LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has approved first-ever five-year BDS degree programme.

The approval was granted in a syndicate meeting chaired by UHS vice chancellor Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore here on Thursday.

Earlier to this decision, it was a four-year degree programme all over the country while the USA, UK and other countries were running the five-year programme.As the UK, USA and other countries had the five-year BDS programme, the Pakistani graduates holding four-year degree programme were asked for additional qualification as per the policy to meet their criteria.

In some other key decisions, the syndicate also approved curricula, faculty appointments, and institutional affiliations for various programmes.

Move aligns BDS curriculum with world standards

Chaired by UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore, the syndicate decided that the university should revisit nursing colleges in Punjab to check the status of their agreements with hospitals in order to standardise clinical training for students.

A spokesperson for the UHS said the meeting agreed that private nursing institutions should provide stipends to students on a par with public colleges.

He said it has approved version 3.0 of the modular, integrated curriculum 2K23 for MBBS besides endorsing five-year BDS degree programme introduced by UHS.

Additionally, the launch of skill-based, life-saving short courses in BDS, pharmacy, nursing, and allied health programmes was approved, benefiting approximately 150,000 students annually.

On the recommendation of the selection board, the syndicate approved the appointment of Dr. Uruj Zehra as professor of anatomy, Dr. Sumaira Ehsan as associate professor of Medical Education, Dr. Zulfiqar Ali as associate professor of forensic medicine, and Dr. Umera Saleem as associate professor of hematology.

Appointments of assistant professors in anatomy, hematology, medical education, forensic medicine, public health, oral biology, and nursing, along with 13 lecturers in medical sciences, were also approved.

The spokesperson said the meeting approved the Regulations 2024 for MS, MD, and MDS Level III and IV programmes. It was decided, in principle, that UHS would also offer all Level IV programmes currently conducted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP).

The framework for the five-year BDS programme was also finalised, and Prof. Sarah Ghafoor was appointed head of the department of dental sciences and convener of the board of studies in dentistry.

The syndicate approved increasing seats at Akhtar Saeed Dental College from 50 to 75 and affiliating the BS nursing programmes of the Continental Institute of Nursing and the PKLI Institute of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences with UHS, based on the recommendations of the affiliation committee.

With this decision, students completing nursing and allied health programmes at PKLI will now receive degrees from UHS.

A three-member panel comprising Prof. Ayesha Shaukat, Prof. Soufia Farrukh, and Prof. Iqbal Hussain Dogar was formed to head the affiliation committee, with powers granted to the vice chancellor to appoint the head of the committee based on the location of the institute to be inspected.

He said provisional registration was approved for postgraduate residents admitted to Punjab’s government hospitals in 2023 and 2024. It was decided that the amended UHS Service Statutes 2005 would be sent to the specialised healthcare department for further processing as per the law.

The syndicate also approved rules for hostel residents and student health facilities and nominated new non-official members for the boards of studies in pharmacy and nursing.

The meeting was also attended by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nadia Naseem, Registrar Kiran Fatima, Prof. Arshad Cheema, Dr. Zahid Pervaiz, Prof. Sidrah Saleem, Prof. Samina Kausar, Prof. Asif Naveed, Dr. Khalid Rahim, Prof. Maryam Malik, Mr. Haider Amin, Prof. Syed Asghar Naqi, Prof. Soufia Farrukh and additional secretaries from the specialised healthcare and finance departments of Punjab.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2024