesigned to prepare comprehensivedisaster management systems for thefuture and utilised interactive ses-sions, clinical demonstrations of trauma management skills and mockdrills to build the capacity of nursesto manage mass casualty situations.

Prior to this, Saleema Gulzar(MScN ’06) had collaborated withAga Khan Health Service, Pakistanand the University’s School ofNursing in 2006, to organise severalworkshops to promote communityhealth among Community Health

Nurses (CHN) working in disasterareas. Gulzar assessed health-relatedissues in the earthquake-affectedareas, designed modules and ran vaccination programmes for thehealth care providers working there.By first identifying key issues, suchas the need for physical infrastructure and collaboration between staff andmanagement, the CHN team wasthen able to implement participatoryapproaches to achieve their goals. A task force was also developed atselect health centres to ensure sus-tainability of these programmes andto work to ensure that progress anddisaster preparedness continue totake root in the field of nursing anddisaster management.

Rubina Barolia, BScN ’91, SalimaBano, Post-RN ’03 and SaleemaGulzar, MScN ’06

Health education is required in the earthquake areas.

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Helping Transform Education StandardsGioko Anthony recounts how educating one individual can transform education standards.

My two years at Aga KhanUniversity’s Institute for EducationalDevelopment, Karachi, were veryvaluable to me, and I was able toutilise my learning and knowledgeimmediately. I was exposed to a vari-ety of skills that I have been using inmy classrooms, as well as with otherteachers and schools in my district.

IED’s focus on research was anessential element of our learning. We were taught research skills andlearned to implement them through

surveys and mini-research studies,which later culminated in majorresearch work. I also learned how toteach these skills, which has provento be essential for my job as anExtended Essay Coordinator at theAga Khan Academy, Mombasa. Theextended essay is a core requirementof the International Baccalaureate(IB) diploma programme that helpsstudents gain the skills necessary toconduct independent research. Mytask is to develop new research prac-

tices for stu-dents as wellas teachers.

Workingwith studentsis interestingas I not onlyoversee students’research, butalso advisetheir supervi-sors about howto monitortheir pupils’work. Each IBdiploma student isrequired to do40 hours ofindependentresearch andspend fourhours with asupervisor, toproduce a4,000-wordreport. Therewere 25 stu-dents in thefirst batch andat the momentI have 35 students under my supervision.

My task has been guided by myexperience at IED. I plan day-longworkshops and develop handbooksfor students to help them learn howto do research. My experience at theInstitute equipped me with enoughskills and reading material to allowme to develop such handbooks.

I am also using the project-basedlearning skills that I acquired from anenvironmental education course atIED. The course was instrumental inhelping me design a similar project-based model for students at myschool. My knowledge and skillswere imperative in helping me guidestudents for intensive projects inphysics, chemistry, biology and envi-ronmental systems.

IED also taught me how to devel-op new practices. We were taught towork with an experience-basedapproach that encouraged theinvolvement of stakeholders throughmeetings and discussions. Using asimilar process at my school, wehave come up with a working docu-ment for developing our school’sAcademic Honours Policy. It is beingtested and will be improved over thenext year after collecting feedback.We are also developing a referencemanual at different class levels to beimplemented in the school to intro-duce ethical practices amongst ourstudents. I aspire to develop researchpractices in the school to encourageyoungsters to become ethical leadersin our society.

It gives me joy to realise that mytwo years have been beneficial to theschool, students and teachers at large.I realise now that what counts is thejourney rather than the destination. Iwill continue to offer support as Iexpound my rich knowledge fromIED and put it into practice.

Gioko Anthony, MEd ’07Planting the seeds of change: students at the Institute for EducationalDevelopment campus in Karachi. AKU/Garry Otte

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Nurses Take House Calls

Thinking outside the box, a Schoolof Nursing alumna has started twoprogrammes, Home Health CareNursing and Home-Based PalliativeCare, through which services are pro-vided at homewithin the cityof Karachi,Pakistan. Theprogrammeshave had toovercome manychallenges,including civildisturbances,safety and secu-rity issues, poorroad and trafficconditions andlong distancesin a city of 15million people.Both the pro-grammes weredesigned tomeet one of theUniversity’s keyvalues: accessi-bility to high-quality healthcare.

The HomeHealth CareNursing pro-gramme focuseson the holisticcare of individu-als and theirfamilies withintheir homes.Under this programme, nurses provide the full continuum of nursingcare that covers not only hands-oncare but also health promotion anddisease prevention. “An appreciationof home health nursing begins withthe recognition that it is a uniquepractice with its own distinct philosophies including the concept

that a person has to learn to take careof their own health needs throughouttheir life,” said Dr KhurshidKhowaja (Post-RN ’93), formerDirector, Nursing Services, AKUH

and the originator of the programme. Homehealth care nurses provide a spectrumof care, combining critical thinking,comprehensive assessment and clinical decision-making with expertise in the management of intra-venous infusion therapy, medicationdelivery via ambulatory pumps and

ventilator care. The Home-Based Palliative Care

is a multidisciplinary programme ini-tiated in 2005 through the efforts ofDr Amin Alidina, former Consultant,

Haematology andOncology at theUniversity Hospitaland Dr KhurshidKhowaja. Theirvision was to promote clinicalpractice in apatient’s own environment, bothto decrease the costof care and rate ofinfection transmis-sion, and toencourage and support families incaring for theirsick. The pro-gramme deliverscare to terminallyill patients whorequire residentialtreatment and painmanagement aftertheir hospital dis-charge. It includesdaily, weekly ormonthly visits,along with 1 to 12-hour-long nurs-ing services at apatient’s home.

