LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has prepared a new integrated curriculum for the MBBS programme in order to provide students with a patientcentred and disease-focused medical education.

The plan is part of efforts to introduce semester or modular system in medical colleges.

The new curriculum would go through necessary approvals from various statuary bodies of the UHS before it is implemented, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Junaid Sarfraz Khan said in a statement on Wednesday.

It would also be presented for discussion in the `International Conference on Medical Education` being organised by the UHS by the end of current month.

Headed by Prof Khan, the UHS had early this year constituted a committee of subject specialists to review the existing curriculum of medical colleges in the Punjab and to develop this integrated curriculum in which the formal`classroom` l
`Development of this integrated curriculum is only the first step towards meeting the World Federation for Medical Education standards for accreditation of the MBBS programme,` said Dr Junaid.

He said that implementation of an integrated contextually relevant curriculum that put emphasis on the development of self-directedlife-long adult learning traits and focuses on experiential learning of skills, attitudes and concepts would require considerable logistics and human resources challenges to be met by all stakeholders.

`Once a contextually relevant integrated curriculum designed to meet the requirements of the Pakistani medical education and healthcare delivery system is available, further plans to build the capacity of all institutions across the length and breadth of Punjab could be formulated before implementing the curriculum,` he said.