Day: September 30, 2022

Rawalpindi, September 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) is an equal opportunity provider. In order to make NUMS a safe workplace and provide enabling environment to learn and work, the university has set a strong tone from the top and shown zero tolerance for sexual harassment at workplace. It has taken significant steps of adopting HEC’s ‘Policy on Protection Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace’, which is in line with the ‘Protection of Women at Workplace Act 2010’ and its amendment announced in 2022.

NUMS encourages open communication between employees and has developed an internal complaint process in line with the law of the land. The process ensures confidentiality and prompt action against the perpetrators, which is reinforced by a mechanism of feedback to continuously improve the system.

Mehergarh – A Centre for Learning is a non-profit organisation that was actively engaged in the passage of the ‘Protection of Women at Workplace Act 2010’. It served as the secretariat of the Alliance against Sexual Harassment (AASHA) and when the alliance concluded on 22nd December, 2011, the organization took on the responsibility of implementing this law throughout the country.

Mehergarh has been working on the effective implementation of this law in the public and private sectors since then. It has trained around ten members of NUMS since 2017 and has been collaborating in strengthening the internal mechanisms of complaint and creating of a strong Inquiry Committee.

In order to buttress these efforts together, NUMS and Mehergarh- A Centre for Learning, signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 to train all faculty members at NUMS, on how to prevent and create zero tolerance for sexual harassment, in order to keep the whole student body informed at all times.

Both parties pledged to get members of Standing Inquiry Committees of all constituent and affiliated Institutions of NUMS trained in phases and get more relevant professionals at NUMS trained in Mehergarh’s residential trainings, to develop a critical mass of those who could collectively work on creating deterrence against sexual harassment at workplace among the university community.

Maj Gen Syed Ammar Reza Hamdani, HI (M) (Retd), Pro Vice Chancellor (Administration), NUMS and Ms Maliha Husain, Executive Director, Mehergarh signed the MOU. In presence were Brig Zafar Iqbal Mughal SI(M), (Retd), Director Coordination, Registrar Brig Muhammad Azhar Shams, TI (M) (Retd), Prof Dr Shazia Khalid, Head of NUMS Department of Psychology, Prof Dr Dilshad Ahmed, Director Academics, Prof Aamir Shahzad, Director Academics (Clinical), Consultant, Quality Assurance Air CDRE Muhammad Ismail SI (M) (Retd) and Dr Erum Monis, Deputy Director QA.

At the end of the ceremony, Maj Gen Syed Ammar Reza Hamdani, HI (M) (Retd) presented the souvenirs to Ms Maliha Husain, ED Mehergarh, who reciprocated by presenting Mehergarh publications to him.

For more information, contact:
National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS)
The Mall, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9270677
Email: info@numspak.edu.pk
Website: http://numspak.edu.pk

Rawalpindi, September 30, 2022 (PPI-OT):We all face troublesome situations and conflicting circumstances in our everyday lives, but the way we deal with them makes all the difference. According to Max Lucado, conflict is inevitable but combat is optional. Conflict – be it internal or external – is an unavoidable element of life and organizations. Whenever two or more individuals get together, conflict may happen, sooner or later, due to differences of opinion. Yet, hostility or violence is always optional in all of life’s situations. Modern organizations know that offering handsome salaries and promising state-of-the-art office facilities do not guarantee a dedicated and high-performing workforce.

Conflict in organizational setup is a state of discord arising between individuals, groups, departments, or organizations because of contradictory thoughts, feelings, and values. Eventually, it results into a range of adverse consequences including negative impact on performance, time, and cost. Conflict management refers to enduring behavioural patterns a person exhibits while managing a conflict. NUMS Center for Lifelong Learning (NCL) identified the dire need to educate its workforce on the importance of conflict management at workplace.

NCL organized a workshop on the aforementioned topic on 16th September 2022 facilitated by Prof. Dr. Shazia Khalid (HoD, NUMS Department of Psychology). The workshop was a high success and zealously attended by AM College representatives, university faculty members, and administrative staff at the NUMS PWD Campus. The scholarly resource person brought to light and debated on the following common sources of conflict at a workplace:

a. Structural Conflict

b. Interests Conflict

c. Data Conflict

d. Relationships

e. External

f. Moods

g. Values; Ethical, Cultural etc.

She italicized the repercussions of the above mentioned reasons for conflict one by one while keeping the session interactive. Prof. Dr. Shazia clarified that faking nerves of steel or shying away from a sticky situation are both ineffective modus operandi for dealing with conflict.

A workplace conflict, in particular, is that elephant in the room which must be addressed in a logical manner to avoid declining mental health and organizational performance. Workplace conflict also leads to a handful of positive consequences such as opening up discussions, encouraging dialogue and fostering innovation, inviting creativity, improving solutions to problems, and increasing individual involvement.

In order to ensure peace at workplace individuals must examine their behaviours in the light of how they affect others, practice forgiveness, turn emotional empathy into bonding, and inculcate the habit of active listening. The cultured facilitator sprinkled the workshop with toothsome interactions with her diverse audience, so as to enhance their learning experience.

She stressed the significance of performing self-analysis every now and then, instead of bottling up unresolved and self-damaging emotions. Prof. Dr. Shazia Khalid was patience personified which demonstrated the exact behaviour she intended to teach. The event concluded with thoughtful closing remarks and distribution of certificates by the Chief Guest, Director Administration (PWD Campus, NUMS) Brig Shahid Sultan Khan, SI (M), and (Retd).

This workshop by NCL/RD Dte was undertaken in relation to SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

For more information, contact:
National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS)
The Mall, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9270677
Email: info@numspak.edu.pk
Website: http://numspak.edu.pk