SKIMS Soura launches first capacity building program on Emergency Care for Nurses

Srinagar, Jul 17: Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, in collaboration with ECHO India, marked a significant milestone today by launching its ECHO Hub and conducting the first session of the ECHO India–SKIMS Capacity Building Program for Nurses on Emergency Care.

The inaugural event was graced by eminent dignitaries including Prof. (Dr). M. Ashraf Ganie, DM Endocrinology and Director, SKIMS & Ex-Officio Secretary to Govt, who formally inaugurated the hub and addressed the participants. In his remarks, Prof. Ganie emphasised the importance of leveraging digital health platforms for continuous capacity building of healthcare professionals, especially nurses working in high-stakes emergency care settings.

Also present on the occasion were Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Additional Director, SKIMS, Dean Medical Faculty, SKIMS- Prof G.M. Gulzar, who lauded the initiative as a step towards decentralizing medical knowledge and ensuring equitable access to training across the region.

The event also saw participation from Prof. Anjum Fazili, Head of the Department of Community Medicine, who played a pivotal role in the establishment of the ECHO Hub at the department. She reiterated the potential of the ECHO model to strengthen workforce capabilities across various health programs through virtual learning.

The first academic session, under the Emergency Care theme, focused on “Introduction to Emergency and Triage” and was attended by nurses from different departments. Expert for this session was Dr Nipin Kalal-Assistant Professor-College of Nursing-AIIMS Jodhpur fostering interactive, case-based learning.

The ECHO India–SKIMS collaboration aims to run regular virtual training programs, beginning with Emergency Care and expanding to other key thematic areas over time. The initiative will serve as a knowledge dissemination hub, not just within the SKIMS campus but also across the larger healthcare network of Jammu & Kashmir.