Summer 2010, Vol. 3, Issue 1 - Aga Khan University

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eFleCtionsalmost completed my Master ofScience in Nursing from McMasterUniversity, where I was recentlyhonoured with some awards. I workas a professional practice educator ata community hospitalin the area and I alsoconduct research andscholarly activities.In fact, one of mypapers will be publishedin an internationaljournal inSeptember 2010.Reflecting on mysuccesses, I have toacknowledge theefforts of the AKU-SON faculty: thankyou very much forall you do! My workexperience in bothPakistan andAfghanistan as a registerednurse, nursingfaculty member, andnurse educator and advisor hasenabled me to work in any challengingenvironment. I would, onceagain, like to express my gratitudeto each of you! Thank you.When Alumni InspireStudentsAlina sadaf, mBBs ’13On the evening of April 9, 2010,Dr Adil H. Haider, walked into astudent-packed auditorium. For me,as a member of the StudentResearch Forum, this was a sight tobehold. Rarely has the Forum everbeen able to herd more than a handfulof medical students to a guestlecture and almost never withoutserving free refreshments. But thistime it was different: there theywere, students stacked wall-to-wall,eagerly awaiting Dr Haider’s lectureon the role of research in developingan academic career.While the lecture was a roaringsuccess, it was fascinating to witnesshow alumni can develop an instantrapport with students. After all, theyare familiar with the battles we arefighting, having waged war on thesame fronts. It is this commonalitythat draws us towards one another.Dr Adil Haider speaks to AKU students about the significance of researchAKU“I have stayed in research for manyreasons, but the reason that standsout by far is tasting small successes.”-Dr Abrar A. Qureshi, MBBS ’93As I think back to the lecture, Ifind myself convinced that only analumnus could have persuaded anaudience of hardened medical studentsabout approaching research asa tool to ‘seek the truth’ and ‘make adifference,’ and not just as a fancyaddition to resumes. He correctlyidentified that students believe in asad dichotomy between the thingsthey have to do and want to do to getinto a good residency programme.To dispel this myth, he used hisown example and that of otherprominent AKU alumni who havebuilt their careers around their passions.These ‘AKU superstars’, as DrHaider describes them, include:Anita Zaidi, MBBS ’88, Hasan B.Alam, MBBS ’90, Adnan Hyder,MBBS ’90, Faiz Bhora, MBBS ’92,Abrar A. Qureshi, MBBS ’93, SaadBin Omer, MBBS ’98 and NaeemRahim, MBBS ’98. All of thesealumni have walkedthe corridors ofsuccess and theirwork is a lesson indedication for allAKU students.Dr Haideralso quoted wordsof the wisdom thatthese superstarshad shared withhim over the years,and Dr AbrarQureshi’s quote inparticular seemedto resonate themost: “I havestayed in researchfor many reasons,but the reason thatstands out by faris tasting smallsuccesses.”The inspirationalmessage thatDr Haider conveyedto his young audiencewas how stayingfocused andworking hard onthe task one lovesto do is rewarding in itself. He saidthat material achievements are simplyby-products of this labour oflove. As he spoke, he seemed toexude the kind of energy and passionthat only a person who has pursuedhis dreams and reaped thefruits of success can know; it madeus want to end this false dichotomythat has fenced our hard work fromour passions.I graduate in 2013. By then, Ihope to have the opportunity toattend many more inspiring talks byAKU alumni. I’m sure other studentswill continue to be drawn to themlike moths to a flame and we willneed bigger auditoriums to accommodatethe crowd.16
CAmPus hAPPeningsNew Trustees on BoardTwo new members were added tothe AKU Board of Trustees inJanuary 2010 while Dr IshratHusain, Dean and Director,Institute of BusinessAdministration, Karachi retired atthe end of 2009.Dr Haile T. Debas is the ExecutiveDirector of Global Health Sciencesat the University of California, SanFrancisco. His career spans nearlyfour decades and includes positionsat hospitals, medical centres anduniversities in Canada and theUnited States. Dr Debas is a fellowof the Royal College of Physiciansand Surgeons of Canada and theAmerican Academy of Arts andSciences. He is a member of theUnited Nations Commission forHIV/AIDS and Governance inAfrica, American Association forthe Advancement of Science,International Society for DigestiveSurgery, American Association ofEndocrine Surgeons, NationalAcademy of Sciences, AmericanBoard of Surgery and AmericanMedical Association.People in New PositionsA new Dean, Medical College hasbeen appointed - Dr Farhat Abbas,who has served AKU and AKUH in anumber of different capacities sincehe joined as a resident in theDepartment of Surgery in 1985. DrAbbas holds an MBBS from DowMedical College and is a fellow of theCollege of Physicians and Surgeonsof Pakistan, Royal College ofSurgeons of Edinburgh and Glasgowand American College of Surgeons.Campus TalkA ground-breaking ceremony to markthe start of construction of a secondAmbulatory Care Building (ACBII) was held on April 16, 2010. TheUS$14.5 million project is part of anexpansion plan which foresees ageneral surgery, gastroenterology,psychiatry, radiation therapy, and daycare medical oncology clinics. Inaddition, surgical day care facilities,including four operating rooms, willbe housed in the basement. The threestorey-building will be located next tothe Ibn Zuhr Building, adjacent to themain entrance gate. The entire project,including a link bridge betweenACB II and the Service Building, willmeasure 129,033 sq ft.The establishment of a newGraduate School of Media andCommunications in Nairobi startingin 2011 was announced by HisHighness, the Aga Khan. The Schoolwill offer five core programmes: agraduate school offering a Master’sdegree in journalism and short courseson various media skills through itsDivision of Continuing Education andDr Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka iscurrently serving her second,four-year term as Under-SecretaryGeneral and Executive Director ofUN-HABITAT. She is the firstAfrican woman to be elected bythe UN General Assembly asUnder-Secretary General of aUnited Nations programme. DrTibaijuka is a member of theWorld Health OrganizationCommission on SocialDeterminants of Health, and theAdvisory Board of theCommission on the LegalEmpowerment of the Poor. In2005, she served as Special Envoyto the Secretary General on HumanSettlement Issues in Zimbabwe.Prior to joining the UN, DrTibaijuka was a Professor at theUniversity of Dar es Salaam.Viewing a model of the ACB-II building during the project’s groundbreaking ceremonyon April 16, 2010.AKUseries of ambulatory care buildingsadded to the Stadium Road campus,allowing AKUH, Karachi to dramaticallyexpand its outpatient services.The proposed ACB II will accommodatedentistry, ophthalmology, ENT,Professional Development. It will createa Centre for Media EnterpriseManagement to strengthen mediaownership and management, andencourage entrepreneurship; anAfrican Global Forum for Media and17
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Summer 2010, Vol. 3, Issue 1 - Aga Khan University

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