Addressing the guests at the seventh anniversary of the university, he remembered the same date seven years back when the ordinance of the university was promulgated in 2003, by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan.
He said that the vision and mission of DUHS is focused on three domains, that include academic excellence, human resource development and community healthcare.
For academic excellence, the university established an examination department, IT department and digital libraries, a new administration block, a research department, a computer-learning centre and special software in the university, a professional development centre, quality enhancement cell, department of medical education and the Jinnah Genome Centre.
Five years and three months is the total duration of an MBBS degree at DUHS. Previously it used to take approximately seven years to complete the programme, said Dr Khan.
For its second field of concentration, human resource, the university established the Dow International Medical College (DIMC), the dental college, College of Pharmacy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Institute of Health Management in an effort to train “excellent health professionals”. To produce more “allied health personnel”, the university established the institutes of nursing, medical technology, physical medicine and rehabilitation and the School of Dental Care Professionals.
He also informed the audience that for their goal of community service, they have established a number of diagnostic laboratories, a department of infectious diseases, liver centres and other facilities. “An MRI of the spine costs Rs3,800 at our centre while at other places it would cost at least Rs8,000 to Rs10,000,” he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Prof Umer Farooq, pro vice-chancellor and principal of the Sindh Medical College (which falls under the DUHS umbrella), said that the main goal of the university is to serve the community and to strengthen the public health sector. “We have established several institutes that give technical and technological training and also those that are providing expensive healthcare services at minimal rates,” he said.
The dental institute, the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Institute of Medical Technology are some of the examples, he said. With the addition of multiple programmes, students with a biomedical background have multiple career options related to medicine and healthcare. “The university is producing manpower that is an asset to the country,” he added proudly.
Discount cards launched
The Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has introduced the Dow Discount Club Card (DCC). The revenue generated through the cards will be spent on research and development and on the welfare of poor and deserving students and employees.
The card is for staff, faculty, alumni and students of DUHS and its affiliated institutions. This includes Dow Medical, Dr Ishratul Ebad Oral Health Sciences, Dow International College, Dow Pharmacy and Dow Paramedical Institute. It will cost the students Rs500 while the staff, faculty members and alumni will be paying a fee of Rs1,000 annually.
The card holders will be able to avail discounts of 10 to 50 per cent in 70 outlets for food, drink and other domestic items. Seventy different companies, including five-star hotels are partnered with DUHS on the project.
An initial 6,000 cards for staff and 4,000 cards for students studying in DUHS-affiliated universities will be issued.
With additional input by Tufail Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2010.
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