Dr. Abdus Salam Khan President - PSEM

Dear colleagues,

Emergency medicine in Pakistan has entered a vital growth phase with increasing number of training programs and with the same token increased number of trained physicians coming into the field of emergency medicine. Coordinated efforts have brought us here and a continued push will take us to the next level.

At this juncture with the help of all involved, we would like to lay out strategy on how to progress and reach our goal of having a trained emergency physician in all emergency departments of Pakistan. It builds upon the Leadership Summit of 2019 in Islamabad and indeed the first joint International Conference in 2017 that led to the formation of PSEM.

This conference will enhance the understanding for local physicians, create the road for our international faculty for help and guide the policymakers and decision-makers to drive forward for the future.

Emergency care is the right of each citizen and better and standardized emergency care is the responsibility of us all.

Please join us in this very important event and be part of the next stage of history in the making.

Thank you.

Dr. Taj Hassan - Chairman International Committee

Pakistan is a remarkable country of 240 million with talent in abundance and supported by a wider ‘world diaspora’ keen to help the land that they originated from. Never has there been a greater need than in the field of emergency care to help the population live healthier lives and be cared for well in their time of greatest need when faced with a health care emergency. Indeed, access to emergency care is as the PSEM President states the right of every citizen and yet for too many it remains fragmented and inaccessible, leading to avoidable harm and premature death. 

The inception of the Pakistan Society of Emergency Medicine in 2017 and the subsequent Leadership Summit in Islamabad in 2019 were the catalysts for the beginnings of a remarkable and vital journey.  Our central objective has been to help create the foundations that will improve emergency care in hospitals and pre-hospital care settings through out Pakistan, not just a few centres of excellence. We are grateful for all the help we have received to date. 

The next stage, despite the intervention of a world pandemic (!)  has been to run this first ever virtual PSEM Conference in Jan 2021 that will build upon what was agreed by a wide variety of senior stakeholders in 2019.
 
We have brought together not just talented Pakistanis from within the country but also around the world. We have also been fortunate to attract support and help from a variety of other international leaders in their field, all keen to help support Emergency Medicine in Pakistan as it establishes itself. 
As the International Committee Chair of PSEM, I am incredibly grateful to over 100 fantastic speakers from 5 continents who will be giving their time and expertise in January. They will provide almost 40 hrs of lectures and debate compressed into 2 days with the wonders of a virtual conference.  

I must also give my thanks to my own institution, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals in the UK, who have allowed us to build a hosting platform, ENLIGHTENme. This integrated eLearning platform will let us continue our work to collaborate with colleagues in Pakistan and internationally in the fields of emergency care education and training.  It will also allow us in future to be able to connect to colleagues in other Low & Middle Income countries (LMIC) in this vital field. 
My final thanks to the President, Dr. Abdus Salam and his Executive team at PSEM who have provided excellent ongoing leadership and support throughout our endeavours. We have travelled a long way in 4 years but there is still much to do!

Thank you