Performance briefing: PMDC abolishes post-house job exit exam

Management committee says PMDC registration rules reviewed, affairs streamlined

ISLAMABAD:

Management committee (MC) of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Monday said it had fulfilled all duties entrusted to it including holding council elections in 120 days.

Chairman of the committee, which was formed under the PMDC Amendment Ordinance 2015, Maj Gen (retd) Dr Azhar Mehmood Kayani said at a press conference here on Monday.



“We were given the task to hold elections of the council and to ensure smooth functioning of PMDC affairs,” he added.

The chairman said the MC had taken a number of decisions for smooth functioning of the council. A 22-member council has been notified, he added.

He said the committee made efforts to streamline PMDC affairs through review of controversial rules and regulations regarding registration of doctors and institutions. It held consultative meetings with all stakeholders including vice-chancellors, deans and principals, Kayani added.

He further informed that 203,447 medical and dental doctors were registered with the PMDC among whom 185,435 were general practitioners. The number of medical and dental specialists in the country was 34,187 and 1,408 respectively, he said. The number of PMDC approved medical and dental colleges, in public and private sectors, was 136 with approximately 15,000 student enrolment per annum, Kayani said.



He said the exit examination, at the end of house job, for local graduates has been abolished.



Kayani said currently, over 18,000 faculty members were registered with the council including 1973 professors, 1355 associate professors and 5507 assistant professors.

The chairman said that during last four months, PMDC Secretariat disposed of over 13,000 applications of doctors regarding registration and license renewal, recognition of eligibility for professorial positions and faculty registration.

He said that to ensure good working relationship between PMDC and College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, it was decided to jointly inspect training programmes by the college.

He informed that the faculty appointment regulations and admission criteria were revised and federal and provincial governments were requested to ensure a standardised entry test. The categorisation of colleges has been withdrawn and uniform fee structure has been adopted, he added.



He said a draft MBBS curriculum has been finalised, after 10 years, to make it at par with international standards.

He said all colleges were directed to ensure provision of 100 per cent paid house job to graduates at their own hospitals and no medical college will be recognised in future, if it does not have its own 300-bed hospital.

The committee also reviewed post graduate programmes in public health and decided that these shall be focused on clinical issues so as to strengthen preventive care in the country.

The chairman also apprised that litigation against federal government in different courts of law has been withdrawn by the council.

Efforts were also taken to empower and strengthen regional PMDC offices so that issues of doctors were disposed of locally, he informed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2016.