ISLAMABAD—- A series of events to celebrate World Bioethics Day concluded at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday with a grand ceremony.
The “World Bioethics Day-2022” celebration was held at PIMS through the series of events organized by the Psychiatry Department, Unit of International Chair in Bioethics.
During the week, a seminar titled ‘Bedside Bioethics’ for the National Student Wing of Bioethics Network, Pakistan was organized in collaboration with Prof. Russel D’ Souza, Director of Global Operations, who in 2012 took the lead and established the Bioethics unit in PIMS.
International speakers from the education department, Prof Mary Mathew, Prof Princy Palatty, and Prof Sreenivas, also participated in the discussions through zoom. The unit of Bioethics, Pakistan, was established in 2012. This was the first established unit at PIMS, and since then, training, lectures, seminars, and research on medical ethics have been conducted and organized.
World Bioethics Day-2022 is observed all across the globe on 19th October. The day aims to raise awareness about ethical dilemmas and their management in the healthcare profession. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Social responsibility and health,” one of the Articles of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.
At the concluding session, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Amir, Principal of Shifa College of Medicine, said that being socially responsible means that people and institutions must behave ethically and with sensitivity toward social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues.
He stated that it pertains not only to the field of health but also to everyone whose actions impact the environment. “It is a moral binding of every medical student to be aware of following the principles of medical ethics in the health system,” he noted.
While concluding the session, Professor Rizwan Taj talked about the importance of the sense of social responsibility as a vital component of the job of the entire health community. He said, “We as healthcare professionals try to pay close attention to society’s needs. All healthcare providers can support reducing health inequalities and create awareness among the general population about healthcare issues and approaches to the right system.”
He appreciated working on developing telemedicine, mental health apps, and a helpline by the ministry of health. He called it another example of the dedication of the health ministry to social responsibility. Certificates were also distributed among winning participants with the best poster and oral presentation, skits, and poem competitions.
