Perks Of Being A Med Student - Amna Kamran (Batch Of '18)

Wow, ‘med student’- has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? And that, everyone, is the first and most major perk of being a medical student. That specific sense of glamour you carry just by waltzing into a restaurant with either your  lab coat or SIMS hoodie on.  And if your mom’s there she’ll definitely be introducing you to all her friends as her beloved doctor bacha/bachi.  That is what we’re all primarily here for, right? To provide our parents with that sense of pride and accomplishment :’)

So why do our parents and relatives celebrate when somebody’s on their way to becoming a doctor? Because of the money? The fact that we’re in such a noble profession? Yes and yes. But, I think, the cherry on top is the fact that WE MADE IT.

Medicine is the hardest profession you can get into. There’s O levels/Metric , then A levels/ FSC; and then directly after that we’re hurled into the abysmal MCAT mess. It’s really not that easy having that much stamina and working that hard consistently. *shudders at the bad memories*

And that’s the other major perk of being a med student: the unhesitating assumption a third party has of all med students being smart. It doesn't matter if you think you’re stupid…all non-med bachaws are going to think you’re a genius despite your insecurity :D (shhh let’s not tell them the truth)

That’s the beauty of it all. The confidence and self-assurance you obtain just by knowing that you're on your way to adding the ‘Dr’ label riggghhhhttt before your previously ordinary name :’)

The admiration people look at us with isn’t uncalled for, of course. This is where the comparison with LUMS comes in (don’t worry we’ll win this one;)). In med school our tears are brought about by the endless hours of studies and dealing with difficult patients. On the other hand, LUMS/Business Students are brought to their knees by mere ‘assignments’. They feel cool when they type out a five-page essay…we, on the other hand, feel cool when we dissect a cadaver and pinpoint its nerves and muscles. Our life sounds more meaningful doesn’t it? See, told you we would win in this comparison!

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Happy New Year Pakistan! - Hira Shaheen (Batch of '17)

New year has started with sparkling colors and magnificent display of fireworks, all around the globe. Although technically it is just a change of date, the immense association of this change with hope can't be ignored. New beginning is always a hope. A hope that things will change. A hope that coming days will be better. And a hope that darkness we see around us will fade. Talking about past year, our country faced a change of governance. New government took charge and oath to take Pakistan to the path of prosperity. Personally, I have not seen any noticeable positive change until now and all it seems is old business with new faces. Division of power among some particular people, corruption, low literacy rate, shortage of all basic resources including electricity, gas, and fuel continues. Prices are sky rocketing and problems of common man are becoming worst with every passing day. In this scenario, being hopeful is a great deal and I salute the Pakistani nation for their display of strength. Our new year started with yet another ban imposed by PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) on a famous website dailymotion.com which had worked effectively as an alternative after blockage of YouTube in Pakistan. To be honest, I could never understand logic behind such acts by PTA but may be my mind is too mundane to grasp those intricate reasons. Taking in account the dark times our country has faced due to our lack of responsibility and administrative capabilities, in past years, I think banning sources of communication to outside world is least thing our concerned departments should be doing. Educating and feeding people is more important right now and tolerance is what we need most in these circumstances. Considering all this, I strongly wish this new year would be change of our thoughts along with the change of a calendars because only that is how we can redefine our priorities and start focusing on things that could lead to prosperity of our nation.

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Always Dream Big - Somia Asghar (Batch of '17)

