The Surgery Interest Group played a pivotal role in organizing the 5th AKU Annual Surgical Conference ‘Trauma: Striving for Change’. This was a wonderful opportunity for the group to showcase their abilities. We were able to hold multiple events. The summary of these events is mentioned below.
Surgery Olympics
On Day 1 of the conference, the Surgery Interest Group, for the first time in Pakistan, organized Surgery Olympics in which medical students from various universities across Karachi availed this opportunity. This was a novel concept aimed at helping surgery enthusiasts improve their trauma surgery and basic life support skills through competition, teamwork, and workshops. It was followed by an extensive suturing and foleys workshop.
Breakfast with surgeons
On Day 3, students from AKU and other medical colleges all over Karachi participated in an interactive mentoring breakfast event with surgeons organized by SIG. The event was attended by notable faculty from AKU and outside, including Dr. Mahim Malik, Dr. Farhan A. Mirza, Dr. Abida Sattar, Dr. Ather Enam, Dr. Eileen Bulger, Dr. Hasan Badre Alam, Dr. Paul Kivela, and many others.
Student Session
On Day 3, the Surgery Interest Group organized the Student Session which consisted of talks and discussions with leading faculty as well as our very own recent AKU graduates.
Quiz
Following breakfast, we had a quiz for all of the participants of the Trauma conference. Not only the student but the faculty as well participated in the quiz. The participants enjoyed it and were impressed by the quality of questions picked up by none other but Ali Bin Abdul Jabbar (‘22) (left) and Manzar Abbas (‘22) (right).
Introduction to SIG
The audience was introduced to SIG and its activities by our convener, who talked about SIG’s past, ongoing, and future workshops and talks as well as ventures such as the Ambassadors’ program. This was done in the hopes that the audience, largely a diverse group of medical students from all over Karachi, will benefit from SIG’s ventures and explore their interest in surgery through us.
“Making Your Mark” with Dr Hasan Badre Alam (‘90)
Dr. Alam is the Norman Thompson Professor of Surgery and Section Head for the Section of General Surgery at the University of Michigan Hospital. He focused his talk on inspiring the hundreds of young students in front of him to pursue their dreams with wit and perseverance.
“Keeping Your Cool” with Dr Eileen Bulger
Dr. Eileen Bulger, MD, FACS, is a UW professor of Surgery and Chief of Trauma for Harborview Medical Center. She introduced students to the world of trauma surgery and talked about important aspects of a career in the field.
Coffee with SIG
Dr. Fatima Mustansir (Secretary SIG 2018-19) joined us for ‘Coffee with SIG’ for a fun and informative session in which we got to hear about her journey in medical school and beyond, on her way to becoming a surgeon.
Panel Discussion: Students in Trauma Care-Bottom of the food chain?
This was a panel discussion in which we discussed what it means to be a trauma surgeon and the important but often neglected role of students in trauma care. Speakers included Dr. Amber Mehmood, and Dr. Rizwan Naseer, and Dr. Aisha Tariq (Convener SIG 2018-19).
Trauma Mentoring – Surgeons to Students
This was our closing talk with our very own Dean Dr. Adil Haider, an accomplished trauma and acute care surgeon who has also been recognized for his work in the area of disparities in access to life-saving surgery. He ended with words of inspiration and guidance for all the medical students in the session from universities all across Karachi.
