Due emphasis should be laid on research in medical teaching and training in the country, said Bahria University Medical and Dental College (BUMDC) Rector Vice-Admiral (retd) Shahid Iqbal.
He was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the institution’s symposium on Saturday.
Iqbal was of the view that in developing countries, research should not be neglected in medical teaching and training, stressing that there should be due emphasis on the scientific inquiry in secondary and higher secondary schools.
He pointed out that the world has moved into an evidence-based era in almost all fields and “we need our medical practitioners to generate research data specific to our country.”
“Modification and restructuring of our medical education system developed on research-based teaching and training is required,” Iqbal suggested. “It will also help us in strengthening our infrastructure and research.”
Prof Dr Ziaul Islam presented a vote of thanks at the symposium, where there were two plenary lectures by eminent researchers Prof Dr Waseem Jafri and Dr Huma Qureshi.
Pakistan Medical Research Council Executive Director Qureshi said that there should be an active process to incorporate researches into health policies that should also be made according to the priorities of the country.
“In our country improvement is needed in technical and financial cooperation, sharing resources, equipment and facilities and public private partnership,” he added.
Jafri, the Continuous Professional Education Department Associate Dean and Chairman, spoke about the importance of critical thinking in medical education.
He said that the Islamic contribution to science had been enormous, specifically in the health sector.
The symposium’s inaugural session was attended by a large number of students, medical educationists and researchers of different institutes and faculty members of BUMDC and PNS Shifa.
The theme of the two-day moot was ‘Research-oriented Education and Training’.
The welcome address was presented by the BUMDC Principal and Organising Committee Chairman Prof Dr Syed Tipu Sultan.
