Punjab’s emergency care system is set for a major expansion as the University of Health Sciences (UHS) begins training 15,000 nursing students annually in core life-saving skills.
The announcement was made at the inauguration of capacity-building workshops for nursing faculty at the UHS Jinnah Campus. Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique said the initiative marks a new phase in emergency healthcare preparedness across the province.
“This goes beyond routine training,” Rafique said. “We are one family, and that family is Pakistan and humanity.” He praised UHS for launching the program with clear professional vision and careful planning.
Rafique said nurses have continued to provide exemplary services even in difficult circumstances and deserve recognition equal to doctors. He also commended healthcare reforms under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and assured full government support for UHS initiatives.
According to the minister, about 8,000 final-year MBBS students have already been trained in six essential emergency skills. These include basic and advanced life support, first trauma response, neonatal and obstetric resuscitation, and emergency triage assessment and management.
He added that 1,000 medical faculty members have been prepared as master trainers. The next phase will focus on training 1,200 nursing teachers, who will then pass these skills on to students in public and private institutions across Punjab.
Addressing the ceremony, UHS Vice Chancellor Prof. Ahsan Waheed Rathore said that under the program, teachers from 86 nursing colleges will train more than 15,000 students annually in emergency life-saving skills.
He said trained faculty members will be certified instructors and emphasized that no health student in Punjab will be awarded a degree without passing an assessment in the six mandatory emergency skills.