When the pro-gramme started in

January 2002, nurs-es were making about 10 visits permonth. Six years later, the numberhas increased to 600 visits per month- a tremendous success in a fairlyshort period of time.

Farida Datoo, Post-RN ’05

Nurses broaden their spectrum of services. AKU/Garry Otte

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Reality Bites

Aga Khan University’s residency pro-grammes are arguably the best train-ing programmes in Pakistan, withgraduates performing well in bothfellowship and membership examina-tions in Pakistan and abroad. Trainingis structured to offer a progressiveincrease in the level of responsibilityconferred on the resident, ultimatelypreparing and delivering competentphysicians who are well-versed intheir specialty and capable of facing avariety of challenges in the medicalfield. The elation experienced atone’s graduation ceremony canoften be short-lived, however,especially when one leaves theiralma mater and enters the ‘realworld’, beyond the comfortingfamiliarity of the ‘pink palace’.

The first shock is when resi-dents are hired by other teach-ing institutions as glorifiedAssistant Professors, but arepaid only half of what they usedto make as Chief Resident atAKU. “Mubarak ho, baita,Consultant ban gaya hai,”(Congratulations, son, you’vebecome a Consultant) says theproud mother, having been spared thedetails of the newly-signed contract.The new employers expect that resi-dents will supplement their incomesby doing private work in theevenings. So begins a resident’s initiation into the world of privatepractice.

The first few months of develop-ing a private practice, a processwhich may stretch on for years, gen-erally consists of sitting in an emptyclinic and paying chamber fees,which, in some cases, may be signifi-cantly higher than your averagemonthly income. The emptiness of anew doctor’s clinic is a sharp contrastto the busy clinics they had beenaccustomed to at AKU. With empty

hours to fill, they discover new utili-ties for their internet-enabled mobilephones. And there is always the visitto the fellow next door, if for nothingelse, then only to discuss politics overtea and samosas.

The lift operator’s offer to directpatients to one’s clinic, once scornful-ly rejected, now begins to hold merit.Everyone charges for services, sowhy shouldn’t the lift operator get alittle something for directing patientsto one’s clinic? After all, the patient

is the ultimate beneficiary of topclass, evidence-based, medical adviceand treatment. Gradually, thebioethics workshops of yesteryearsseem to fade away like a distantmemory when reality bites.

Then, of course, there is the ubiq-uitous medical representative wholurks around all hospitals and clinics,sporting a worn out necktie and fakeleather bag. AKU training may teachyoung physicians how to deal withpatients, irate family members andmoody consultants, but dealing withmedical representatives remains amystery. Bioethics leaves graduatingresidents with the distinct impressionthat medical representatives are theembodiment of the devil himself and

that interaction with them must beavoided at all costs. In real life, how-ever, medical representatives are des-tined to become a private practition-er’s best friend. Slowly but surelythey become one’s sole source ofdrug information, meetings and aca-demic discussions.

What’s the harm in entertaining afew reps, you ask, obliging them withyour time and listening to their pitchso that they can take you off their listof ‘physicians needed to be reminded

about their products?’ After all,it might be a better way to spendhours at an empty clinic than allalone. On slower days the repre-sentatives may outnumberpatients ten to one. The pettygifts and occasional meals at ahotel surely cannot leave anyimpression on the way one prac-tices medicine. You are out toprove the industry (and scores ofstudies) wrong - you are beyondinfluence. The internalisationbegins very early and it isremarkable how effective it is.

The challenges that newgraduates face are more than just

diagnostic dilemmas. The lift opera-tor can actually make or break a nas-cent practice, or the corner ultrasoundclinic that one had refused to oblige,can redirect potential patients else-where. The physician whose referralsone acknowledged with nothing morea thank you note can actually pull theproline stitch out of your patient’shernia incision on the third day aftersurgery and cause the wound to fallopen, just to teach you a lesson.

So while the training we receiveat AKU is good, the real world hasother challenges to offer that requiremore than just utilising the skillsacquired at your alma mater.

Aamir Jafarey, PGME ’95, Surgery

Dr Aamir Jafarey provides a ‘real world’ consultation using his bioethics background.

On the Frontiers of Change

The Postgraduate Medical Education(PGME) programme at Aga KhanUniversity has changed the face ofspecialised medical education inPakistan, filling the need for in-coun-try training for doctors. In theprocess it has become a role modeland benchmark for other medicalinstitutions and programmes.

Its secret of success has been thevision of excellence carried forwardby its leaders, and the creation ofnew programmes according to thedemands of the time. The most recentPGME programme is EmergencyMedicine, offered by the newlyestablished Department ofEmergency Medicine, the first inPakistan, and also in South Asia. Thedepartment will not only meet thegrowing demand for emergency carein the city of Karachi, but will alsohelp fulfil the need for specialisttraining in emergency medicine inPakistan.