The world is progressing day by day. Everyone considers himself very modern. Enlighten moderation is thought to be guarantee of smooth life. But in this modest and scientific world there is something worth noting, its stereotyping against the special people. Everyone in this world is created by Allah Almighty. All the people are same and equal having same internal structure, minds, hearts, internal feelings, each and everything is same. But why some of us are stereotyped? Why people with physical disabilities are looked down upon? Why people have pity for them? I have never gotten the answer to these questions. In my opinion there is a very special blessing of Almighty on such persons. I used to think that Allah has created everyone perfectly same, only very few are special and different. According to me,being specified by Allah is a great thing just think about it! But people! sigh!! what to do with their talks and comments? On every street, restaurant even at each public place they are present with their wide opened mouths. who can stop them? No one! I feel so pity for such people who use to do commenting and feel pity for special people. Excuse me people! Special ones are not something to be pity upon. You can’t even imagine what blessing of Allah has on them that enables them to do every thing, but Only if they want, if they will and if they ignore out-spoken people. They can do what ever they want. Trust me! Everything they do is to overcome their fears,and create self confidence, that’s it! Allah has blessed me with beautiful hands alhamdulilah. They are my sweety sweety cutie pie.They are a gift for me,a very special gift from the Creator.They differentiate me from others and are a cause of my worth-mentioning future. I am becoming a doctor. Its not because of my efforts but a miracle and blessing indeed. I was a very good student and secured good marks in metric but during my fsc unfortunately I became ill and could not study well. I had a dream to become a doctor, but result cleared all my misunderstandings. It was like impossible for me to even think of medicine. That was so depressing and made me decide not to even appear in entry test although all the fee depositing process etc was done. I was so consistent on my this wonderful decision but 15 days before entry test my family insisted me so I opened my books. Having feelings of not being well prepared and much more, at last the day came and test was done. Well the result was obvious….60% in entry test n total aggregate was 70%...how a person can think of medicine in the era of this high merit with such low grades…well I was not surprised at all because I had already prepared myself for this. During all this, my father had planned something for me. I was totally unaware from that, that was to use my specialty as a path to medical college…he made me aware and I was like what? No! no! no! I am not like that…my dream is okay but seats for disable candidates! no way…! Even though I could avail this but my internal somia was continuously pounding me that ‘’I AM NOT DISABLE AT ALL…’’ I was not different. I was like others, could do each an everything…all domestic chores, minute tasks, writing, singing, dancing etc etc and etc. well well well this thing made me to have a glance of my past and I was totally satisfied by my life. BUT! suddenly I began to realise why I faced this failure inspite of trying hard…why I was not able to even try? why I cant prepare for my entry test? why??? And yes I got the answer…answers of all the questions…. Allah had made me special for this day and the day had come…after thinking a lot I said yes papa i'm ready for it…i'm ready to avail my life…i'm ready to lead the world…i'm ready to realize my dreams YES! I AM READY TO BECOME A DOCTOR… Allah is the best planner for everything and low aim is a crime…if aims are high then GOD helps those who help themselves…alhamdulilah

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SIMS and Me (Episode One) - Abdul Majeed (Batch of '11)

“Is that a Yes or a No?”

