Dr. Sakina Riaz Social Work

Dr. Sakina Riaz, is presently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work, University of Karachi since 2007. Dr. Sakina Riaz has had a distinguished career in higher education, including teaching, administration, and research. In her professional career involving teaching as well as extensive research work, she has been associated with a number of academic institutions and well–known organizations. Throughout her academic career, she has been the recipient of many awards and fellowships. She has participated actively in international, national and regional conferences organized by different agencies, she is on a number of the editorial boards of several professional journals.She joined KU in 2007. Prior to this, Dr. Riaz worked in a senior-level position in administration at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi for almost ten years. She has also done her MAS from Public Administration Department, KU. She also got the the “Mc. Gill University, Canada Scholarships ”for a one-year certificate course on Social Enterprises Management (SEMP) from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

Dr. Sakina Riaz’s working experience spans over 26 years. The experience includes working with public, private and non-governmental organizations and at universities, as an academic leader in the capacity of Assistant Professor. Dr Sakina Riaz is a McGill University/LUMS certified Master Trainer. She has conducted several training workshops and addressed/chaired a number of seminars/conferences in Pakistan. She has 39 publications (HEC-approved journals, case studies book chapters, books, and popular Articles) to her credit. 

Dr. Sakina Riaz has developed and reviewed curricula of undergraduate, graduate and PG studies, produced three PhDs and has supervised a number of theses at the PG level. She has organized and chaired a number of national and international conferences and he has been the editor of various HEC-approved journals

Dr. Sakina Riaz has been associated with the Department of Social Work the University of Karachi for almost 16 years and is currently she is working as an Associate Editor Pakistan Journal of Applied social science Journal which is a bi-annual, HEC-recognized y category journal.

Dr Sakina has completed his Ph.D. in 2013 from the same university. On her part, she has written  37  international and national research papers  in various research areas – Social Work Education, Women's Welfare  studies,Elder or senior citizens their problems  and their rights,Child welfare , Social Case Work & Medical Social Work.(patient satisfaction) , Social Research Methods. Community Organization. &Public Health, good governance and human rights- which justify her diversity of knowledge. Dr Sakina has participated in many international and national conferences and workshops and presented 15 research papers there. Apart from academics and research, Dr Sakina, has an outstanding and rich experience in various administrative and academic positions.Dr. Sakina Riaz, is presently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work, University of Karachi since 2007. Dr. Sakina Riaz has had a distinguished career in higher education, including teaching, administration, and research. In her professional career involving teaching as well as extensive research work, she has been associated with a number of academic institutions and well–known organizations. Throughout her academic career, she has been the recipient of many awards and fellowships. She has participated actively in international, national and regional conferences organized by different agencies, she is on a number of the editorial boards of several professional journals.She joined KU in 2007. Prior to this, Dr. Riaz worked in a senior-level position in administration at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi for almost ten years. She has also done her MAS from Public Administration Department, KU. She also got the the “Mc. Gill University, Canada Scholarships ”for a one-year certificate course on Social Enterprises Management (SEMP) from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

Dr. Sakina Riaz’s working experience spans over 26 years. The experience includes working with public, private and non-governmental organizations and at universities, as an academic leader in the capacity of Assistant Professor. Dr Sakina Riaz is a McGill University/LUMS certified Master Trainer. She has conducted several training workshops and addressed/chaired a number of seminars/conferences in Pakistan. She has 39 publications (HEC-approved journals, case studies book chapters, books, and popular Articles) to her credit. 

Dr. Sakina Riaz has developed and reviewed curricula of undergraduate, graduate and PG studies, produced three PhDs and has supervised a number of theses at the PG level. She has organized and chaired a number of national and international conferences and he has been the editor of various HEC-approved journals

Dr. Sakina Riaz has been associated with the Department of Social Work the University of Karachi for almost 16 years and is currently she is working as an Associate Editor Pakistan Journal of Applied social science Journal which is a bi-annual, HEC-recognized y category journal.

Dr Sakina has completed his Ph.D. in 2013 from the same university. On her part, she has written  37  international and national research papers  in various research areas – Social Work Education, Women's Welfare  studies,Elder or senior citizens their problems  and their rights,Child welfare , Social Case Work & Medical Social Work.(patient satisfaction) , Social Research Methods. Community Organization. &Public Health, good governance and human rights- which justify her diversity of knowledge. Dr Sakina has participated in many international and national conferences and workshops and presented 15 research papers there. Apart from academics and research, Dr Sakina, has an outstanding and rich experience in various administrative and academic positions.

