PESHAWAR  -    Renowned ophthalmologist and former Vice Chancellor Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar, Prof Dr Muhammad Daud Khan has said that knowledge and research were closely linked and inter related domains. He was speaking in the closing ceremony of 7th International conference on Medical Education and Research at KMU.

Besides others VC KMU Prof Dr Arshad Javaid, Registrar KMU Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Gandapur, heads of various institutions, Medical Educationists from across the country, Faculty and students were present on the occasion.  

Dr Daud said knowledge and research were interdependent and have no limits, both provide a strong base on which we can erect a civilization.

They both are important components of the WHO six building blocks for planning and implementing any health related project, he added.

Dr Daud Khan said technical education has not been an important component part of our curricula. While the west has thousands of Dry and wet labs for skill transfer, we still do most of our skill enhancement on live patients and somebody is always paying a high price for it. 

The most important and neglected component of medical education system was lack of professionalism, he said.

He shared that in medical field, we had a very humble beginning in 1947, we inherited only six Specialists and 42 MOS, mainly in Punjab. The Number of Paramedics and nurses was negligible.

“We had only two medical colleges in the country, with 80% staff migrating to India. But we were blessed to have many heroes in different fields”.

Medical field was no exception to it. We had a hero by name of Gen WA Burki who with a single stroke of pen created four major mother institutions though an ordinance i.e PMDC, CPSP, PMRC and JPMC.  “These institutions gave us a very solid base on which we were able to erect hundreds of HHRD institutions in all provinces of the country. We now have the necessary infrastructure, human resource, technology, but are we doing some justice to Governance and quality management in all fields including health”. While calling upon the participants of the conference Prof Daud said, “You have the knowledge and deep understanding of the problem.  You are also blessed with leadership and the management skills”.  You have to appoint task forces to do SWOT analysis to identify our weaknesses in the areas of HRD and R&D and its negative impact on health delivery system at all levels across the country, he suggested.

The conference participants should have to come with strong recommendations and well defined strategies to bridge the gaps, he continued.   “Only then our common dream of a comprehensive, high quality, integrated, equitably distributed and sustainable health delivery system will come into reality”, he concluded.