PGME was also the first pro-

gramme to recognise and establishthe specialty of Family Medicine inPakistan in 1996. This specialty isnow being used as a model to estab-lish similar departments at other uni-versities in Pakistan, in some cases,not surprisingly, headed by PGMEalumni. For example, Dr Nasir Shah(PGME ’01) is working at FatimaMemorial Hospital College ofMedicine and Dentistry, Lahore, asAssistant Professor and Head ofFamily Medicine. Dr Saima PervaizIqbal (PGME ’02), AssistantProfessor in Community HealthSciences at Shifa InternationalHospital, Islamabad, is also in theprocess of setting up a FamilyMedicine Department at the hospital.

PGME is the first and currentlyonly programme in Pakistan to offera Master of Science in ClinicalResearch degree designed for AKUresidents and fellows. First offered in2005, this programme allows stu-dents to complete their residency and

get a clinical and Master’s degree infive years. So far, eight students havegraduated with this degree.

Though PGME started with onlythree disciplines - Internal Medicine,General Surgery and Paediatrics - itbecame the first programme in thecountry to become a Department ofPGME, meant to enhance its educa-tional and scholarly components.Today 44 disciplines are covered,with 25 residencies, 18 fellowshipsand an internship programme. Therehave been 1,612 graduates to date -617 residents, 68 fellows and 927interns. “Even now, there are only afew postgraduate departments inPakistan that oversee programmesand can monitor quality,” said Dr Marie Andrades (PGME ’99),Associate Professor, FamilyMedicine and former ActingAssociate Dean, PGME.

Alumni like Dr Andrades are thesuccess stories that are the pride ofthe programme, and she is one

Ready to make their mark: PGME graduates from the Karachi campus. AKU/AV Department

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among many. Dr Raheem H Dhanani (PGME ’98) is the Chair,Department of Family Medicine atAKU, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Another, Dr Sunita Dodani (PGME’96, FCPS and PhD) is the AssistantDean, Research and AssistantProfessor Cardiology andBiostatistics, Medical College ofGeorgia. Dr Philomena Drago-Johnson, one of the first surgical resi-dents to graduate from AKU in 1990was the Medical Superintendent atKunri Christian Hospital in interiorSindh, Pakistan, and currently isHead, Family Medicine Departmentat St. Teresa’s Hospital, Mirpurkhas.

The University has also benefittedfrom this programme. Almost half(40 per cent) of the clinical faculty atAKU are PGME graduates. Thisincludes three professors, 15 associ-ate professors, 51 assistant profes-sors, 28 senior instructors and 25instructors. Among them is Dr AamirJafarey (’95) who joined the Centrefor Bioethics and Culture at SindhInstitute of Urology andTransplantation in October 2004,after training in bioethics as aFogarty Fellow at Harvard University

School of Public Health’s Departmentof Population and InternationalHealth. He is a Lecturer andConsultant General Surgeon at AKU,Karachi and has been involved inbioethics-related activities in Pakistansince 1997. He has received grantsfor bioethics research from theNational Institutes of Health, USA,The Wellcome Trust, UK, WHO’sEastern Mediterranean RegionalOffice and PakistanTelecommunication CorporationLimited. The current Chief Operating

Officer of the University Hospital,and former PGME Associate Dean,Dr Farhat Abbas, is also a graduate ofthe first batch of surgery residents in1990.

As AKU celebrates its 25th

anniversary, all programmes at theUniversity are in the process of creat-ing a vision for the next 25 years.PGME is also envisaging its future:

“I see PGME as a hub in Pakistan,with programmes all over the world,either established as a department orthrough collaborations,” saidAndrades. PGME has already reachedbeyond national boundaries into EastAfrica. The department is also help-ing the Afghan government by coor-dinating with the Kabul MedicalUniversity and the Ministries ofHealth and Education in Afghanistanto structure a PGME programme inthe country.

At a national level, the pro-gramme intends to strengthen itsimpact. Andrades elaborated, “Wehave to be able to influence policy-making in the country. I feel thatthere is a lag in national affiliationsand collaborations. Once we caninfluence policy at the national levelwe can really make a difference inPakistan. And we need the help ofour alumni to achieve this. We needtheir intellectual contribution, weneed them to share opportunities thatthey might see for our residents in theinstitutions where they are working,or by giving time here for lectures.We need our alumni to collaboratestrongly with us.”

Where it happens: PGME students during a class at the Nairobi campus.

“We need our alumnito collaborate

strongly with us.”

13

Clinician and Researcher Dichotomy: Anecdote

After spending four rollercoasteryears in Aga Khan University’s psy-chiatry residency programme, Idecided to join the Department in2003 as an Instructor. Some of myfriends advised me against it, coun-selling that I should move out of theshadow of my mentors by telling me‘a cypress tree grows not in the shad-ow of an oak tree’. But my motiveswere different. We had managed tosurvive the onslaught of lucrativeoffers from recruiting agencies andthe migration flux - it was the exhila-ration of the work being done atAKU that kept me rooted here. In any case, it was expected to be abooster shot in the arm of a depart-ment struggling to recruit overseasindividuals.

A year later, after joining theDepartment of Community HealthSciences’ Clinical ScholarsProgramme, I was cast almost imme-diately into the deep waters ofresearch. Training in research meth-ods taught us to think divergently on

abstract concepts and to follow upwith robust methodology and accu-rate test statistics.

As valuable as this experiencewas, it was what I learned about thenature of human interaction and teamwork in the context of research that Ifind applicable in my career today.During recent times, thedivide between researchand clinical faculty hasbecome more pro-nounced. Forgetting thedictum that astuteresearch questions stemfrom clinical coal mines,each side has entrencheditself with its own argu-ments and ammunition.We were caught in themiddle of this cross fire.

