KARACHI: Students at Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) have developed a multilingual medical history-taking handbook to help overcome communication barriers between patients and healthcare professionals and improve diagnostic accuracy.
The free digital resource has been developed under the Internal Medicine Interest Group of Sindh Medical College. It includes English, Urdu, Sindhi, Saraiki, Punjabi, Pashto and Balochi enabling medical students to communicate more effectively with patients from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
The handbook is designed to help students understand patients’ symptoms, ask relevant questions and obtain accurate medical histories, an essential step in clinical assessment and diagnosis.
The project was completed under the supervision of Dr. Sadaf Razzaq, associate professor in the Department of Pathology, and Prof. Dr. Ambreen Usmani, principal of Sindh Medical College.
Abdul Tawab Ishaq, a Sri Lankan final-year MBBS student and former president of the Internal Medicine Interest Group, played a key role in developing the handbook.
JSMU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Amjad Siraj Memon said the initiative aimed to remove language barriers in clinical settings and enable clearer, more effective communication with patients from different linguistic backgrounds.
Sri Lankan Consul General Sanjeeva Pathiwella praised Ishaq’s contribution, saying his work demonstrated that the pursuit of knowledge and service to humanity transcended national boundaries.
Dr. Sahar Abbasi, director at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, also attended the launch ceremony.
According to the students, the handbook is available for free download online through the JSMU website.
