| King Edward Medical University | |
| Motto: | Altapete |
| Mottoeng: | Aim high |
| Established: | 1860 |
| City: | Lahore |
| Website: | https://kemu.edu.pk |
King Edward Medical University (Punjabi, Urdu: ; commonly abbreviated as KEMU) is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as Lahore Medical School during the British Raj in 1860 and is named after King Edward VII.[1]
In 1868, Trinity College Dublin granted students of the Lahore Medical School "privilege similar to the granted to students from English schools". In 1871, the university added Mayo Hospital as an affiliated hospital, replacing the existing Anarkali Dispensary. The same year the college became an affiliate of University of the Punjab, while in 1887, the university added Lady Aitchison Hospital as a second teaching hospital.[2]
After Pakistan's independence, the university became the only medical college in the province and in 2005 became a charter to award degrees in its own right. It has since gone through expansion, and oversees seven tertiary referral hospitals including the Lady Willingdon Hospital.[3]
The university has a rich history of producing great physicians that have served not only in Pakistan but also in US, UK and many other parts of the world.
King Edward Medical College was established in 1860 as the Lahore Medical College. It is the fifth oldest medical school in South Asia, after Medical College Kolkata (January 28, 1835), Madras Medical College, Chennai (February 2, 1835) Grant Medical College, Bombay (1845) and Sarojini Naidu Medical College Agra (1854).[2]
The first academic building was completed in 1883. On 21 December 1911, Lahore Medical College was renamed King Edward Medical College in honour of the late King and Emperor and was elevated to the status of an independent, degree-granting university on 12 May 2005, when it became King Edward Medical University.[4]
The university has the following departments:
The psychiatry department of KEMU has been designated status of Psychotrauma Centre for the province of Punjab by Prime Ministers National Advisory Council in the aftermath of killings at Army Public School, Peshawar killings in 2014. This centre is created to conduct workshops on trauma, identify and train teams of mental health professionals and develop modules for training. [5] The department is being headed by Aftab Asif. The chief coordinator is Dr Ali Madeeh Hashmi. A technical expert committee has been made with prominent psychiatrists and psychologists from Punjab. The centre held its first workshop for the first responders' team and trained professionals from 1122 rescue service, traffic police, and Punjab police officers in 'Psychological First Aid' on Jan 17, 2015. The next workshop was carried out on Feb 07, 2015. Media professionals from the different genres were included and topics such as responsible reporting of terrorist activities, mental health problems faced by media personnel and the dynamics between government, media and terrorism highlighted the programme.[6]
Neurosurgery Department pioneers spinal cord stimulation in Pakistan. Pakistan's first Spinal Cord Stimulation surgery was done by Neurosurgery Department of King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital Lahore in August 2018.[7] Medtronic Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system was purchased via tender.[8] The team included Professor Shahzad Shams (Chairman[9] [10] Neurosurgery King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital Lahore), Dr Muhammad Tariq [11] (Asst Prof Neurosurgery King Edward Medical University, Lahore), Dr Ammar Anwer[12] (Research Fellow ANFN-DBS Pakistan) and Dr Rupesh Jung Raut[13] (R 3, Neurosurgery Department King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital Lahore). The patient was suffering from phantom limb syndrome and Medtronic Prime Advance™ SCS[14] system was implanted bilaterally in cervical spine.[15]
After getting status of university in 2005, A new campus building was designed. The new building was completed in 2019. Another building is under construction with the help of alumni of the university which donated 9 million dollars for the new structure. The university has also acquired new land outside Lahore to build a sub-campus.
King Edward Medical University is headed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ijaz Hussain. At any time of year the university has over 1300 undergraduate and over 800 postgraduate students. Among the postgraduate doctors, 500 are doing residencies under the College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan.
Admission to King Edward Medical University is awarded to the students who have the highest merit in the province of Punjab and after primary selection, the list of selected candidates is sent to Dr Muhammad Awais (Chairman Pakistan Medical Board) for approval. The merit for admission is calculated from marks obtained in Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) exam plus the marks obtained in the entry test plus marks obtained in Secondary School Certificate (SSC). The percentage of each of these exams contributing to the final merit is different each year. The entry test takes place in September. Criteria for selection, for undergraduate seats, of foreign students and students with foreign examination is based on equivalents tables present for foreign examinations to that of local HSSC examination.[17]
The graduation time period is five years. After graduation, a one-year internship (house job) is done in Mayo Hospital or any Government Hospital. The interns are given rotations in departments based on merit. This merit is made from marks obtained in a final professional examination and all the other professional examinations, with deductions for any failures in the exams. Of all the specialities on offer, the Medicine and Surgery ones are the most competitive and allow only the best of each graduating class.[18] After completion of the internship the full registration status to a Doctor is awarded by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).
The student societies of King Edward Medical University include:
The members of these societies compete at the national and international level and have won numerous competitions. King Edward Medical University Magazine, KEMCOL, is maintained by the students. The previous and current students of KEMU are referred to as "Kemcolians".[19]