RMU Hub Spoke Program
Introduction
The Community Health Education and Promotion Initiative of RMU will serve as a framework for community-based health education and health promotion training for undergraduate medical students. The community-based module will be embedded as a longitudinal theme, with recurring emphasis on professional behaviors, patient safety, the doctor-patient relationship, integrity, altruism, addressing health inequities, and understanding the roles of cultural and social dynamics. Guided by Harden’s Integration Ladder, the curriculum aims to align closely with international standards while addressing local needs and constraints.
Goals
To prepare medical students as competent professionals who understand and effectively address the health needs of their communities, particularly in resource-limited settings.
To foster social responsibility and a commitment to improving public health through community engagement and service.
To equip students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for promoting health, preventing disease, and reducing health inequities at the community level.
To integrate evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention strategies into medical practice, ensuring alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills necessary for effective collaboration with communities, healthcare teams, and policymakers.
Activities
The 4th-year MBBS Batch D, comprising 23 students, was attached to the Department of Community Medicine for two weeks, from 24-02-2025 to 08-03-2025, under the supervision of Associate Prof. Dr. Khola Noreen, Head of Department (HOD). Dr. Narjis Zaidi, APMO, facilitated Batch D throughout their attachment under the guidance of the HOD.
During their attachment period, students participated in the following activities:
- Introduction to the objectives and outcomes of their departmental attachment.
- Visit to the Departmental Museum.
- Visit to the Centre for Health Communication (CHC).
- Detailed briefing on maintaining a Field Visit Journal.
- Field visit to the Family Planning Centre at Holy Family Hospital (HFH).
- Field visit to the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Centre at Rural Health Centre (RHC), Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.
- Field visit to Rural Health Centre, Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Rawalpindi.
- Field visit focusing on hospital management practices at Holy Family Hospital.
- Field visit to a healthcare waste disposal site, including a briefing on incinerator operations by the Biomedical Waste Management Team.
- Preparation of community health messages in the Urdu language at CHC.
- Daily visits to hospital outpatient departments (OPDs) for health education and effective communication with the general public.
- Dissemination of health messages about antenatal and postnatal care.
- Preparation and delivery of scientific presentations on selected health topics in front of the Community Medicine Department faculty.
- Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) assessing the learning outcomes from field visits.
