YDA firm on blocking licensing exam

Next test for medical practice licence likely in December

LAHORE:

The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has vowed to launch countrywide protests against the National Licensing Examination (NLE) held by Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC).

The members of the medical profession opposing the exam are terming it illegal.

The YDA is also seeking support of students’ organisations in its efforts to stop the exam.

The YDA, other doctors and students of medical colleges are now framing a joint strategy to start protests across the country to stop the next NLE exam that is expected to be held in December.

Talks between the YDA, PMC and Punjab health department have remained u fruitful and both the government authorities appear committed to holding the NLE for granting permanent registration to join the medical profession.

The government has introduced the exam this year, making it mandatory for house officers seeking to join the profession to clear it.

The first NLE was held last week in Lahore, Multan, Karachi, Islamabad and Quetta. House officers, YDA and other members of the community of medical professionals protested in all the cities against the test.

The situation worsened during the protest at the Barkat Market examination centre in Lahore, where police allegedly beat up doctors and used pepper gas to disperse them. Several protesters were injured in the incident and doctors also accused the police of spraying them with chemicals.

However, PMC and the federal and provincial governments held the exam and also announced its result.

A senior official of the PMC told The Express Tribune that 1,593 house officers had registered for the first NLE test. Those who appeared in the exam included 1,164 graduates from foreign institutions. The PMC declared 903 foreign medical graduates successful in the exam, showing a success rate of 77.6%, while 257, or 84%, graduates from the country cleared the test.

As many as 123 candidates did not appear in the exam and they will be allowed to appear in December.

“It is our commitment to hold the NLE at every cost to judge the abilities of future doctors for the betterment of the medical profession in the country. We will not allow incompetent people to enter the profession and play with the life of the citizens,” the official said.

The test would be held after every three months and everyone seeking to join the medical profession would have to clear it, the PMC official added.

Punjab YDA president Dr Salman Haseeb said, “We will continue our struggle against this exam and we are preparing a strategy to stop the next NLE. Our talks with the health secretary and other senior officials have remained unfruitful.”

The chief of the Islami Jamiat Talaba in Punjab University, Asad Ali Qurashi, said, “By conducting the NLE, the government has put a question mark on over own educational institutions and we oppose this test. If the examinations are not stopped, we will protest in the whole country. It is cruel that students and doctors were tortured by police over a peaceful protest.”

The issue has also sparked a social media debate between supporters and critics of the medical practice licencing exam.

When contacted, PMC president Arshad Tariq said, “The examination was mandated by law and our team took it upon itself to implement the NLE within the given timeframe. A total of 1470 students sat for the NLE Step 1. 1160 students passed the examination representing a 78.9 % pass percentage. As the healthcare regulator, it is our legal and moral duty towards the people that only competent doctors become a part of the system.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2021.