Working at AKUtaught us to multitaskand balance these workdemands. The high-paced environment intro-duced us to different

person-alities among thefaculty. I learnt thatcontinuous profes-sional developmentand research inquiryis a journey that likeall other journeys,should lead to somecherished destina-tion, a ‘Rome’. Moreimportantly, werealised that eachone of us might haveour own ideas of aRome when it comesto research. Negatingdifferences betweenthese goals anddirections makes usmore rigid in ourpursuits, while

recognition leads to flexibility. Athoughtful appreciation of this dilem-ma makes one a better physician; onewho is mindful of knowledge gapsand the need to generate scientificevidence where none exists. One canonly teach this by example to thosewho are still trotting the learning

curve of med-ical education.As an AssistantProfessor in theDepartment ofPsychiatry, Istrive to be thatexample.

The wordsof Ralph WaldoEmerson ringtrue even todayas they did dur-ing my forma-tive years as anew graduate.“Men suffer alltheir life longunder the fool-ish superstition

that they can be cheated. But it is asimpossible for a man to be cheatedby any one but himself, as for a thingto be and not to be at the same time.There is a third silent party to all ourbargains. The nature and soul of thethings takes on itself the guaranty ofthe fulfillment of every contract, sothat honest service cannot come toloss.”

In the larger scheme of things wemust realise that each person has aunique contribution to make and thatthe wheel of scientific progress mustmove forward regardless of obstaclesin the path, be they resources or per-sons.

Haider A Naqvi, PGME ’03, Psychiatry

“We must realisethat each person

has a unique contribution to

make and that thewheel of scientific

progress mustmove forwardregardless of

obstacles in thepath.”

14

Going Back to School

When I left Nairobi for Dar esSalaam, and the Institute forEducational Development, onJanuary 5, 2007, I looked forward tobeing part of a programme for whichI had received a scholarship andthrough which I would get a Master’sdegree in education in a comparative-ly short time.

When we arrived, we were warm-ly welcomed by a representativefrom the University and taken to ourhostel, our home for the next yearand a half. There, we were greetedby faculty members who directed usto our rooms and made sure we werecomfortable. This was the first ofmany warm experiencesI was to have. It becameclear that AKU-IED wasa close-knit family into which wewere being invited with open arms.

Initially I questioned the wisdomof my decision to leave home, espe-cially when I would call my daughterand hear her cry. But the faculty andstaff’s friendliness helped me settlein and eased the homesickness. Ilearned fast that as students, ourviews about the programme wereconsidered important during the deci-sion-making process. One of theearly changes made to the pro-gramme, based on the needs weexpressed, was the introduction of amid-semester break to allow us totravel home to visit our families.

My early assumptions about theprogramme were not always correct.Because classes were held in themornings, I had assumed that after-noons would be relatively free for usto complete readings and assign-ments. In reality though, I found thatthe hours flew by and I was often leftwishing that the days were longer.When we heard there were no sched-uled examinations I thought that itwould be easy to pass, given that all

assessments were made throughassignments. In reality though, theassignments kept us on our toes and Ineeded to work constantly to com-plete them on time. The standardsexpected of us during assignmentevaluation were high and thus mak-ing friends with books and internetresearch was important. Due to mylimited exposure to computers, Iworried that I might not be able tocomplete the typed assignments ontime. However, I quickly learned totype and surf the Internet to accessinformation that I needed.

My experience at IED wasunique, allowing me to rethink my

job as a teacher. During every course,I was encouraged to think throughmy previous practice, critique it andshare my views with other courseparticipants. I did not feel like I waslearning alone but that we werelearning from each other. I learned toappreciate that a student-centredapproach to learning would be moreenriching than a teacher-centred one,which had dominated my teachingstyle for over a decade.

My views on assessment werealso challenged. Before joining theprogramme, tests and examinationswere a teacher’s unfriendly tools tojudge a student’s knowledge. Ilearned that assessment could beformative and organised more infor-mally, not always summative andjudgmental.

Another unique feature was thehands-on experience that we learnedin class. Initially, I was unsure aboutthe practise of sending MEd studentsto local schools, but later realisedthat I could only learn by practicing.Going to real classrooms, interview-ing teachers and school heads, and

being with students gave me anopportunity to practice what I waslearning and to handle situations sim-ilar to those I would deal with when Ireturned to my own context.

This brings me to the otherunique feature which is contextuali-sation. What a book said on an issuewas of little value if it could not beapplied to one’s context. I had to bepractical when dealing with issueslike school improvement or pedagog-ical leadership and see what wouldwork within the context of a publicschool in my country.

Coming from a context whereresearch was not given a lot of

emphasis, Ifound that theassignments

which required carrying out studiesin schools helped prepare us forresearch and emphasised its impor-tance. I appreciated that there wasmore to data analysis than just writ-ing verbatim and I found that in thefield, I needed to make sense of theanalysis. I could never have walkedthe journey without the support that Ireceived from faculty, and especiallymy supervisor during the dissertationwriting stage. There were times whenthings looked very difficult and I wasready to give up, but was persuadedto keep going, through the gentleencouragement of faculty.

