​​General ​Surgery​​

The training programme in General Surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital was initiated in 1986. In 1988, 2003 and 2022, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan, approved the programme to fulfill the requirements to take its fellowship examination.

In April 1990, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow approved the programme for its fellowship examination. In June 1992, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh gave approval to the programme for its fellowship examination. After the recent changes in the examination structure of the Royal Colleges, the training in general surgery residency programme is still recognised for the MRCS examination.

The General Surgery residency program received ACGME-I accreditation in 2022.

This programme has graduated more than 80 surgeons to-date; out of whom a majority are serving in various institutions all over Pakistan.

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​Benefits | ​Frequently Ask​ed Questions 

On-call Duties and Reporting Time

Each resident does an average of one night in four on-calls within the hospital premises, although occasionally one night in three or two may be necessary.​

Goals & Objectives

Goals

The major educational goal of the General Surgery residency training programme in the Department of Surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital is to develop surgeons capable of independently practicing the highest quality clinical surgery relevant to the needs of individuals and families in Pakistan at par with international standards. The five-year residency programme - an organised educational programme with guidance and supervision - facilitates the residents’ personal and professional development while ensuring appropriate and safe patient care. The major strengths of the programme include:

  • It provides experience in preoperative, operative, and postoperative care for patients in all areas of general surgery, including abdominal, alimentary tract, breast, endocrine, head & neck, skin & soft tissue, vascular and trauma surgery including surgical critical care. The residents are also provided experience in minimal access surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, paediatric surgery and urology
  • It provides access to state-of-the-art simulators and simulation facilities at the Center for Innovation in Medical Education at the Aga Khan University.
  • It provides residents and faculty with educational goals and objectives at the beginning of each rotation, and the opportunity to evaluate each other at the end of the rotation
  • It provides each resident with evaluation of performance on a bi-annual basis to show progression of expertise
  • It provides each resident with supervisory lines of responsibility and fair grievance policies
  • It provides academic activities that are conducted on regular weekly basis within department and within each individual section
  • It provides a working environment that is optimal for resident education and patient care. This environment is safe and provides adequate space for sleep, food, and study facilities
Objectives
The goal of the programme is to provide supervised, structured and comprehensive training in General Surgery from which trainees would emerge as clinically and academically competent surgeons.


Scope after Graduation from the Programme

On completion of the programme, the surgeon should have good general knowledge, clinical judgment, technical skills and personality attributes to establish rapport with patients and families for the practice of general surgery, and be assessed as competent in the areas outlined by CPSP. To achieve this goal, it is ensured that the residents: 
  • Acquire an extensive, sound knowledge base in the clinical science of general surgery built on the fundamental knowledge base in the basic sciences
  • Develop through technical training and operative experience, the competence to execute the operative and non-operative procedures intrinsic to the practice of general surgery
  • Develop the necessary skills in clinical decision-making to become a safe and effective practitioner of general surgery
  • Demonstrate the desire and ability to care for his or her patients in a competent, responsible, compassionate and ethical manner and to serve society by always demonstrating professional integrity, intellectual honesty and social responsibility.​



Duration and Outline of Training

The General Surgery residency programme extends over five years, during which progressively increasing exposure and responsibilities are given to trainees, both in the operating room and in the pre-and post-operative management of patients.

Rotations are in accordance with the requirements of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan.​


Evaluation and Assessments Process

A continuous as well as periodic evaluation and feedback process is an essential and integral part of this training programme. The programme uses the following essential evaluation tools for the assessment of the skills of the residents
  • Global assessment of each resident incorporating the six core competencies
  • Focused assessment of residents performed by the faculty, which includes work place based assessments: MiniClex & DOPS 
  • In-training examination - This is a periodic examination to evaluate knowledge. It includes Multiple Choice Questions, SEQs, OSCEs or short and long cases.
  • The continuous departmental evaluation of the residents consists of:  
    • Quarterly/Rotation Evaluations 
    • Mid – Term Evaluation
    • Annual Evaluation & Resident Promotion 
    • CPSP Examination​


Research

All residents are encouraged to get involved in audits and research projects, however research project as per CPSP requirements is mandatory for all. The residents should be able to:
  • Actively undertake and participate in research related to issues and developments in the field of surgery about their own population of patients and/or the larger population from which their patients are drawn.
  • Apply knowledge of study design and statistical methods to critically appraise the  clinical studies and other information on diagnostic and therapeutic effectiveness
  • Be able to use/implement the results of these researches/studies as and when appropriate in their respective clinical practice. 
  • Appreciate the importance of ethical standards in research
  • Facilitate the learning of students and other health care professionals (other members of the health care team).
The section of general surgery has a specific focus on promoting the research activities of the residents. The resi​dents have a weekly one hour session to understand research methodology and there is an active faculty research effort. Residents are encouraged to participate in ongoing studies, and ideally develop projects of their own that the faculty would be pleased to support and foster. The department of surgery deals with an extensive array of clinical problems that can form the basis of interesting research and publication. Residents are strongly encouraged to author or co-author at least one publication, presentation, or published abstract during their five years of training.


Eligibility

  • MBBS from an institution recognised by PMDC/PMC with minimum score of 55 per cent and above 
  • One year internship with six months in Medicine and allied and six months in Surgery and allied disciplines
  • Candidates with FCPS Part I or equivalent
  • Fresh graduates of less than four years are preferred
The candidates are short-listed based on the MCQs examination scores and the parameters listed above. Final selection is made after a set of interviews with the f​aculty.

The selection process is based purely on merit. 

Positions Available

Positions are available for induction cycle 2025.​


Administrative Set-up

Programme Director:

Dr Fareed Shaikh
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery

Associate Programme Director:

Dr Sadaf Khan
Associate Professor
Department of Surgery

Section Head:

Dr Tabish Chawla
Associate Professor
Department of Surgery

All Full-time & Part-time faculty of General Surgery

Programme Officers:  
Ms. Marium Khan, Assistant Manager, Department of Surgery
Mr. Irfan Ibrahim, Associate, Department of Surgery

All Residency Programmes

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