It was some time between 3 and 4 pm, when I usually took a siesta after a busy day at college. That particular day, I was about to sleep when my phone buzzed. I tried to ignore the buzzing at first, thinking it was some forwarded message but the buzzing didn’t stop, indicating an incoming phone call. I checked the screen with hazy eyes (I was about to sleep, so I was not wearing my glasses). It was a call from home. I silently prayed: Let it not be some bad news; after all, it was not the usual time for my parents to call. I picked up the call with apprehension. After the usual niceties, my father asked me a simple question. If you get admission in SIMS, will you go there? It was not the best time for me to make a potentially life-changing decision but I just went with my instinct and said, Yes I will. That’s how my relationship with SIMS started. I had not made it to the list of selected candidates in the first merit list for Public Medical Colleges in Punjab. Tired of waiting and in anticipation for the worst possible outcome, my parents got me enrolled at Wah Medical College, a private medical college located in Wah Cantt. I reached there a few days after the session had begun but it was quite fascinating to be in a medical school after all. Wah Medical College may have been a private medical college but they had quite good academic standards and a good campus, things that even many public sector medical schools do not possess. I had gotten well with the folks in my class and the hostel. The place was very serene and beautiful, as well as being within 20 Km distance of my high school(Cadet College Hasan Abdal) so I didn’t feel a lot of change in the surroundings. I had experienced dissection, the first sub-stage, the first bio-chem test, the labs and camaraderie with seniors, i.e. the things that are quite fascinating/daunting for a freshman in medical school. I also had the good fortune of getting a role in the College magazine society where I spent a very good time with my seniors. In short, I was quite settled at Wah Medical College for almost one and a half month when I got this call from my father. I felt very uncomfortable leaving a place that I took a liking to, and going for an unknown destination. After some fare-well parties and well-wishes, I left WMC and came to Lahore on 15th of February, 2007. After a long journey, me and my mother reached the Birdwood Hostel at around 6 p.m. It was about to go dark and even in that semi-darkness I could see the shabbiness of the house that was supposed to be my hostel at SIMS. The warden escorted us to the room I was supposed to live in. Upon entering that room, the smell of worn-socks mixed with cigarette smell and the typical ‘bachelors’ hostel stink’ hit my brain. Another problem was that in a single room, I was supposed to be the fifth person thereby congesting the space. I felt sick in my stomach upon seeing that and secretly hoped that it was a hoax or something. Sadly, it was not. My first night in B-12 hostel, Birdwood road, consisted of a little bullying/sarcastic ragging by a 2nd year student,and a ragging session with my own class fellows acting as though they were seniors. It was not worse than my expectations and I was relieved after my classmates finished the ragging when I sang to them “Tumhain Dil Lagi bhool Jani pare gi” using my pillow as an imaginary-harmonium. The next day, more surprise/dismay was in store for me when I walked to the college building to attend the classes. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes as my “new” college consisted of some really historic buildings that were shabbier than the hostel. After sitting through the lectures, I practically gave up. It felt like committing the biggest mistake of my life. I had left the comfy hostels and neat buildings of WMC to come to THIS.!!! I immediately called my father and asked him not to get my clearance from WMC as I wanted to go back from this mess. He was quite circumspect and told me that it was quite difficult, my mother though said that she would try to convince my father. This is precisely how my journey at SIMS started. Things have changed a lot since then. We got a brand new campus, the merit gets higher each year and at least some Rickshaw-wallahs now know about SIMS. I still retain memories from my time and this is just a first glimpse of how things used to be. Watch this space for more of the same.

(Abdul Majeed is a SIMS Alumnus, from the 2006-2011 Batch. He was editor of the Urdu Section of College Magazine and writes for The Friday Times and Dawn Urdu thes days).

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Paradigm Shift - Aleena Hussain (Batch of '15)

When I was in school the extracurriculars were pathetic. If you were from a regular school like me, not Aitchison or Convent, you' ll know. Extracurriculars were more like a break for teachers rather than any actual talent hunting. There was no drama or literary club. The debates came around once a year. For those of us who picked science in matric, sports was off the time table after eight class. Even library period was canceled. I remember asking my principal that why wouldn't the library issue me books ( I was in tenth grade) and her dismissive answer “ You don't have that kind of time” of course. That makes sense. If you are studying science what would you do in a library?

Anyway, I got over school. School is place wherel you are just taken as a kiddo. Even the competitions at inter-school level are a joke. But its alright because you are all “kids” literally.

Enter college into the scene.

My college was LCWU. The real deal. The big league. So I enter rubbing hands excited to explore the other side. Join all the clubs, explore, stumble upon heated discussions. Even try a hand at the netball team at

which I was good till eighth grade. Lo and behold! Fsc pre-med? No extracurriculars for you. That is if you are brave enough to look, the pressure on students in fsc is ridiculous. Every distant relative and adult you make eye contact with for more than 5 minutes will drop that speech on you. The speech. “Your whole future, your whole life, everything depends on these two years. Just focus on the studies. Keep your grade up. Put a pause on everything and once you get into university you can try anything. Get a sex change operation for all you want. Besides you are in college from 8 to 3 and then off to academy from 5 to 9. Rest of the time spent memorizing the tests or completing the practical notebooks, not to forget the agonizing drawings in biology which must have some grand purpose or meaning that I haven't figured out yet.
Anyway, the arts and drama club was there but in some secret tunnel in the arts department, that I never managed to reach. Sports? They were more open to us. At least we were informed of matches to fill in the seats in the audience. The library was fantastic. I went to get my card issued. The librarian : “Which year are you? Which course?” after hearing my reply. “Oh this section is for arts student. Even in the science section these books are for bsc students”
The only fond memories I have of college extracurriculars is the time I spent in college mosque reading my own literature books. Not of library, God forbid.
 University life. I have arrived, with a manic gleam in my eyes. Although the SIMS building (the old one in which we got admission) didn't promise me any heaven but still. University level. We are adults finally and here for the long haul. We wont be brushed off! In the whirlwind of Anatomy sub-stages I catch words about well established literature and drama clubs. Out of the blue one day a notice appears with the names of the representatives for respective clubs from first year. The “reps” had more literature and drama in them than B. D Charausia. But this isn't the punch line. Soon I got to the activity week or month. On sports day, some pamphlets were distributed. While looking over the pamphlets due to the lack of sport on the ground my eyes popped out. Literally. I had to put them back in. Here are some of the names from the list of the clubs mentioned on the pamphlet with the respective heads :
   1. astronomy club 2. rowing club 3. chess club 4. swimming club 5. badminton club

