International webinar held

Aligarh: The Aligs’ Academic Enrichment Programme (AAEP), in association with the Aligarh Medical Alumni Association of North America (AMAANA) held an international webinar on “JNMCites’ Experiences from the COVID frontlines: US and India”.

In his inaugural address, Professor Tariq Mansoor (Vice Chancellor, AMU) highlighted the role of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College it is playing in containing COVID-19 pandemic at Aligarh and in nearby cities. He said that till date JNMC screened more than 87,000 samples and treated a number of COVID patients successfully.

Prof Mansoor informed that JNMC has shown interest in participating in vaccine trial and is in touch with Indian Council of Medical Research (New Delhi). He appreciated AMAANA jointly organizing the webinar and sharing its experiences, which would help our graduates not only in local consultancy at JNMC but also practicing elsewhere.

Dr Kohkan Shamsi (President, AMAANA), on US side and Dr Tamkin Rabbani (Chairperson, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, JNMC) on Indian side, coordinated the lecture series.

Dr Anup Katyal (USA) spoke on COVID-19 from ICU perspective and answered queries made by the participants while Dr Shaad Abqari (India) discussed the issues and setting-up strategies of COVID Care Team at JNMC.

Sharing her experiences in the management of COVID airways at her New York hospital, an epicentre at the peak of the pandemic in US, Dr Tazeen Beg underlined the importance of full PPE-protection during the high risk aerosolization procedures and described the various challenges faced during airway exchange.

Dr Haider Husaini (India) described the management protocols for COVID-19 patients being followed at JNMC while Dr Saima Rafique (USA) pointed out that pregnant women were among the most vulnerable population at high risk of COVID19.

Dr Hiba Sami (India) discussed various challenges in testing COVID samples at JNMC lab and suggested solutions.

Earlier, Prof Syed Ziaur Rahman (Coordinator, AAEP) welcomed the participants while Dr Saadia Chaghtai (Secretary, AMAANA) proposed a vote of thanks.