Teaching Clinical Skills Emerge As A Challenge For Medical Schools

Inculcating clinical skills among their students has emerged to be a major challenge for many of the country's medical colleges and universities engaged in online teaching since the Covid-19 pandemic

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jun, 2020 ) :Inculcating clinical skills among their students has emerged to be a major challenge for many of the country's medical colleges and universities engaged in online teaching since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vice Chancellors of three major public sector universities of the province addressing a webinar organized by Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) feared that lest the issue is seriously contemplated at all levels and a pragmatic approach is adopted medical schools would be forced to produce inadequately skilled professionals.

"We can not afford to produce half trained trained from our institutions," said Prof. Tariq Rafi, Vice Chancellor of JSMU.

The event moderated by Prof. Marie Andares, Director, Institute of Family Medicine, JSMU was also addressed by Prof. Saeed Quraishy, Vice Chancellor, Dow University of Health Sciences and Prof. Bhikaram Devrajani, Vice Chancellor, Liaquat University of Health and Medical Sciences.

Emphasizing that there can not be any short cut in medical education the senior medical experts and academicians recommended extension in the current academic sessions across the country.

To promote or declare qualified medical students without provision for essential capacities was said to be not advisable, equally valid for trainees at graduate and post graduate levels.

Prof. Rafi suggested that schedule for forthcoming admission to MBBS program and fresh academic session must also be reviewed as any delay is much better than compromised training standards and professional capacities of trainees.

He on the occasion did mention JSMU's online training program, focused on Covid-19 management for general medical practitioners, nurses and paramedics besides telemedicine clinics for wide range of other diseases being largely neglected due to one or the other reason.

DUHS Vice Chancellor said that since students are not being allowed to enter campus the challenge of completing the MBBS and BDS along with that of other allied subjects is being met by shifting to online teaching.

This, he said was in accordance to HEC's prescribed criteria adding that clinical modules were also being developed for online teaching, however, a major hurdle identified in the process was inaccessibility of students (mainly those registered for nursing and other courses) to needed gadgets or their inability to use the same hence in inadequate position to make optimum of online education.

"We only recently also conducted online our supplementary examination for which objective type questions were placed followed by viva examination instrumental to cross check understanding of the candidates," he elaborated.