For those of you who didn't get the joke, all the above mentioned clubs do exist. In my mind and on paper. But thats it.
Back to the point ( trust me there is one) I had these ideas and notions about how things would be. When I thought of dramatics I didn't think a group that came alive for month in a year. My idea was a room for the society, first, most basically... passes to great dramas all year long, visits from acting coaches in NCA? When I thought of literary society the first thing in my mind was a library with literature books. Second, weekly or at least monthly meetings again in a “room”. Book readings, meetings based on literary eras, themed events. We do have a library now but the 100 or so literature books are again off limits and can only be issued by final year because they have the most free time on their hands. And also because when you are in final year you grow an extra set of hands for keeping library books with extra care.

As for sports... we don't have a ground let alone a gym for students to practice these games all year long. As a result you can imagine the quality of sports at the annual sports day or the turn up (not counting that coerced by administration) All of these societies, those that do exist, only become active once a year. The rest of the time is spent in hibernation. Even when they do become active, they just provide a platform( at least in dramatics) but there is no place where the students can hone their talents.. work on them, get that extra shine. Don't even get me started on how the selection of plays works in dramatics or how the reps are selected. But take my word, reasoning is not allowed.. everything is magically finalized by a force up there called “final year” or the professor who is the head of that particular society.
You must be thinking that how would I know how it works its just observation that I haven't really tried, haven't put myself out there. Photography is something I am good with and I had the good fortune to be a part of SIMS photography club which was called S.A.P.S but is now called “Zephyr”
Now this was my big chance to do all the things right. I was there my voice was there but did it make a difference? Nopes. Popularity is the currency in any conversation not reasoning or logic. Now I am gonna let you in on another big secret. In every one of these functional societies there will be a group of
people that are ubiquitous. Their names and faces will come up again and again. But you can't see them doing any of the work, they have the invisibility cloak. I call these kids the poster kids. Now before you start commiserating with me, these kids have a purpose too. They are the extroverts. For every society to kick-start these poster kids are the crowd pullers. You cant rely on talent alone since that was never part of the plan.

Why is a photography club named zephyr or college journal Esculapio (Greek word for : the doctor) is a mystery with a history. Maybe Pakistanis are direct descendents of the Greek and we have a history of learning Greek in school. Too brainy for me! The point is, that extracurriculars in university, in mine at the least are a sham. Should I settle for something rather then nothing? I dont know. For now i have another horizon : post graduation abroad will be the answer to my prayers. As for other prospective future people like me make them read the chapter in our english book “Why boys fail in college”
Whose fault is it? The students? No ways i am the student! I can't wrong. :) The administation? Not quite. Because if things were done in my ideal standardsI don't think, as medical students we would have the time or energy to commit to extracurriculars to that extent. To keep it running all year long you need workers. I guess the fault lies in the fact that we are too much compartmentalized. If SIMS was just the medical wing of a real university like Oxford or Harvard ( feel free to insert the name of some famous public university too) then the art wing would have the arts club running and the students studying drama would keep dramatics running. They would be able to offer the required time and commitment since their degrees would depend on it and the quality as a result would automatically improve. As for medical students like me itching to get a taste, it would be just a walk in though the door.

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Viva/ OSPE format for fistulas !

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Prof. Gardezi - As a Style Icon

Cocktail Magazine, August 2010...

