Fifty-nine graduates of the Bachelor’s of Dental Surgery received their degrees at the 19th convocation of the Fatima Jinnah Dental College on Thursday. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS
Professor Zafarullah Chaudhry, chief guest at the college's convocation held on Thursday, said Pakistan needs more doctors and specialists to meet public needs. "There should be at least one doctor for every 300 people but we have only one doctor for every 2,000 patients," said Chaudhry, who is president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP).
He informed that CPSP has produced 27,000 medical specialists of the 31,000 specialists present in the country. Talking to The Express Tribune, Chaudhry said 23,000 doctors are being trained in specialised fields in Pakistan, adding that 235 have been sent to Ireland and 200 will be going to England for training this year.
Encouraging female students, he said 80% of the students in medical colleges are women. "We need to create jobs for these doctors," he said, explaining that the country lacks a proper system in this regard which is why most of its doctors prefer going abroad for employment.
The college principal, Dr Tasleem Hosein, congratulated students and their parents for the achievement.
Speaking at the event, the vice-chancellor of Karachi University, Dr Muhammad Qaiser, said there were 36 dental colleges in the country and more are in the pipeline. "I advise upcoming colleges to follow in the college's footsteps." He also highlighted the achievements of the college, affiliated with Karachi University, in the 24 years of its operation.
Out of 17 gold medals, Asad Ali Badami secured 11 and four first position trophies for all four years of BDS study. Badami also received the award of the best graduate of the batch. "I always wanted to be a dentist," he told The Express Tribune.
"I want to continue my studies to become a better doctor before serving humanity," he added, and explained that he will be pursuing his masters in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Following Badami, Zehra Nasim secured three gold medals with the third position and Syeda Mariam Tariq managed to get two gold medals and the second position.
The college also awarded the position holders with cash prizes of Rs50,000 for the first position, Rs35,000 for second and Rs20,000 for the third position.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2016.
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