Nursing is the backbone of the health care system: VC KMU

Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar vice-chancellor Prof  Dr. Zia ul Haq has emphasized that nursing is the backbone of the health system and increasing the quality of nursing education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the need of the hour. He has expressed these views on the occasion of a meeting with Mr. Fazal Moula member Pakistan Nursing Council at KMU. While on this occasion, Registrar KMU Inam Ullah Wazir, Director Academics & Admission Dr. Zille Huma, Deputy Director of Inspections, Affiliation and Monitoring Muhammad Tayyab, Dr. Dildar Muhammad Associate Professor INS and Dr. Sabiha Khanum Director INS-KMU were also present.

Professor Dr. Zia ul Haq said that KMU is playing a leading role in the improvement and development of nursing education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan. He said that KMU will soon organize monitoring visits to affiliated institutions to monitor the academic quality of nursing programs. During the meeting it was discussed that internship is very important for nursing students as per guidelines of Pakistan Nursing Council and KMU should play its role in ensuring internship for its core nursing colleges.  

The vice-chancellor said that KMU has started nursing programs in Swat, Swabi, Kurram and Islamabad and we want to affiliate these institutes with Nursing Council on priority basis. He said that KMU is ready to invest in nursing education and we want to open new nursing colleges to bring high-quality low-cost nursing education to the people of remote areas of the province at their doorsteps. To promote nursing education in the remote areas of the province the support and patronage of the Nursing Council is of primary importance, he added.

It was agreed in the meeting that since the majority of women nurses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are from Chitral, KMU is ready to open a nursing college in Chitral as well, which will provide opportunities for the people of Chitral to study nursing in their own district. During the meeting, it was also agreed that female students will be encouraged to enroll in nursing colleges and efforts will be made to provide scholarships for women in the affiliated colleges to increase the enrollment of female nurses.