   I saw the picture of handsome Prof. Javaid Gardezi back in 2010 and had no idea that I'll actually meet him one day. Had no information about SIMS itself at that time. But destiny...you never know where it will take you...

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Equality: Easy To Taste, Hard To Digest - Yasir Raufi (Batch of '16)

We live in a world where the wealthy are happy because of the poor, the sane because of the insane, the healthy because of the ill, the beautiful because of the ugly, and the literate because of the illiterate. This all goes to show that all the happiness of the fortunate ones is derived out of the misery of the unfortunate ones, and that is the main reason for the failure, the corruption and downfall of our society as a whole. The fortunate ones care so much about their own happiness that they forget the right, the wish, for the unfortunate ones to be equally happy.

The moment the fortunate forget about their own happiness and focus on the misery of the people whose fate was just not as bright as theirs. The moment that, for the fortunate, the upside cup of smile topples over and turns into a fallen empty cup of sadness. The moment when the unfortunate will start seeing a ray of hope to survive, improve and gain faith in humanity and their lost faith in God. The moment when the unfortunate will have a smile on their faces because of recovery and support, and the fortunate will still have that toppled over empty cup of sadness because of worry and humility. That will be the moment that our society begins to rise. It will be the moment when God will start to truly love His people again and they gain freedom from all evils and hatred from the outside world because no one can break the chain binding the united men together. That will be a true example of equality. The truth is that God didn't give everyone everything equally but He has given His believers equal rights hence it is their duty to treat each other as equals, and that, in my belief, is the very basic foundation for success and uprise of a society- Equality

                       

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The List - Ali Nawaz (Batch of '16)

There are so many things in this world that can't be bought, but out all those unpurchase-able things what is the most precious one and what scale is needed to measure its value? How to know whats important? What should be your priority? What is the thing u should go for? and what is that u should let go?? Some of the simplest questions in our lives sometimes prove to be the biggest dilemma and the main reason of this confusion is only one ...
We find difficulty in selecting the better option because we have not set a priority list in our lives.
Have u ever heard that "anybody has got time for you if you r their priority" .. that means there has to be a priority list but on what standards should one make it?? On the basis of religion?? On the basis of money?? Or on basis of social norms.In basis of what your parents tell u , Or on the basis of what your girlfriend or your wife tells u? 
No doubt about this that whatever the religion says to give preference to, it will surely prove good for you to keep it in the upper row of your priority list,but what about the things about which religion doesn't says anything... like .. should I get a Hershey's or a Tobleron? Should I go for MBBS or engineering?? Will Islam give answer to this question? I don't thing so, well these are the simplest of such questions ..

I never heard my parents saying that go buy something that is worth the money we gave u .. I never read any hadees or ayat which says do whatever ur wife asks u to .. because there aint any .. but yes I did hear people asking me to do things just because "char log kya kahen gy" (what will others say) .. so should i base all my priorities on this base? U may agree ,but I don't ..not in all matters, may b in some I might give importance to these hypothetical char loog, for what comes after Islam or parents to set my preference list is HAPPINESS!!

Happiness! The only thing everyone on this planet is searching for.. we wake up everyday not in search of money.. not in search of knowledge, not in search of love but in search of happiness. Money or knowledge or love may just be the sources, but they are not happiness. I'm too young to define happiness because I haven't seen the world or experienced it. I don't know how one feels to hold his baby in his hands and kiss his forehead. I haven't felt that happiness, that ecstasy yet. I don't know how happy one feels when he is hopeless and is sitting in a jail cell somewhere in the world... suffering.. darkness... torture.... the moment when u feel like death would be a boon than to live , and all of a sudden he finds a way out of that place. I don't know how it feels to stay awake for the whole night and sit in-front of kaab'a and ask for forgiveness... that happiness .. that peace... I'm not yet that mature to explain those feelings.. but .. what I can tell is that nothing in this world is worth happiness.

