Daily Times

In a development, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has decided to enhance the doctors’ registration validity from two years to five years.

As per information available with Daily Times, the PMC took this decision to facilitate health care professionals. It also recommended that the doctors who are 60 years old or above shall renew their registration certificate and will have to pay only 50 percent of the total prescribed fee for getting renewal. The decision was made by the PMC’s Council, apex constitutional decision making body, in its 2nd meeting held here at PMC head office.

In another major decision, the PMC recommended that the Council will conduct inspections of medical dental colleges across the country.

“After thorough examination of the respective medical college, it will remove/finish the pathways and categories of all the international medical and dental colleges,” it said adding that the list of approved medical and dental colleges shall be uploaded on PMC website as well. In this regards, as per decision, the regional offices in Karachi, Muzaferabad and Gilgit shall also be established at the earliest to facilitate the general public and doctors.

The PMC board further decided that the MDCAT-2022 exams shall be held on November 13 or November 20 at the same day across the country.

The approved universities of the MDCAT exams for Pakistani students included as Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences for Balochistan, University of Health Sciences Lahore for Punjab, Khyber Medical University Peshawar for KPK, Dow University of Health sciences Karachi (Sindh), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad for Islamabad, AJK and Gilgit Baltistan.

It was decided that the pass percentage of MBBS will be 55 percent and BDS will be 45 percent. The Council relaxed the pass percentage to help students to get adjusted in Pakistani Medical dental colleges as last year almost 20000 students went abroad to get admissions in foreign medical dental colleges which resulted in a huge financial loss to Pakistan.

It was decided that NUMS affiliated colleges MDCAT Exam will be conducted by PMC through NUMS separately and only those students can appear in these colleges who intend to get admission in only these colleges. It was decided as PMA long courses should not be disturbed.

As per the decision, the examination shall be paper based manual exam and the answers sheets will be uploaded on the exam holding universities and PMC website on the same day. It was also decided to extend 10 days for registration of MDCAT exam with PMC the portal has been opened for the same.

The Council decided to conduct the MDCAT exam for foreign students in Saudi Arabia and UAE due to the maximum number of students in these countries. Other countries had very low number of students and time difference due to which it was not possible to make centers there. Center details of these countries will be uploaded on PMC website. Those foreign students residing in any other country who want to appear in MDCAT exam can appear in Pakistan or in these two countries which are feasible for them.

The Council deliberated on the NLE examination and unanimously decided to hold the NLE step 1 exam in the last week of October 2022 and NLE step 2 exams in the last week of November for foreign graduates. The Council also decided that the NLE examination for local Students shall be conducted through their degree awarding Universities under the umbrella of PMC. It was unanimously decided to reduce the pass percentage of NLE 1 and NLE 2 from 70 percent to 50 percent but it will not be used as retrospective.

The Council decided that the basic postgraduate degrees of the doctors shall be registered with the PMC. However foreign medical dental postgraduate qualifications shall be scrutinized and after due process shall be registered with PMC.