4-year BS nursing programme: UHS launches new ‘COMPASS’ curriculum

LAHORE: In a move to elevate nursing education in Punjab, the University of Health Sciences (UHS) Friday launched its new "COMPASS" curriculum for the four-year BS Nursing programme.

The event was presided over by the Provincial Minister for Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique and Minister for Health and Population Khawaja Imran Nazir, who jointly unveiled the curriculum on the UHS’s website.

The COMPASS curriculum—an acronym for Competency-based, Outcome-based, Multicultural, Patient-centered, Assessment, Skills, and Safety—represents a bold departure from traditional instruction, introducing a modern, block-based and spiral model of nursing education.

Under the new structure, students will divide their week equally between classrooms and hospitals—three days each—beginning clinical exposure from the very first year. Clinical hours have been increased from 35 to 54, while students will now complete 72 rigorously designed courses and master over 200 clinical skills by graduation.

Speaking on the occasion, Khawaja Salman Rafique described COMPASS as “not merely a new curriculum, but a vision for a stronger, more empowered nursing profession.”

He said the Punjab government considers nursing reform a top priority and is committed to supporting the academic and professional growth of nurses through meaningful initiatives. He said that 3,000 nurses have been recruited in the current year and that public nursing colleges have added 1,400 new seats by launching evening classes aimed at meeting growing healthcare demands.

Khawaja Imran Nazir lauded the new curriculum as a timely response to global challenges in healthcare, saying, “Our nurses are the frontline heroes of this system. With COMPASS, we are giving them the skills, ethics, and cultural sensitivity required to perform at international standards.”

He added that this transformation will not only boost technical competence but also instill empathy and leadership in future nurses. In recognition of the academic effort behind the curriculum, the minister announced an honorarium equivalent to two months’ salary for the faculty team involved in its development.

The vice-chancellor UHS, Prof Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore, emphasized that the curriculum embodies the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and marks a revolutionary leap in healthcare education.

He noted that the integration of classroom learning with early, extensive clinical rotations would help transform students into well-rounded, compassionate health professionals with strong critical thinking and patient-centered care capabilities. He also announced that UHS will carry out unannounced visits each semester to affiliated colleges to monitor implementation and uphold quality standards.

Dr. Lamia Yusuf, Assistant Professor at UHS’s Department of Medical Education explained that students will be taught in a progressive, spiral format over eight semesters, with increasing complexity in course content.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025