I happened to see a few children picking up garbage cans and one of 'em found a can with a lil fanta in it. He called out for other kids and drank the left over with that "I am the king" look in his eyes  ... for u or me ..that cane was a waste.. but happiness for that lil fellow  .. 


would u have had the same kind of happiness on getting a sip of fanta from that discarded can? NO!!!
The answer is obvious .



so I guess it would be better for all of us to rather compose our lives according to the things that make us happy rather than what makes others happy. Religion is very important and should b above our personal desires. Parents should also b given due respect, but when it comes to the "char log" society or your smile.I guess You and I should maintain an equilibrium and better be giving more importance to our smile.  .. "Condition applied" that we are not doing something against our religion.

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One down, four to go. Oh Really? - Hassan Nawaz (Batch of '17)

   So…Done with our first year already. They say that time flies but in this case we really have no idea how the whole year flew away so quickly. Maybe its because it wasn’t really a full year O_o . 7 months and the session is over. And to my extreme guilt, after banging my head into the mighty books for these 7 months , I can only say one thing:

                                          “All I know Is that
                               I know NOTHING” Socrates

  Although I’m not sure whether Socrates meant it this way but coming back to Home Sweet Home and casually opening the books for an overview of the syllabus really gave me the thought, “When did we study all this???” :-O And then another thought, “Wait a sec, the first year isn’t over yet !!! There is something much more frightening than these 7 months , yet to come”

  

So we have been sent home for one and a half month vacation. Quite relaxing the thought is. But the dream gets totally shattered as soon as the ugly reality shows up its face…

   With the holy month of Ramzan totally welcoming us home on vacation, we are forced to perform Jihaad as well (that’s how my father names our noble cause of Studying :p). And then everyone out there knows that there isn't going to be any “real” study during Ramzan (just opening the book in the front and staring at that interesting wall we have ), but thanks a lot UHS for granting us these prep. leaves not for studying but for a constant burden on our minds. The thoughts of send-ups and prof. coming now and then, not letting you enjoy anything to full extent. The guilt in your heart when you are about to watch T.V for another hour. Everything every act reminding you, you’re not here on holidays doc !

  

 But then, life is not all bad. It has always been said that M.B.B.S requires a lot of hard work, burning of the midnight oil, study , study and study but to be honest, I had one of the most exciting and enjoyable year of my life. With so many functions and parties around the clock, Dramatics, Quiz, Zephyr, Fun Fair, Character Day, Sports Days, and then the SIMS Olympiad. After all this one should not complain if one has to perform the main task for which one was here i.e to study (but of course we possess that bad habit ) :p

   As this is end of our first year session, I also should say something emotional to end this article. :p
So I read it somewhere (Okay, Okay, I saw it in a movie :-/):

But the following lines are from me :p

 All the best for the coming hectic exam fever. End this year with no hatred in your heart. Clear the misunderstandings that occurred on Facebook groups or in the class. Share something you find that can help your colleagues and always trust Allah Almighty, if HE can bring you this far HE will surely take you through this :)

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10 Things I Hate About SIMS! - Hira Shaheen (Batch of '17)

Although I’m a fistula and there are bunch of things about SIMS I still don’t know, I love SIMS. I love my institution in all means and I feel proud being here. Yes, I mean it, I feel proud being here despite the fact that not so many people know SIMS is government institution. Okay, here comes that oldie-goldie famous quotation that nothing is flawless and of course SIMS is not an exception to this. Taking this point, I came up with crazy idea of scribbling things I hate about SIMS. Although I had to think hard to come up with a list, I got ten of them here.

Stairs- Yes, Stairs, stairs and stairs.. No doubt these stairs serve an awesome place for routine photo-shoots for Facebook display pictures but they are hectic and they are just too much in number!

No sign Board- Yes, we have an amazing building right in the center of Lahore but its sign board-less! And that is why we have to bear a creepy gawk with a creepier question from every other person that ‘’SIMS private hai kya?” I mean seriously, it is one of the best medical institutions of Punjab and got theetiest first year with high merit this year! At least a sign board is what our college authorities can afford.

No sitting/common room- We need a sitting room here. Yes, we do. I mean if we ever have a visitor, the only choice is to drag them to our café which has empty and neat food cabins after break. They present brilliant example of neatness, I must say!