I am now able to fully appreciatewhat this programme has done forme. It has changed me as a person, asa teacher and as a team worker. It hasgiven teachers from East Africa achance to gain knowledge that willhelp to improve teaching and learn-ing practices in the region and lead tobetter schools and improved studentoutcomes.

Petronilla G Mugiro, MEd ’07

“We were always learning from each other. ”

15

I Shall Not Become an Alumnus

How do you write about being analumnus when you have not evenstarted feeling like one? This ques-tion kept buzzing in my head everytime the thought of this piece cameto me. At moments, I wished I couldlet loose my literary devils, set freethe flares of my imagination and pre-tend that I knew where every mem-ber of the first cohort of the Institutefor the Study of Muslim Civilisationswould be in 10 years. It would havebeen funny to pretend to be able tosee the tablets of destiny, to borrowsome phrases from our lectures on Middle Eastern myths,and come up with an ISMCFalnama, a book of omens usedthroughout the Islamic world in theart of divination.

It is all about equivocation theysay, and since one can always playwith words, why not try to predictwhere we will be, what we will bedoing, where ISMC would be andhow it would appear? Unfortunately,my down-to-earth side and my fearof self-fulfiling prophecies has ledme to think over my malaise with theidea of being an alumnus. The resultis: I am not an alumnus and I don’twant to be one. The thought of notbeing part of the Institute makes methink of death and I stubbornly dis-like it like an unwise child. I alsocannot act like an alumnus and pre-tend I have mastered everything theInstitute has to offer.

Having never been good at shelv-ing memories, people and life experi-

ences, I see clearly that I cannotshelve what I have learnt at ISMC,for how can one shelve one’s way ofbeing in the world? And how can onestore some of the lenses throughwhich we see the world and engagewith its issues? I am not an alumnusof my family, even after having beenaway from them for a number ofyears, so why should I become analumnus of ISMC? We never becomealumni of what is close to us, of whatwe keep deeply-rooted in our being. Iam not an alumnus and shall notbecome one because now I know, asI am leaving the Institute, that I willbe back tomorrow or may be the dayafter.

Belkais Rouached, MA ’08

Belkais Rouached (far left, back row) and fellow ISMC students in Istanbul as part of their course on Material Cultures, April 2008.

16

Achievements

National Institute of HealthR01 Grant

R01 is the most prestigious NationalInstitute of Health (NIH), USresearch grant given to individualinvestigators for a specific project. S Asad Ali (MBBS ’01) became thefirst faculty member at Aga KhanUniversity to receive an R01 awardfrom the NIH.

Dr Ali is the principal investigatorof a five-year proposal entitled,Burden of Respiratory SyncytialVirus (RSV) and Influenza inChildren in Pakistan. This proposal isfunded through the Global HealthResearch Initiative Program of theFogarty International Center, theinternational component of NIH.Collaborating institutions includeVanderbilt University and the USCenter for Disease Control andPrevention. While other AKU alumnihave received this prestigious grantbefore, Dr Asad Ali is the first alum-nus who is also currently an AKUfaculty member.

Pakistan has the fourth highestnumber of child deaths in the world

with more than 500,000 childrendying annually before the age of five.Nearly one quarter of this mortality is due to lower respiratory tract infec-tions (LRTI). The role of respiratoryviruses as primary pathogens, or co-pathogens with bacteria in childhood LRTI in Pakistan has not been deter-mined. In the first year of this proj-ect, Dr Ali will establish a moleculardiagnostic research laboratory andover the next four years, he will con-duct surveillance studies to determinethe epidemiology and burden of RSVand influenza infections among chil-dren in both hospital and communitysettings in Pakistan. The long-termgoal is to determine the role of vac-cines against respiratory viruses inpreventing severe viral and bacterialpneumonia among children.

The grant will support Dr Ali intransitioning from his fellowship inpaediatric infectious diseases atVanderbilt University, to a facultyposition at the Department ofPaediatrics and Child Health at AKU.His mentors are Dr Kathy Edwards atVanderbilt and Dr Anita Zaidi atAKU.

We wish Dr Ali the best of luckand an exciting academic career inPakistan.

Kenyan Alumna MakesHer Mark

There is no better proof of an institu-tion’s success than when its graduatesbecome leaders in positions that canbring about positive change. EnidMwebaza (BScN ’03) from theAdvanced Nursing Studies pro-gramme, East Africa, was appointedas Uganda’s Assistant CommissionerNursing, one of the most prestigiouspositions for a nurse in the country.Mwebaza is also the President of the African Midwives Research

Network, a network formed toenhance research and training capa-bilities among midwives.

Mwebaza has been a midwife foralmost two decades and has workedin the public sector for several years.She started her career in 1977, aftercompleting her diploma in nursing,and worked in various capacities for10 years, after which she pursued herdiploma in midwifery in 1989. Beforejoining AKU in February 2001, sheworked as a ward manager at MalagaHospital in Uganda. “I joined AKU toimprove my leadership skills andmove up the ladder in my career. Thefoundation that this University pro-vides can lead you to greater heights.I can raise my head high and say thatI am the one of the pioneers ofAdvanced Nursing Studies in EastAfrica,” said Mwebaza. She praisedthe innovative model of the pro-gramme at AKU that enabled her tocontinue working while studying.Mwebaza also has completed aMaster’s degree in Public Health in2007 from the Uganda ChristianUniversity.

