Sara Shakil (Pakistan)

Dr Sara Shakil is currently serving as a Senior Instructor at the Department of Medicine and Educational Development at Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, a role held since January 2019. She also holds the position of MHPE Program Thesis Coordinator, facilitating coordination among students, supervisors, and examiners to ensure the smooth completion of MHPE theses.

As the Educational Lead in the Department of Medicine, she plays a central role in the development, evaluation, and renewal of both undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula. Her responsibilities include pre- and post-examination analysis, training of simulated patients, and the review and quality assurance of MCQs, EMQs, and OSCEs. She actively contributes to departmental faculty meetings and supports the review and implementation of academic activities across all levels of medical education. She also liaises with program directors of various residency programs, supervises undergraduate clinical and written examinations, and initiates educational research within clinical departments.

She has been instrumental in revamping the Year 4 undergraduate assessment for the Medicine clerkship and has closely collaborated with the Section of Infectious Diseases to revise their curriculum. Her contributions include the development of tables of specifications and evidence-based assessment strategies for both undergraduate and residency programs.

As an Educational Coordinator, she introduced innovative practices such as the integration of Cyber Patient, a virtual simulation tool that enhances clinical teaching by providing students with opportunities for interactive, repeated practice in a safe environment. This platform supports skill development in history-taking, clinical examinations, diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient follow-up.

She regularly facilitates faculty development workshops, focusing on topics such as clinical teaching models, graduate supervision, integrated learning, constructing effective MCQs and EMQs, and enhancing emotional intelligence for educators and clinical supervisors.