No fans- Centrally Air conditioned building, eh? What about those creepy days when we don’t have chillers? They make the best memories, I must say! Yes, we have got a fan-less building. I wonder why the administration went amnesic and forgot that they were building this institution in Pakistan.

No Transport system- Best college with best of everything but no transport system. Being a day scholar, I hate this and that’s all.

Useless Cafe- When we had no cafe  we used to run to McDonalds and grabbing student deals there. Now, we have cafe  we still do this. But the problem is not with us. Yes, I mean honestly, who wants to eat that gourmet crap? This is probably most frustrating thing second to the floor number and timings of cafe of course.

No mirrors in Bathrooms- Does it seem funny to you? Ask a girl and she will tell you! Seriously this is a real torture for girls. We want MIRRORS!! :D

No proper hostels- I want to have look on those imaginary hostels which are under construction for dear simsonians. No proper hostels are available and apart from the sarcasms, this is real problem for hostel-iets who are forced to live in those messy buildings with no water and occasional electricity supply.

Montessori mode- Whatever people have to say about the independence in professional institutes, Simsonians have to bear a constant Montessori mode. Honestly, they still treat us like primary students who need babysitting round the clock.

Study Study and Study- Yes, medical is difficult and you have to study a lot but when you are in SIMS, you are forced to study. Fail a test and give supply, be unfortunate and give an additional chance, miss it again and you go to supra supply and then there may be a repeater as well to serve you if you are still too lazy.

So, that’s my list. No offence meant and it’s just an evidence of the fact that I have nothing to study today :D

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The Roller Coaster of SIMS Olympiad 2013 - Hira Shaheen, Hassan Nawaz (Batch of '17)

Services Institute Of medical Sciences (SIMS) is considered third-best medical institution all over Punjab and in a very short time, it has earned its name not only in academic but also in extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Under the supervision of brilliant faculty and administration, Simsonians have shown that they are shining stars of academic as well as non-academic world of Pakistan. Every year, many inter-class events are organized in SIMS, including drama festival, movie night, sports week, Arts and Photography competition, debates and quiz contests under the flag of respective societies but this year unrolled something extremely fantastic and it was none other than SIMS Olympiad 2013, the first SIMS Olympiad ever. It was a series of four mega All Pakistan events with never-ending fun, thrilling show of talents from institutions all over the country and lavish cash prizes for the winners.

Starting from All Pakistan Bilingual Declamation and Parliamentary Debating Competition and Filmesta- All Pakistan Short Movie Competition, to ending at Athena-All Pakistan Quiz and Zephyr- All Pakistan Singing, Arts and Photography contest, SIMS Olympiad had a unique level of flamboyance and grandiosity. All the four societies of SIMS consolidated to organize this two days event series and institutions from all over Pakistan showed up to make it a success.

Let’s begin from the short movie competition.

“Lights”, “Camera”…“Backup”..A noticeable movie at SIMS All Pakistan Short movie competition, Filmesta, started with these words but it wasn't the case with the event. It was all “Action”, “Action”, and “Action” there. SIMS Dramatics Society had previously arranged the Inter-class events this year and depicted a nice example of team work but the management of All Pakistan Short Movie Competition proved that SIMS dramatics society holds talents which can give you goose-bumps. Under the supervision of Usman Mushtaq, Mohsin Ali and Verdah Baig, society did a marvelous job and everything from decor to HD resolution movies, was fabulous  The personalities judging the movies were experts in the Show business, and they ensured the fair marking for the title and money prize of Rs.15,000. Jury included some famous names like “Hafeez Tahir” the director of the ‘’Ainak Wala Jin’’ and “Haseeb Khan”, a renowned actor, director and comedy writer.  Moreover, special guest appearance by Mrs. Rukhsana Noor, wife of famous director Syed Noor and writer and co-producer of many Noor movies, increased the thrill of the show by many folds. Talking about the movies, there were all the way from NUST, AMC, AIMC, LUMS, KEMU and many other colleges. Some had electrifying effect on houseful crowd at SIMS Auditorium, because of the peak of their concept, ideas, scripts and camera work! One of the best production of SIMS Dramatics Society, “Husna” was also played as non-competing movie and it served as a treat for the audience along with some musical performances from talented simsonians including Sheikh Eizaz, Faheem Khan and others. All in all, the event was success and owing to the fact that SIMS dramatics society arranged first event of this kind, the whole team deserves a salute!