17

ICN/Lilly Award

On the occasion of WorldTuberculosis Day 2008, theInternational Council of Nurses(ICN), a federation of 130 nurseassociations representing millions ofnurses worldwide, in partnershipwith the pharmaceutical company,Lilly, conferred special awards tonurses working on the ground tofight the scourge of tuberculosis. AgaKhan University School of Nursingalumna, Diana Kipsoisoi is one of 11distinguished nurses to win the ICN-Lilly Award for Nursing Excellence.

As a Nursing Officer at the tuberculosis (TB) clinic of MbagathiDistrict Hospital, a government hos-pital in Nairobi, Kenya, DianaKipsoisoi (Post-RN ’99) supervisesthe daily running of the clinic andhas been key in reducing the inci-dence of TB through the ‘active casefinding’ technique. Kipsoisoiexplained, “I discussed the situationwith staff and decided that allpatients with a positive smear shouldbring along people with whom theyhave been in close contact for inves-tigation. Contacts that were found to

be positive were treated, while thosewho were not infected were giveninformation about TB prevention. Inmy hospital, I have been at the fore-front to implement the World HealthOrganization sponsored ‘I amStopping TB’ strategy here inKenya.”

The ICN-Lilly Award waslaunched on World TB Day in 2007.It consists of a medal and an educa-tional grant for continuing profes-

sional development or pursuing high-er studies. The 2008 award recipientswere selected from six TB affectedcountries: Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,the Russian Federation, South Africaand Swaziland. The awardees werechosen for their selfless efforts inworking with patients, families andcommunities that are affected by TB.

“I extend my deepest gratitude toAKU for instilling a culture of criti-cal thinking that has allowed nursesto take a lead in the wheels ofchange in health policy. Being a stu-dent at the University opened myeyes to a world of opportunities andempowered me to contribute towardschanging the face of nursing inKenya. My contribution towardsreversing the trends of TB is evidentfrom the patients and relatives that Ihave taught and taken care of at theMbagathi TB Clinic. I intend to fur-ther my knowledge and undertake aMaster’s degree in nursing (majoringin Clinical Nursing in TB/HIV) thisyear. My goal is to reverse the trendsof TB in Kenya.”

George Kiptalam and ProfessorLaetitia King

Efforts pay off: nurses working with the local community in East Africa.

AKU/Garry Otte

18

Third Kenya Alumni National Forum

The 2008 Third Kenya AlumniNational Forum was, for the firsttime, organised by officials of theNational Committee, together withthe Student Affairs Office and theKenya campus faculty. This annualevent brings together all alumni to aforum where they exchange experi-ences and challenges since theirgraduation from the University. Theforum was also attended by facultyfrom the Advanced Nursing Studies(ANS) programme in Kenya.

Sponsored by Johnson andJohnson and held at the Aga KhanUniversity Hospital (AKUH),Nairobi, on July 18, 2008, the forumattracted 94 participants.

Professor Laetitia King, formerAssociate Dean, Nursing, called forcontinued involvement of the partici-pants, emphasising the need for own-ership of various activities. She citedthe importance of integrating theKenyan alumni chapter into thewider AKU alumni community, bothat the regional and international lev-els. She informed the participants ofthe new developments taking placewithin the context of the alumniorganisation, such as the launch ofthe AKU-NAMA newsletter, assert-ing that all would be possible if thealumni worked in consultation withother alumni chapters.

The assembly was also addressedby Professor Makombo Ganga-Limando, Regional ProgrammesDirector, ANS, who gave anoverview of the new developmentswithin the University. Mr JamesMusela, Chair, Kenya AlumniAssociation, introduced the commit-tee members of the Kenya AlumniChapter to the assembly. He notedthe contribution of members in thedevelopment of the nursing profes-sion through submission of articlesfor the newsletter and presentation of

professional papers in various national conferences, such as therecent International Nurses Day thatwas hosted by the UniversityHospital.

Also in attendance were: Mrs Martha Loefler, Academic Head,Kenya, Dr Myrla Mabalhin, Regional

Curriculum Coordinator and Alumni Advisor, Mrs Jane Karonjo, Ms Nicky Mbuthia, Ms EuniceNdirangu and Mrs Nilufar Shariff, afaculty and alumnus of the School ofNursing who will be the representa-tive for the Kenya chapter in thewider AKU alumni community.

Royal Institute of British Architects recognised AKUH, Nairobi, for its outstanding architecture.AKU/Jean-Luc Ray

19

AKU Alumni in Europe

AKU graduates have travelled farand wide over the last 25 years set-tling in a variety of countries includ-

ing Pakistan, North America andAfrica. A fair number of alumni arealso based in Europe, the majority ofwhom reside in the United Kingdom.The Alumni Association in Europe ismade up of alumni from the Schoolof Nursing, Institute for EducationalDevelopment, Medical College andthe newest of our faculties, the firstbatch of graduates from the Institutefor the Study of MuslimCivilisations. We were delighted towelcome them to our recent gathering. The alumni body inEurope has met in a more informaland regional manner, focusing oninclusiveness in response to alumnisuggestions that we remain an ‘AKUfamily’ chapter, rather than beingdivided on the basis of schools.

The first reunion of AKU gradu-ates in Europe, held at the end of thelast century, was an informal gathering at the home of one of theMedical College graduates. Later

Alumni Association reunions havebeen held at the Institute of IsmailiStudies in Belgravia, in CentralLondon, to who we owe our grati-tude. Outside London, we held areunion in Leeds, and plan to hold aformal reunion in 2009 in theMidlands to enable more alumni toparticipate.

