LAHORE: Supreme Court of Pakistan’s former chief justice Jawwad S. Khwaja says the attitude of a doctor can make an appreciable difference to the psychological response of the patient who feels the need to be understood and listened to with empathy.

“By maximising the role of the physician-healer or ‘messiah’, there is considerable scope for bridging the gap left by the impersonality of medical science, while at the same time increasing the effectiveness of treatment,” said Mr Khawaja while addressing a certificate-distribution ceremony at the Shams Auditorium of University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Thursday.

He urged the medical teachers to be like mentors who help the learners discover their own wisdom by encouraging them to work towards career goals or develop self-reliance.

“Mentors are different because they also guide rather than just sharing information. They have already actually achieved what you want to and are aware of the pitfalls and discouragements that you will encounter along the way, mostly because they’ve experienced those pitfalls themselves,” said the retired chief justice.

British Council Lahore’s director Kevin McLaven said it was important to invest in the training of local health professionals and constantly update their skills in order to make them capable of meeting the health challenges faced by Pakistan.

“Medical education is a strand of medicine that focuses on providing training and continuous professional development to health practitioners,” he said.

UHS Vice-Chancellor retired Maj-Gen Prof Dr Muhammad Aslam said any project aimed at strengthening the local medical profession had the potential to affect millions. He said the certificate course in medical teaching (CMT), launched by the UHS under the International Strategic Partnership in Research and Education (INSPIRE) project and sponsored by the British Council, could be ground breaking in terms of the positive changes it would bring about in the health industry and the delivery of quality service.

Prof Ian Willis, the head of Educational Development Division of the University of Liverpool, the UK, said the programme was aimed at making a difference in classroom teaching.

“The credit for its success goes to its participants,” said Prof Willis who added that efforts were under way to get international accreditation of the CMT programme.

UHS’ Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching Director Prof Arif Rashid Khwaja said the course was taught on campus in two sessions. Between the teaching sessions, the students carry out a series of activities at their workplace and gather evidence of their teaching practice.

The UHS was collaborating with the University of Liverpool under the INSPIRE banner to develop an innovative and sustainable project aimed at increasing efficiency, enhance research and secure funding for health projects.

The topics covered in the course included learning process of students, planning and delivering lectures to large and small groups, principles of assessment besides evaluation and innovation, said Prof Khwaja who is the focal person of the programme.

He said so far seven batches had passed out and more than 400 medical teachers had completed the training under the programme. Moreover, nine research projects had also been completed which were supervised by the University of Liverpool.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016