LAHORE: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has prepared four of its students – members of the LUMS Emergency Medical Service (EMS) – to develop an emergency medical technician curriculum to train volunteers in order to equip them with skills for providing emergency medical services on campus.
LUMS EMS President Babar Asad said that the four students completed a two-week training programme at Rice University and would now share their newly-gained knowledge and expertise with students from other universities. During their stay at Rice University, the four students of the LUMS interacted with Rice University President Leebron Rice and his wife.
The students – Nida Afaq, Zubair Anis, Jamal Nasir and Madiha who returned from the US last week after a two-week visit – were enrolled in different departments at LUMS. The trend of university students’ involvement in emergency services as volunteers was a rare phenomenon in Pakistan, but it was quite common in the US and other European countries.
The LUMS students who came up with this idea also studied the emergency service models practiced in the West. According to Asad, EMS was the brainchild of LUMS Vice Chancellor Ahmad Jaan Durrani who led the students to study systems in other western countries. He said that it was highly appreciable to see a varsity establishing a force on their own to provide medical aid during emergencies, adding that “we are trying to introduce the concept in other universities of the country.”
Asad said that the students of Kinnaird, Punjab University and BNU were trained by this EME club and now the students of LUMS, who visited RICE University, would extend the programme to other universities. He said the trained students had also been negotiating with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in this regard and wanted to work for the welfare of the country.
Around 60 students of LUMS hold the membership of EME and they had received professional medical-aid providing training by officials of Emergency Service Rescue 1122. Acquired skills: During their training, students learnt how to administer on-the-spot medical services during an emergency that included oxygen therapy, bleeding control and automated defibrillation.
At present, LUMS EME members have developed a small-scale rescue-response team for the university campus as well as for the surrounding areas. To help counter the lack of first-aid facilities, LUMS EMS was providing 24 hours medical services on campus and was also extending help to its neighbouring communities. According to data compiled by EME, increasing number of students from LUMs were showing interest in the emergency service.
The LUMS administration has fully supported its students in this regard and has provided them an office on-campus to provide the services. Warda, a varsity student, said that students of LUMS had joined the EME with the aim to help the people of Pakistan in every hour of need. Talking about her two-week training programme in the US, Nida told Pakistan Today that during her stay at Rice University, she observed that almost all the varsities in the US had their own EMS department.
She went on to state that the emergency service model was introduced in American universities almost 15 years ago, adding that she had brought back the technical literature with her, which she would distribute amongst the students of LUMS and other universities of the country.
