Huddle discusses issues facing medical students

World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) President Ricardo León-Bórquez, Federal Secretary Iftikhar Ali Shallwani and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) President Dr Rizwan Taj Thursday discussed the challenges faced by Pakistani medical students studying abroad.

The meeting, which was also attended by PMDC Consultant on International Coordination Farzand, focused on various aspects concerning the quality of medical education, recognition of Pakistani students qualified from foreign medical institutions, and the welfare of Pakistani medical students pursuing education overseas.

During the meeting, Secretary Iftikhar Ali Shallwani and the PM&DC president highlighted the close collaboration between the Ministry of NHSR&C, PM&DC and medical institutions in Pakistan.

He emphasised the importance of such collaboration for meeting the country's medical human resource requirements.

Praising the work of PM&DC, the secretary said that PM&DC was an independent organisation which was working efficiently to address the concerns of medical students and practitioners.

One of the key issues discussed was the recognition of Pakistani students studying in foreign medical institutions, particularly those that are not accredited by recognised accreditation agencies. Secretary Iftikhar Ali Shallwani and President PM&DC expressed concern over the difficulties faced by these students in obtaining recognition for their qualifications upon returning to Pakistan.

He reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring the welfare and recognition of Pakistani medical students studying abroad and vowed to work closely with relevant stakeholders to effectively address the challenges faced by them.

WFME president explained that their organisation's directory of medical institutions currently provides information on the total number of institutions in a country, regardless of recognition status. He said that efforts were underway to enhance the directory by including specific accreditation details of medical institutions from recognised agencies.

Iftikhar Ali Shallwani proposed the establishment of a mechanism for negotiating with foreign countries to encourage the registration of their medical schools under Pakistan's accreditation agency. He suggested setting a timeline for foreign medical institutions that were not recognised by accreditation agencies, after which Pakistani students enrolled in these institutions would not be granted recognition.

All three dignitaries reached a consensus on facilitating direct interaction between PMDC and accreditation agencies of other countries to expedite the resolution of recognition issues and prevent future challenges for Pakistani medical students studying abroad.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2024.