CPSP: Lacrimal overflows mark convocation for doctors
As international medical opportunities dry up, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan gains significance.
KARACHI:
“Since when have I been doing this?” exclaimed a young fellow as he embraced his father. “[The year] 2002, right?” Small wonder then, that this doctor and his 434 colleagues wept, or as they would perhaps put it, engaged in lacrimal discharge, as years of hard work were rewarded at the 44th convocation of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) on Wednesday.
Out of them, 268 candidates became fellows, 151 became members and six received diplomas in Healthcare Systems Management and Health Professional Education, which are international medical degrees. With the number of candidates growing each year, convocations are now held in three major cities annually.
“Yes, we have arrived!” quipped Prof SM Rab, a noted physician and former CPSP president who was the chief guest. He was referring to the colossal growth of medicine in the country. “Would anyone else [but doctors] ever get out of their warm beds in the cold to treat a patient?”
Recalling the start of his career, he told the audience that after completing his MBBS from Dhaka Medical College, he was among the only 12 doctors present in East Pakistan at that time. “We used to use the ‘babool ka kaanta’ [the thorn of the babul tree] as a pin for filing our papers. We then created the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.”
Addressing the new fellows, he urged them to give back to the country. “If you saw the flood, the people in the mountains of the country and the suffering at home, you would never leave your country,” he told them.
SM Rab is the only living member of the 50 people who founded the college.
And indeed, the CPSP was packed with men and women who are some of the finest brains in Pakistan. The diploma holders are mid-career health professionals as both the major and minor diplomas are in postgraduate studies. A doctor receives the major diploma of fellowship at the CPSP after clearing the Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) Part I and Part II exams and completing four years of practice. The minor diploma can be achieved after clearing the Member of College of Physicians and Surgeons (MCPS) exam with two years of practical experience.
Dr Tanveer Baig, the head of the anaesthesia department at Jinnah Medical and Dental College, received his fellowship diploma in anaesthesia. “It’s that feeling you get when you realise that you are a member of the most prestigious college of medicine in the region,” he said proudly.
Mrs Tariq, who had come with her married daughter for her MCPS diploma, was crying to see her daughter had received the honours diploma. “I have seen my daughter work day and night for this,” she said. “I feel immensely thankful to Allah for making me a privileged parent.”
CPSP president Zafar Ullah Chaudhry said higher learning in medicine faced a tremendous challenge as opportunities shrank after the 9/11 attacks and the situation worsened when the European Union clamped down on training positions for fellowships under the Royal Colleges of UK. However, CPSP trainees and fellows can now access the UK healthcare system in a number of specialties, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.
“Since when have I been doing this?” exclaimed a young fellow as he embraced his father. “[The year] 2002, right?” Small wonder then, that this doctor and his 434 colleagues wept, or as they would perhaps put it, engaged in lacrimal discharge, as years of hard work were rewarded at the 44th convocation of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) on Wednesday.
Out of them, 268 candidates became fellows, 151 became members and six received diplomas in Healthcare Systems Management and Health Professional Education, which are international medical degrees. With the number of candidates growing each year, convocations are now held in three major cities annually.
“Yes, we have arrived!” quipped Prof SM Rab, a noted physician and former CPSP president who was the chief guest. He was referring to the colossal growth of medicine in the country. “Would anyone else [but doctors] ever get out of their warm beds in the cold to treat a patient?”
Recalling the start of his career, he told the audience that after completing his MBBS from Dhaka Medical College, he was among the only 12 doctors present in East Pakistan at that time. “We used to use the ‘babool ka kaanta’ [the thorn of the babul tree] as a pin for filing our papers. We then created the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.”
Addressing the new fellows, he urged them to give back to the country. “If you saw the flood, the people in the mountains of the country and the suffering at home, you would never leave your country,” he told them.
SM Rab is the only living member of the 50 people who founded the college.
And indeed, the CPSP was packed with men and women who are some of the finest brains in Pakistan. The diploma holders are mid-career health professionals as both the major and minor diplomas are in postgraduate studies. A doctor receives the major diploma of fellowship at the CPSP after clearing the Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) Part I and Part II exams and completing four years of practice. The minor diploma can be achieved after clearing the Member of College of Physicians and Surgeons (MCPS) exam with two years of practical experience.
Dr Tanveer Baig, the head of the anaesthesia department at Jinnah Medical and Dental College, received his fellowship diploma in anaesthesia. “It’s that feeling you get when you realise that you are a member of the most prestigious college of medicine in the region,” he said proudly.
Mrs Tariq, who had come with her married daughter for her MCPS diploma, was crying to see her daughter had received the honours diploma. “I have seen my daughter work day and night for this,” she said. “I feel immensely thankful to Allah for making me a privileged parent.”
CPSP president Zafar Ullah Chaudhry said higher learning in medicine faced a tremendous challenge as opportunities shrank after the 9/11 attacks and the situation worsened when the European Union clamped down on training positions for fellowships under the Royal Colleges of UK. However, CPSP trainees and fellows can now access the UK healthcare system in a number of specialties, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.