My line of work exposed me to public health professionals, physicians and social scientists alike, conducting research and advocating for policymakers to bring about change. Seeing boardroom discussions translating into field activities which, in turn, resulted in a noticeable improvement in people’s lives inspired me to start working in public health. Having extensive experience working on community-based health projects, my thriving interest is driving me to get academic excellence in public health with several sound theoretical backgrounds and to design and lead public health interventions for transforming lives. During my valuable continued 14 years’ experience of full-time teaching in the department of social work at the University of Karachi, I have gained abundant knowledge of communications in support of the university. My teaching philosophy reflects my interest in collaborative authorship. I have supervised two PhD students, and they will receive their awards this year. In addition to my teaching and supervision duties, I am engaged as a co-author in writing and working on the book, which will be published soon. I have organized a number of conferences. 

I completed my PhD at Karachi University in August 2013. My PhD dissertation is entitled -“A Study on Socio-Economic Problems of Hospitalized TB Patients in Karachi.” The dissertation investigates the sociological insights into different phases of delay in diagnosis and treatment of TB patients in an urban setup in Karachi through the exploration of different types of illness behavioursocioculturalsocioeconomic and analysis of the meanings of TB in the socio-cultural and economic context of Karachi, a metropolitan city. My inquiry focused on evaluating hospitalised patients' socio-economic problems and discussed the physical, psychological, social, cultural, and institutional factors that influenced the decisions of tuberculosis patients regarding seeking biomedical care and following a prescribed treatment regimen. I illustrate how socioeconomic factors and patient satisfaction are playing a vital role in hospitalization. 

Not only this, but having served as a visiting faculty member for 8 years at the Department of Public Administration, Karachi University, and Aga Khan University has contributed to making my job profile easy and strengthening my ability to evaluate matters analytically, wisely, and logically. I learned to hone my research skills by drawing information from different sources while fact-checking my work for accuracy. My experience working at a university has given me a familiarity with and respect for the institution and all that it has provided to its students, staff, and community. 

Before attending the University of Karachi, I worked as the Manager of Administration at Liaquat National Hospital, which is a 750-bed hospital located in Karachi. I received many promotions from 1997 to 2007, increasing my responsibilities to include strategic planning, program management, and team leadership. I was responsible for the operations of office administrative services at the senior level. I also served as Manager of Social Services, at LNH; I take pride in establishing a Social Services Department in one of the leading tertiary care hospitals, having 4000 employees. In this position, I was responsible for conducting psycho-social assessments, including clinical interviews, and providing individual and family therapy to youth with eligible medical conditions. This position works as an integral part of the multidisciplinary clinics and acts as a liaison between the child or family and physicians and other medical or therapy staff to facilitate understanding of the patient’s needs and emotional, social, and behavioural functioning. My other responsibilities included:

• Conducts initial evaluations to assess hospital functioning and conditions, and assist in Patient Satisfaction through better planning and intervention.
• Provides individual therapy to patients or families diagnosed with chronic illness to address specific psychological disorders, improve overall functioning and adjustment to a medical condition, and to increase compliance with medical recommendations.
• Organize seminars on Maternal Health, conduct an area profile of the Dialmia community,
• Organize programs for Community-oriented Medical Education (COME) in urban slum areas.
• Provides family therapy to family members of youth with chronic medical conditions to support the care of these children in the home, decrease the likelihood of multiple placements, increase overall functioning and adjustment to family members’ medical condition, and increase compliance with medical recommendations.
• Participates in Multidisciplinary Clinics to facilitate treatment planning and assist in care coordination.
• Provides psycho-social consultation regarding patients’ complaints to physicians, medical staff, and therapy staff intensive program development and management experience in very diverse settings. My years of professional work in this arena have created opportunities to deliver and provide experiences in a collaborative culture. The most important lesson learned is that the success of a program is not the sole responsibility of one individual but depends on leadership that reflects a collaborative style and a mission-driven team. It would be a tremendous privilege to bring my training and program development skills to your position. 

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Ph. D in Social Work, University of Karachi, 2013.
• Master’s Degree in Administrative Sciences(MAS) Public Administration Department , University of Karachi, 2006.
• Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (P.G.D.P.A), Public Administration Department, University of Karachi, 2005.
• M.A Social Work, University of Karachi, First Class Second Position, 1997
• B.A. in Economics, Social Work, Government Karachi College for women, Karachi, 1992.
• S.E.M.P., One year Certificate Course in Social Enterprise Management Programme., 2005, Jointly Awarded by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in collaboration with Mc. Gill University Canada.(on scholarship )