ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) held a conference to analyse and promote postgraduate medical education and continuous professional development (CPD) on Monday.
The conference was presided over by President PMDC, Prof Dr Masood Hameed.
Eminent members from College of Physicians and Surgeon of Pakistan (CPSP), Higher Education Commission, vice chancellors/ deans of medical universities and degree awarding institutions attended the meeting along PMDC Council members and officers.
Dr Masood in his welcome address highlighted that postgraduate medical education is facing problems in basic and clinical medical sciences and there is an acute shortage of basic medical teachers and dental faculty.
His prime focus was on inter-university board constitution and uniform standardisation of MPhil/Phd programmes in medical education in all levels regarding induction of trainers, curriculum, monitoring of training and examinations.
The PMDC president apprised the participants of the conference that PMDC has revised certain levels in the regulations for equivalence of postgraduate qualification, which has improved the standards of postgraduate education. The PMDC has introduced the renewal of PMDC certificate subject to the continuous medical education in which 5 credit hours will be required for basic medical education and 10 will be required for doctors having additional qualification. He also informed that there are only 7854 female specialist doctors (medical) and 21651 and male specialist doctors (medical), 288 female dental specialists and 770 male dental specialist doctors in Pakistan.
Vice President Prof M Awais stressed upon the need for continued professional development and defined ways to improve skill of medical/dental practitioners at national levels.
Advisor PMDC Lt Gen (Retd) Rehan Burney extended appeal to all the members to cooperate and contribute towards their national goal to help in producing good quality future specialists.
Members in the interactive session of the conference also shared their recommendations and suggestions that medical ethics and medical education should be a part of curriculum and contribution of female doctors should be enhanced.
All the members jointly agreed on the point that encouragement and promotion of medical education should be taken as a subject in the medical /dental curriculum.