46 medical editors awarded certificates

LAHORE: An award distribution ceremony was organised here at the University of Health Sciences (UHS), on Wednesday, in which certificates and cash prizes were distributed to the successful participants and position holders of Medical Editing and Medical Journalism for Editors courses. A total of 46 medical editors were awarded certificates.

The course participants included selected faculty members from medical colleges across the country. The chief guest of the event was Punjab caretaker Health Minister Prof Dr Javed Akram. The objective of the certificate courses was to promote the publication of research journals in the medical field and improve their quality.

In his address, the caretaker health minister said that despite quality research, good medical journals were not being published in the country. He said that only three medical journals in the country have an impact factor. He stressed that MBBS and BS Nursing should also have a module on medical editing so that students could write case reports in a better way. On this occasion, Dr Javed Akram directed the UHS administration to reserve seats for nurses and allied health professionals in certificate programmes. He said that the medical editors should promote the research that directly impacts the general public. UHS Vice-Chancellor Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore said that in the future the university would start Masters and PhD programmes in medical editing and these courses should be mandatory for supervisors of level four postgraduate degree programmes. The focal person of the programme, Professor Nadia Naseem, highlighted the aims and objectives of the courses. She said that the students who complete both certificate courses would be awarded a postgraduate diploma in medical writing and journalism. Dr Nadia said that so far 142 students had completed the certificate course in medical editing.

Course Adviser Shaukat Ali Jawaid said that after Shiraz University in Iran, UHS was the second university in the region that was offering courses in medical editing.

The Professor Javed Akram Prize of Rs30,000 was awarded to Dr Wajid Jawaid for the first position in the Certificate in Medical Journalism for Editors course. The Professor Major General Muhammad Aslam Prize of Rs25,000 was awarded to Dr Nadia Naseem for securing the second position. The third position was jointly bagged by Dr Noor-i-Kiran and Dr Afshan Shahid who were awarded the Prof Arshad Javed Prize of Rs20,000 each. In Certificate in Medical Editing course, the Sarwar Zubari Prize of Rs30,000 was awarded to Syed Fawad Mashhadi for the first position, the Tahir Saeed Haroon Prize of Rs25,000 was awarded to Hina Nasir for the second position and the Maqbool H Jafary Prize of Rs20,000 was given to Kokab Jabeen for the third position. Ms Zakia Wahid was awarded Rs25,000 special prize for good performance.