LAHORE - The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has completed training more than 200 faculty members from 44 medical colleges in Punjab in emergency life-saving skills.
UHS is now holding province-wide workshops for undergraduate medical students.
The trained faculty is leading hands-on sessions for students in cardiopulmonary resuscitation/basic life support, newborn care, and trauma management. The training modules, developed at UHS, are accredited by the National Ambulance Service College in Dublin, Ireland, aligning them with international best practices.
The initiative is being coordinated by the Professional Skill Development Centre (PSDC) of UHS, under the supervision of Prof. Sarah Ghafoor, Director Special Initiatives, and Dr. Lamia Yousaf, Director Medical Education.
Earlier this year, UHS became the first university in Pakistan to embed six core life-saving skills into the undergraduate curriculum for all disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, and allied health sciences. These cover cardiac first response/basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, trauma care, emergency triage, neonatal resuscitation, and emergency obstetric and neonatal care.
UHS Vice Chancellor Prof. Ahsan Waheed Rathore stated that the program will transform the way students are prepared for professional practice. "Every future health provider must know how to save a life before they enter the field," he said. "By teaching these essential skills early, we are ensuring our graduates are not only capable clinicians but also first responders in emergencies."
A UHS spokesperson said the program is part of the university's broader vision to standardise health education and ensure that every student graduating from UHS-affiliated colleges and institutions is proficient in emergency life-saving skills. He added that final-year medical students will be assessed in these skills in their Final Professional Examinations 2025.
Further phases of the program will cover advanced clinical and life-saving skills, expanding the initiative's reach across all affiliated institutions.