title: The changing shape of teaching physiology in South Asia: problems and prospects.
abstract: It is an established fact that the medical curriculum is not a static document and plays a central role in national health care programmes. Its pertinence to the health care needs is important for medical graduates to tackle the changing needs of the society. It is often a repeated criticism that medical colleges in the South Asian countries are producing graduates who are not well equipped to accept the fresh challenges. From time to time various sections of society emphasize the importance of teaching about primary health care, aging, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, alternative and complementary medicine. The challenging financial, political, consumers and technology trends are regarded as mounting hindrances to scholastic and community-oriented medicine in the south asian countries. A thorough understanding of the basic disciplines of biomedical sciences and provision of state of the art physical facilities are of primary importance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, The Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi-74800, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D010154:Pakistan; D010827:Physiology / Q000193:education*