This year we were delighted, andextremely proud, to meet at our ownISMC campus in London, thanks toCharlotte Rayani, ResourceDevelopment Officer, ISMC and hervolunteers’ support. Anticipating the25th year anniversary events inKarachi, we were keen to have ameeting to discuss issues that wouldbe raised around the events with thedesire to contribute our collectiveinput. The day of the meeting wasunseasonably warm and sunny, andthe green of Bedford Square beck-oned from the first floor balconies of the charming ISMC building. Wewere welcomed by Mr John Hough,Head of Administration at ISMC.Our agenda included a discussion offactors associated with assessingalumni impact and the structure ofthe European Chapter in light of theAKU Alumni Constitution that iscurrently being written. We alsolaunched an alumni fundraising ini-

tiative for the ISMC library. Thelibrary is a unique resource of bookson Muslim history, literature and culture by Muslim scholars in theiroriginal languages, only 25 per centof which are available at other majorlibraries in the UK. We believe that acollective alumni drive to raise fundsfor this library will be a significantcontribution that alumni and theirfamilies can be proud of. We urge allalumni to contribute to this collection. For further information onhow to make a donation, pleaseemail Rahila Zakir at alumni.euchapter@aku.edu.

We look forward to another sunnymeeting later this year in Karachi atthe Grand Alumni Reunion. It will bean opportunity to meet old friendsand strengthen the dialogue betweenalumni and the University. We alsolook forward to meeting again at thenext formal AKU Alumni meetingback in the UK. You never know, inthe current economic climate the UKmay be the cheapest place to visit foryour family holidays, and we warmlyinvite all alumni who can come andjoin us next year.

Shabeeha Memon, MBBS ’02 andRahila Zakir, MBBS ’90

Students at the ISMC campus in London. AKU/Garry Otte

Currently, the ISMC library totals over 8000titles and around 100 periodicals.

AKU/Garry Otte

20

Match Results for Medical College graduates who applied for residency positions in the 2008National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) in the United States.

NAMEMuneeb EhteshamMahmood Shah

Raheel AhmadGulminay Munir

Omar Chohan

CLASS OF 2003Zainab AbbasAli RanaFahd AnzaarAdeel HafeezShaikh

CLASS OF 2004Laila KhalidHamza KhalidJavairiah FatimaKhubaib MaparaUsman AhmedTariq NasimImran Malik

Saadiya J. Khan

Afshan Azam

CLASS OF 2005Samar Mumtaz

Sadia Zahid

Sana Masood

Atif Afzal

Sumbul Arshad AliFawad AslamMeher BurkiHussain RazaKhawaja

Saad SaifuddinAhmad

CLASS19992000

20012002

2002

2003200320032003

2004200420042004200420042004

2004

2004

2005

2005

2005

2005

2005200520052005

2005

SPECIALTYNeuro-SurgeryGeneral SurgeryOphthalmologyNeuro-SurgeryInternal Medicine

Neuro-Surgery

Internal MedicineGeneral Surgery (PGY3)OphthalmologyOphthalmology

Internal MedicineInternal MedicineGeneral Surgery (PGY2)General SurgeryGeneral SurgeryGeneral SurgeryPaediatrics

Paediatrics

Family Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal MedicineInternal MedicineInternal MedicineInternal Medicine

Internal Medicine

CATEGORYCategoricalPrelim

CategoricalCategorical

Categorical

CategoricalCategoricalCategoricalCategorical

CategoricalCategorical

CategoricalCategoricalPrelimPrelimCategorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

CategoricalCategoricalCategoricalCategorical

Categorical

PROGRAMMEVanderbilt UniversityMaryland General HospitalStrong Memorial HospitalUniversity of IowaWright State University ofDaytonUniversity of New Mexico

Louisiana State UniversityUniversity of New MexicoUniversity of MissouriUniversity of Cincinnati

Mt. Auburn HospitalUniversity of MinnesotaMayo ClinicVanderbilt UniversityYale University University of ConnecticutSUNY Upstate MedicalUniversity ProgramSUNY Upstate MedicalUniversity ProgramUniversity Hospitals CaseMedical Center

William Beaumont HospitalProgramNassau University MedicalCenterAdvocate Christ MedicalCenterSt. John's Episcopal Hospital

Baylor College of MedicineBaylor College of MedicineTemple UniversityTemple University

University of Cincinnati

LOCATIONNashville, TNBaltimore, MDRochester, MNIowa City, IADayton, OH

Albuquerque, NM

Shreveport, LAAlbuquerque, NMKansas City, KSCincinnati, OH

Cambridge, MAMinneapolis, MNRochester, MNNashville, TNNew Haven, CTFarmington, CTSyracuse, NY

