ISLAMABAD: Fifth Paediatric Orthopaedic Trauma Course started at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Saturday, which was attended by almost 80 orthopaedic residents and consultants where 25 topics were covered on the first day.
Organised and hosted by Assistant Professors Dr Ali Miraj Shami and Dr Asfandyar Khan of Pims orthopaedic department, the event was also attended by Professor David A. Spiegal from the United States, Prof Anisuddin Bhatti from Karachi and Prof Sikandar Hayat from Peshawar.
Talking to Dawn, Dr Asfandyar said paediatric orthopaedic was super speciality for children below age of 12 but only few paediatrics specialists were trained in Pakistan which needed special attention of government to establish paediatric orthopaedic units all over the county.
“We need government assistance in this regards as Pakistan orthopaedic association alone cannot bear the burden. We, the Islamabad chapter, are trying to make state-of-the-art orthopaedic skill lab that will be a revolutionary step in field of orthopaedic due to which we will be able to train doctors with modern skills throughout the country,” he said.
Paediatric orthopaedic trauma course begins
Prof David A. Spiegel MD, CH Philadelphia, USA, during his lecture said that the global burden of injuries was enormous and there were substantial unmet needs for musculoskeletal trauma care in low and middle-income countries, especially in primary or secondary level health facilities in rural communities.
“Systems for the delivery of care for the injured must be developed, and one component of this effort is to enhance the knowledge and skills of surgical providers,” Prof Spiegel said.
“We recognise that there is unprecedented access to didactic information via a number of sources, especially online resources, he said, adding that short-term educational courses are commonly utilised to enhance knowledge, although evidence for their effectiveness or impact is lacking as there have been few research studies concerning this topic.
He said: “Our project will include a research component to allow us to assess impact on knowledge, skills, and whether elements of the course have been incorporated into practice.”
Prof Spiegel said the goal of this educational course was to enhance the knowledge and skills of general orthopaedic surgeons, practicing in non-tertiary facilities and more rural communities in Pakistan.
This course will be unique, based on an online needs assessment and developed in response to needs assessment, he said, adding that, “we assume a basic level of knowledge and skills as well as those participants have access to didactic information from a variety of sources”.
Prof Spiegel said the content would be based on short didactic lectures illustrating key points, case-based learning to illustrate these points, incorporating technical tips and pearls/pitfalls, including the management of injuries with delayed presentation.
Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2023