How to setup elective rotation in Pakistan from US?

Hi everyone,

I'm sending this email from the other side b/c I'm not sure how to start this process. I'm US born, with parents from Pakistan. I'm a third-year female medical student (7th year MD/PhD student) at the Univ of Pittsburgh. I speak Pushto fluently in addtion to English, but I'm not really fluent in Urdu (I can understand most of it but not speak much, since my parents don't speak it). Anyway, I will be graduating from Pitt in May 2008, and I was wondering about how to do a 4-wk away elective rotation in Pakistan, probably one year from now (April 2008)?

I don't even know where to start looking. Are there any reliable websites or links on this? I found some websites that look very outdated. My interest is in Pediatrics subsp, maybe GI or Heme/Onc. I would really like to find a Children's Hospital in Pakistan, possibly associated with a medical school. Any ideas/suggestions/help? Will not being fluent in Urdu be a problem? If it is, then my only options will be in Peshawar/NWFP Pakistan. I'm hoping to expand my options. Please send helpful suggestions or places to contact, because I'm totally lost about how to begin to find legitimate teaching institutions that my med school will approve of. There are many students who go to India every year, but none to Pakistan

Thank you for your help!

Hi there mdphd2b,

You could try Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad -- you would have to apply through Shifa College of Medicine but they do have a formal procedure and there have been quite a few students that have rotated through before from the US and UK. I recall someone being here from Henry Ford last year rotating in neurosurgery...

Also, another place you could try is Aga Khan University in Karachi. AKU probably has more research going on if that's what you're interested in. Another place in Islamabad is the government run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences -- they have a special pediatric hospital but they're not affiliated with any medical school.

At Shifa and AKU not knowing Urdu shouldn't be any sort of relevant roadblock as most of the faculty are from the US or UK. We get plenty of patients at Shifa who speak Pushto also due to our proximity to NWFP. You'll probably pick up a lot of language just being here and if you even know some basic Urdu you'll do fine.

If you'd like to get a better idea, I could suggest that you get in touch with Shifa College and request the contact information for Dr. Munir Malik. He's an amazing pediatrician who used to practice in the US before returning to Pakistan and can probably help you out more than I can.

Hi Rehan,

Thanks for your helpful suggestions. I've basically been searching on the web, and also came across AKU and PIMS, didn't hear about Shifa, but it looks good. I was also impressed by PIMS having a separate Children's Hospital, much better than just a children's floor. (BTW, my hometown is in Detroit, so I know Henry Ford well, but then moved to Boston, then Pittsburgh).

Anyway, there is no way to contact PIMS via email, as there website is partially under construction. I have emailed AKU and Shifa, so we'll see what they say. Part of the difficulty is there is no precedent at my school for students going to PK, so I'm basically finding everything on my own and applying from scratch.

Thank you, and keep the suggestions coming everyone

PS--Does anyone have an email contact for PIMS, like Office of Student Affairs or something?
PPS--Any US med students who did electives at AKU, PIMS, or Shifa--please share your experiences.

Soooo...just to follow-up. I got a favorable reply from the Pediatrics Chair of Children's Hospital at PIMS ("We shall be delighted to have you..."). Now I formally have to apply to the QPGMC Dean's Office for the elective. Still don't have an email address for their Dean's Office (DOES ANYBODY???), but the Dean's name is Dr. Wajahat Bangash, an ENT. The PIMS website lists PK phone numbers listed for all the administration, but no email addresses! Would it be appropriate to directly call him? I feel a little nervous about calling a Dean, but not sure how to reach his secretary.

Any advice?
mdphd2b
7th year MD/PhD student (MS3 ---> MS4)
Univ of Pittsburgh SOM
Class of 2008

I know what you mean about directly calling a Dean but don't worry, it is perfectly normal here. Also, you could try to call the office and just ask to speak to Dr. Bangash's secretary or personal assistant. If he doesn't have one, just speak to him directly and either ask for his e-mail address through which you could continue to correspond with him or just keep it short and simple so that he doesn't find your call inappropriate.

Good luck and congratulations!