Syracuse, NY

Cleveland, OH

Royal Oak, MI

East Meadow, NY

Oak Lawn, IL

Far Rockaway, NYHouston, TXHouston, TXTemple, PATemple, PA

Cincinnati, OH

NRMP Match Results

21

NRMP Match Results

NAMESyed MujtabaRizviFarhad KhimaniSana ArifAbdul Moiz Khan

Muhib AlamKhanAisha KhalidMunazza Sophie

Hassan AsgharSiddiquiUzer SherdilKhanMurtaza ShakirRomana Habib

Fatima ZahirSaba Mansoor

Sameen AhmadFariha Ahsan

CLASS OF 2006Mansoor Tanwir

Rabeeya Nusrat

Majid Shafiq

Sardar ZakariyaImamWaffiyah AfridiMahwish IlyasAhmad ZafirArhamTalha Khawar

Fatima Iqbal

Madiha MustafaKamalRabia Malik

CLASS2005

20052005

2005

20052005

2005

2005

20052005

20052005

20052005

2006

2006

2006

2006

200620062006

2006

2006

2006

2006

SPECIALTYInternal Medicine

Internal MedicineInternal MedicineInternal Medicine

Internal MedicineNeurologyNeurologyInternal MedicineNeurologyInternal MedicineRadiologyGeneral Surgery

General Surgery (PGY2)General Surgery (PGY2)

General SurgeryPaediatrics

PsychiatryAnaesthesiology

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal MedicineInternal MedicineInternal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine

Internal MedicineNeurology

CATEGORYCategorical

CategoricalCategoricalCategorical

PrelimCategoricalCategoricalPrelimCategoricalPrelimCategoricalCategorical

PrelimPrelim

PrelimCategorical

CategoricalCategorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

CategoricalCategoricalCategorical

Categorical

Categorical

Categorical

PrelimCategorical

PROGRAMMEWest Virginia University

West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia UniversityHennepin County Medical CenterHenry Ford Hospital

Washington University UMDNJ-Newark

University of Louisville

University of West Virginia

University of New MexicoWest Virginia University (Charleston Division)St. Barnabas Medical CenterThe University of Texas atAustinDuke UniversityUniversity of Arkansas

University of PittsburghMedical Center(International ScholarsProgram)University of PittsburghMedical Center, ShadysideEmory University School ofMedicineUniversity of Texas,HoustonUniversity of ConnecticutMaryland General HospitalWest Virginia University

Albert Einstein College ofMedicine, JacobiUniversity of PittsburghMedical Center, McKeesportSt. Barnabas Medical CenterUniversity of Iowa

LOCATIONMorgantown, WV

Morgantown, WVMorgantown, WVMinneapolis, MN

Detroit, MI

St. Louis, MONewark, NJ

Louisville, KY

Morgantown, WV

Albuquerque, NMCharleston, WV

Livingston, NJAustin, TX

Durham, NCLittle Rock, AR

Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, PA

Atlanta, GA

Houston, TX

Farmington, CTBaltimore, MDMorgantown, WV

Bronx, NY

Pittsburgh, PA

Livingston, NJ

Iowa City, IA

22

NRMP Match Results

NAMEMiram Afridi

Mustafa RaoofHadi MuhammadKhanKanwal Ali R.MerchantAli RazaRandhawaAli AhmedOmar AftabChoudhryMaria BanoMehreen ArshadAsma Javed

CLASS OF 2007Zuhaib IbrahimFaraz Khan

CLASS2006

20062006

2006

2006

20062006

200620062006

20072007

SPECIALTYGeneral Surgery

General SurgeryGeneral Surgery

General Surgery

General Surgery

General SurgeryNeuro-Surgery

PaediatricsPaediatricsPaediatrics

General SurgeryGeneral Surgery

CATEGORYCategorical

PrelimPrelim

Prelim

Prelim

PrelimCategorical

CategoricalCategoricalCategorical

CategoricalPrelim

PROGRAMMESt. Barnabas MedicalCenterYale University University of New Mexico

University of Connecticut

St. John Hospital and Medical Center Brown UniversityStanford University

Baylor College of MedicineDuke UniversityMayo Clinic

Penn State UniversityWayne State University

LOCATIONLivingston, NJ

New Haven, CTAlbuquerque, NM

Farmington, CT

Detroit, MI

Providence, RIStanford, CA

Houston, TXDurham, NCRochester, MN

Hershey, PADetroit, MI

Medical College students during a class at the University’s Karachi campus. AKU/Garry Otte

23

Request forContributionsThe editors of AKU-NAMA invite you to contribute to the next issue of the magazine. This is your maga-zine, and your contributions are what will make it successful. Pleasesend your contributions to any of the editors or to your respective school or programme representativeon the editorial board, listed on the inside cover of this issue. - Please send us pictures to accom-

pany your articles or pictures of yourself. Pictures must be high resolution, A4 size, digital images (300 pixels per inch) sent sep-arately as JPEG files, and not embedded in a word document.

- If you would like to share pictures of your days at AKU, please send them to us with a caption and date.

- Please share stories of what you are doing now, and how you link your achievements back to your experience at AKU.

- Pieces about your memories of your time at AKU are something we can all relate to, so please share these as well.

- Ensure your articles are between 500 and 700 words long.

- When you send in an article, make sure you include your

degree information and year of graduation from AKU.

We hope you will send us your feedback so we can ensure future issues of AKU-NAMA reflect the diversity and excellence of our Alumni!

Front Cover: Aga Khan University Women’s Residence, Karachi/Kohi Marri.Back Cover: Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi/Ahmed A Zuberi.

Aga Khan University Alumni AssociationStadium Road, P.O. Box 3500 Karachi 74800, Pakistan

Tel: +92 21 493 0051, Fax: +92 21 493 4294; Email: alumni@aku.edu; www.aku.edu/alumni

ELITE elite@elite.com.pkPrinted at