Islamabad, August 11, 2022 (PPI-OT):PIMA Karachi hosted a two-day conference titled Karachi Con’22 on 4th and 5th June 2022 at Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi. The program of the conference was a mixture of science, education, ethics, religion and health advocacy. The primary objective was to update medical professionals about recent advances in the various fields of medicine. They also come up with a plan for the betterment of the medical profession in terms of educational standards, post-graduate facilities, job security and career opportunities. The two-day program comprised of 18 parallel specialty sessions, 3 plenary sessions and the Career Guidance Seminar for young doctors and undergraduates. Over 150 experts including the officials from the Higher Education Commission, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Medical Universities and University Hospitals participated and shared valuable views.
Plenary sessions included state-of-the-art lectures, doctor’s issues, public awareness sessions and a panel discussion. The CPSP President Prof Muhammad Shoaib Shafi, Central President PIMA Prof. Khubaib Shahid, VC King Edward Medical University Lahore Prof Khalid Masood Gondal, Conference patron Dr. Saad Khalid Niaz and PIMA Karachi President Prof. Abdullah Muttaqi were among the guests of the inaugural session. Renowned surgeon and motivational speaker Prof Javed Iqbal in his keynote address said that patients need a polite and empathetic doctor examining them instead of a competent but rude medical professional.
On this occasion, heads, incharges, healthcare professionals and staff of 10 leading public and private health facilities in Karachi who performed extraordinarily during the COVID-19 pandemic were awarded appreciation shields for serving suffering humanity without caring for their own lives.
Another plenary session titled ‘21st Century Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities , addressed by the VC University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Prof Javed Akram and Health Services Academy, Islamabad, VC Prof Shahzad Ali Khan. Other speakers included Pakistan Medical Commission President Dr. Arshad Taqi, Prof Abdul Ghaffar Billo, digital health expert Dr. Zakiuddin Ahmed, World Health Organisation representative in Sindh Dr. Sara Salman and Getz Pharma Managing Director Khalid Mahmood.
In his keynote address, Prof Akram spoke about practicing evidence-based medicine and urged physicians and the pharmaceutical industry to promote the concept if they wanted to save precious resources of patients. Dr. Taqi spoke on the quality of basic medical education and taught the value of empathy to young healthcare professionals.
The concluding session of the conference was a panel discussion on ‘’Intolerance In society: reasons and solutions. This was facilitated by Geo News anchor Mr. Fawad Ahmad. Prof. Pirzada Qasim, senior educationist, former VC Karachi University; Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, Ameer JI Karachi and Mr. Mazhar Abbas senior journalists, president PFUJ were among the panellists.
The Career Guidance Seminar was an important event of the conference that was attended by a large number of medical students with great interest. This was presided over by Prof. Dr. Saba Sohail, Principal Dow Medical College Karachi. Parallel scientific sessions covered all the disciplines of medicine including pediatrics, pulmonology, cardiovascular disorders, orthopedic and trauma, women’s health, quality in health care, radiology, neurology, the role of the laboratory in emerging medicine, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, dentistry, and diabetes and metabolic disorder.
Doctors, especially female doctors and medical students in a large number participated in these scientific sessions with great interest. PIMA Women Wing organized 2 separate sessions during the two days program. The first session was on Women healthcare providers and their challenges. Panels of senior and junior doctors discussed and made suggestions for balancing family responsibilities and medical services for female doctors. This session was chaired by Prof. Razia Korejo, Dr. Misbah Anjum. Prof. Fouzia Perveen and Dr. Nusrat Iqbal presented recommendations for ’flexible working hours’ hours facility for female doctors. The central president of PIMA Women Wing Dr. Naveed Butt especially attended this session and presented her concluding remarks.
Another session was held on women’s health chaired by Prof. Shaheen Zafar, Dr. Riffat Sultana and Dr. Erum Laghari. Topics including Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis by Dr Riffat Jalil and Nutritional anemia, cause of maternal morbidity and mortality by Dr. Amtullah Zarreen ex-HOD Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore. An important program of this session was related to the transgender issue. Dr. Azra Jamil, Consultant Gynecologist expressed her views on it. 12 pre-convention workshops were also held in different institutions and hospitals in the city. Topics included basic life support, ophthalmology, hematology, preventable medical errors, infectious control standard practices, basic laparoscopic skills, medical ethics, medical education, medical research, rhythm disorders and vertigo and its management.
For more information, contact:
Media Coordinator,
Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA)
Central Secretariat, 12-Shalimar Centre, 2nd Floor,
F-8 Markaz, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-2261943
Fax: +92-51-2857132
Cell: +92-332-5564935
Email: pima@dsl.net.pk, media.pima@gmail.com
Website: www.pima.org.pk
