Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) was recently in the news as the students protested against the introduction of the Associate Degree Program. It is in the news once again through their policy for Post Graduate Programs. The policy is that they will recognize alternatives to Post Graduate Programs.
Unrecognized Programs and PMC
The idea, as they explained in a notification, is that several colleges have started programs that go unrecognized. These programs include but are not limited to ‘Clinical Alternative to Post Graduate Programs’ and ‘Clinical Additional to Post-Graduate Programs’. Neither PMC nor PMDC recognizes them.
They announced in the notice that some of these programs have been inspected and already recognized as official university programs. PMC will be reviewing the rest of the programs and the teaching hospitals that are conducting them. The criteria for the inspection is already designed. The Medical and Dental Academic Board designed it, and the Council approved it.
The PMC Notification
The notification says:
“Until these programs and teaching hospitals are inspected and recognized by the Pakistan Medical Commission, the universities may provisionally continue with such programs as ‘university-recognized programs’ subject to [PMC’s] terms.”
Important announcements regarding policy for unrecognized Alternative to Post-Graduate or Additional to Post-Graduate Programs (MDMS). pic.twitter.com/DukMyI61NL
— Pakistan Medical Commission (@pmc_org) December 29, 2020
PMC gave the terms and conditions as well, according to which the program will be inspected.
The terms and conditions are:
a) If the Pakistan Medical Commission post-inspection recognizes a program and its teaching hospital, qualifications awarded to trainees of such programs irrespective of their induction or qualification shall be admitted to license.
b) If a program and its teaching hospital are not recognized by the Pakistan Medical Commission post-inspection, persons having qualified from such programmes shall be required to undertake a minimum further training as per terms prescribed by the Commission and duly certified by the supervisor at a recognized equivalent program and teaching hospital to have their qualification recognized.
c) Trainees at a program which is not recognized by the Pakistan Medical Commission post-inspection shall be allowed to shift to any other recognized equivalent program subject to a further training period as per terms prescribed by the Commission, to be undertaken to obtain the requisite qualification.
They have further added that all the universities planning to start new programs should first intimate the PMC. In fact, not just keep them in the loop but seek permission first. If a program is not recognized after inspection, the student will be at risk.
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