Concluding session of three days 6th international Annual Conference on Medical Education

The medical education experts suggested that to meet the challenges for ensuring better health delivery system in the country, we should plan a vision 2050, under which we should increase the total number of medical & dental colleges up to 300 where as the number of medical universities should be enhanced up to 50 in the upcoming 30 years. They were talking to the panel discussion on “Pakistan Accreditation system and standards for Medical Education” and concluding session of the three days international moot on medical education organized by Khyber Medical University, Peshawar. Beside others former Vice Chancellor KMU Prof. Dr. Muhammad Daud Khan, Current Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Arshad Javaid, principals of various medical and dental colleges, faculty and a large number of students were also present at the occasion.

The medical education experts including technical officer WHO EMRO Prof. Dr. Gohar Wajid, Prof. Dr. Idress Anwar (Dean of surgery RMU), Prof. Dr. Junaid Sarfraz (Prof. of Medical Education UHS Lahore), Prof. Dr. Shahjehan Katpar (DUHS Karachi), Prof. Dr. Moin Ali(Director Medical Education JSMU Karachi), Prof. Dr. Muhammad Al-Eraky (Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University Saudi Arabia), Prof. Dr. Hassan Shoaib (Director Medical education UOL), Prof. Dr. Sumera Badar(Faisalabad Medical University), Dr. Brekhna Jamil, Dr. Ihsan Sethi and Dr. Usman Mehboob(KMU-IHPE&R) participated in the panel discussion.

The experts said that PM&DC being a regulatory body for medical education should not only increased its overall capacity and competence but it should also need to chalk out a strategy and vision to cater the challenges of health delivery services. They emphasize that in the upcoming 30 years Pakistan needs at least 300 medical colleges and 50 medical universities against the present number of 156 medical colleges and 13 medical universities to coup with the health related issues. They urged that during the reformation process of PM&DC the health experts and policy makers should also consider the need and idea of being making an umbrella of “Pakistan Health Council” by including or encompassing other four councils of Pharmacy, Nursing, Homeopathy and Tibb. The experts said that medical universities should be given more autonomy and regulatory role in affiliation, recognition, accreditation and inspecting medical and other allied health institutions.

While talking to the concluding session as chief guest Prof. Dr. Muhammad Daud Khan said that our medical education sector is far better than so many developing countries as at present more than 1800 Pakistani doctors are working in UK and their quality of work is almost at par with the medically advanced countries and there is a vast demand of more qualified doctors in the developed countries. He said we should not compromise on quality and the doctors performing job at foreign are the real ambassadors of Pakistan and they can play a pivotal role in portraying best image of Pakistan. He elaborated that it is well trained human resources nor technologically sophisticated equipments neither huge infrastructure which leads nations to success and gaining high ranks in the comity of nations. At the end the chief guest awarded prizes to the winners of best oral and poster presentations and distributed certificates amongst the members of the organizing committee of the conference.