Now coming towards Athena, it was second time Sims Quiz Society (SQS) conducted All Pakistan competition and it holds the credit of setting trend for such events in SIMS. For this Gauhar Mehmood Azeem and Safwan Muhammad along with their team deserve a big-time appreciation. 

The occasion was highly organized and every member represented SIMS in a unique way. The panda (of course that famous soft toy :p) placed along with the trophies and shields was radiating positive energy without any doubt ( Now Simsonians know the reason why SQS cares so much for that panda, Thanks to Gauhar bhai for telling me this :p).

Entirely different from the traditional quizzes, the competition felt like a game show with many breathtaking moments in it. Refreshment was available for faculty and the participants. Despite the fact that it was a literary event, audience enjoyed it thoroughly. Compares and jury did a great job and ensured fair judging. Moreover, University of Texas made this event international this year and SIMS is definitely proud of it. 

SIMS Debating and Literary society is famous for having most endowed writers and rhetoric speakers. It has earned so many moments of proud for SIMS and another one was All Pakistan Bilingual Debating competition.

An awe-inspiring scenario was seen in Declamation competition when SIMS auditorium echoed with voices of debaters from various institutions. Every participant was ambitious to get his hands on splendid trophy and worked hard for it.

 President SIMS Debates And Literary Society, Hafiz Muhammad Wasif along with his team worked hard to make this event possible first time ever in SIMS and undoubtedly, they succeeded because of their team work and effort. Those trophies and shields were LEVEL!! They were awarded to winner and runner-up teams from both categories, English and Urdu. Moreover, there were shields for three best speakers as well ( Wohoo!! bunch of rewards, thumbs up for this!!)

This event was itself a series of contests including Parliamentary debates and declamation and both were bilingual. It continued for six whole days making it one of the most expensive events of the Olympiad. 130+ participants made their way to this event and accommodating them all was one challenging thing for the society members. However, they did it excellently and participants were satisfied with the judgement and arrangements of the whole event. The reviews on event page made SIMSONIANS proud.  We pray SDLS keeps on flourishing more and more each day!

This roller coaster of SIMS Olympiad ended with another thrilling event of All Pakistan Singing, Art and Photography competition. Until last two years, Zephyr (SIMS Arts and Photography Society) organized only Arts and Photography events but this year, Eizaz Ahmed took an awesome initiative and arranged an inter-class singing competition. It was undoubtedly one of the most ordered events SIMS had ever seen. Now, zephyr holds the honor of arranging rare singing competition in any medical institution. This event contained all the colorful paintings, sweet melodies and expressive photographs from all over the country. Singers from many institutions showed up and entertained the audience with their sweet voices. Sheikh Eizaz Ahmed, president Zephyr, along with his

creative team made this event worth-remembering, and the last performance by the president himself was undoubtedly heart-touching. Special guest appearance by ‘’Haroon Shahid’’ of SYMT band multiplied the charm of the show. Decor added an impressive flamboyance to the occasion and all in all, this event was another feather in Zephyr’s cap. Above all, considering the fact that Zephyr is the youngest society of SIMS which got birth only a few years ago, it has earned a huge name in such a short time. Well done Zephyr team! You gave an amazingly memorable halt to SIMS Olympiad coaster and we love you for this.

Summarizing everything, SIMS Olympiad 2013 was a whole package of fun, creativeness, hard work, dedication and bunch of glorious trophies and shields. We hope SIMS will be arranging it every year, giving an opportunity to other institutions to come and see the gems and treasures hidden in this small but eagle like building of SIMS!

Written by:
Hira Shaheen and Hassan Nawaz
Class of 2017
On behalf of:
SimSpeaks- The Services Institute of Medical Sciences blog (www.simsspeaks.blogspot.com)

Note: This article was written for hospital magazine of FJMC.
PS Thanks to Presidents of all societies for cooperation and of course pictures of the events. Wasif Bhai I stalked your profile to get them, Sorry for that :p

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