Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences (PoAHS), officially पोखरा स्वास्थ्य विज्ञान प्रतिष्ठान in Nepali, is a public, autonomous health-sciences academy located at Ramghat, Pokhara, Kaski, Gandaki Province, Nepal. It was established under the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences Act, 2072. The Act was authenticated on 12 Magh 2072, corresponding to 26 January 2016.
The academy was developed from Western Regional Hospital to support higher education, teaching, research, and healthcare in the health sciences. Under the Act, Western Regional Hospital serves as the academy hospital and provides the clinical setting for medical education and training.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Official name | Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences |
| Nepali name | पोखरा स्वास्थ्य विज्ञान प्रतिष्ठान |
| Acronym | PoAHS |
| Institution type | Public, autonomous health-sciences academy |
| Legal basis | Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences Act, 2072 |
| Legal establishment | 12 Magh 2072 / 26 January 2016 |
| Location | Ramghat, Pokhara, Kaski, Gandaki Province, Nepal |
| Academy hospital | Western Regional Hospital |
| Academic areas | MBBS, BSc Nursing, BNS, and MD/MS postgraduate medical education |
| Official website | https://www.poahs.edu.np/ |
The official English name is “Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences.” The institution should not be identified as “Pokhara Institute of Health Sciences” or “Pokhara Academy of Health Science,” which are inconsistent with the name specified in the governing Act.
Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences derives its institutional status from the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences Act, 2072. The Act establishes PoAHS as a self-governing institution responsible for higher-level study, teaching, and research in health sciences alongside healthcare services. Its main institutional base is in Kaski District.
PoAHS is an autonomous health-sciences academy rather than a constituent unit of Pokhara University. Its statutory identity, governance, academic role, and relationship with Western Regional Hospital arise from its own legislation.
The legal establishment date also needs to be distinguished from references that convert the year 2072 BS simply to “2015 AD.” The verified legal record gives 12 Magh 2072, which corresponds to 26 January 2016.
The history of PoAHS includes both the establishment of the academy and the much older development of its hospital.
Institutional records trace the hospital's origins to Soldier Board Hospital. The hospital was later handed over to the Government of Nepal in 1962 and subsequently developed through Kaski District Hospital, Gandaki Zonal Hospital, and Western Regional Hospital.
Western Regional Hospital eventually became the institutional base for establishing Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences. The academy itself, however, legally dates from the enactment of the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences Act, 2072.
This distinction preserves the hospital's historical development without treating its earlier history as the establishment history of the academy.
PoAHS conducts undergraduate and postgraduate education in medicine and nursing. Verified academic records identify MBBS, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSc Nursing), Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNS), and MD/MS postgraduate medical education among its academic areas.
The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program forms part of the academy's undergraduate medical education.
Medical study at PoAHS is connected with Western Regional Hospital, allowing academic teaching and clinical education to operate within the academy-hospital structure established by law.
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program provides undergraduate nursing education within PoAHS.
The program forms part of the academy's nursing education activities alongside medical and postgraduate study.
PoAHS also conducts the Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNS) program. BNS and BSc Nursing are separately identified nursing programs within the academy's academic structure.
Postgraduate medical education has an important place in the academic development of PoAHS. The academy conducts MD/MS education across clinical and diagnostic disciplines.
Academic areas associated with its postgraduate medical education include:
Anaesthesiology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
General Surgery
Internal Medicine
Orthopedics
Paediatrics
Forensic Medicine
Psychiatry
ENT
Dermatology and Venereology
General Practice and Emergency Medicine
Ophthalmology
Radiodiagnosis/Radiology
Laboratory and pathology-related disciplines
The exact postgraduate specialties available for admission may depend on academic and regulatory arrangements, so program-specific admission information is handled separately from the institutional profile.
Western Regional Hospital is legally designated as the academy hospital of Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences. It functions as the clinical teaching base supporting medical education and healthcare activities associated with the academy.
This relationship is central to the institution's structure. PoAHS serves as the academic and statutory body, while Western Regional Hospital provides the hospital environment in which clinical teaching, patient care, and related academic activities take place.
The hospital also has an institutional history predating PoAHS. Its gradual development provided the foundation on which the health-sciences academy was later established.
The Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences Act establishes education, research, and healthcare as core areas of the academy's work.
Its academic mandate includes higher-level study and teaching in health sciences. Research is also included within the institution's statutory purpose, placing academic inquiry alongside education and clinical services.
The combination of an academic institution and an academy hospital allows medical and nursing education to be connected with clinical practice. This structure supports the preparation of health professionals through classroom, academic, and hospital-based learning.
Research forms part of PoAHS's institutional mandate. The academy maintains research-related academic activity and is associated with the Medical Journal of Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences (MJPAHS).
The journal provides a platform connected with medical and health-sciences scholarship associated with the academy. Its presence supports academic publication as one component of PoAHS's research environment.
Claims about journal indexing, citation performance, research rankings, or institutional research impact require separate evidence and are therefore not used to characterize the academy.
Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences is located at Ramghat, Pokhara, Kaski District, Gandaki Province, Nepal.
Pokhara provides the geographic setting for both the academy and Western Regional Hospital. The institutional location connects academic health-sciences education with a major hospital serving patients from Pokhara and surrounding areas.
The broader address—Ramghat, Pokhara, Kaski, Gandaki Province—is used because available official-era records contain conflicting ward numbers.
Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences is defined by three closely connected roles: health-sciences education, research, and healthcare.
Its legal identity as an autonomous academy distinguishes it from universities and colleges operating primarily through affiliation arrangements. Western Regional Hospital is incorporated into this structure as the academy hospital, creating a direct institutional relationship between academic health-sciences education and clinical services.
