The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has announced major changes in the registration policy for foreign medical graduates. The council has decided to cancel the National Registration Examination and refund the examination fee to all candidates.
According to the announcement, government and private hospitals have been directed not to allow any foreign graduate to do house jobs or internships, unless their degree is from a college recognized by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) or PMDC. In future, only MBBS degrees from these institutions will be acceptable in Pakistan.
The PMDC decision has resulted in the removal of medical degrees from Central Asia, China, Eastern Europe and Russia. This move has put foreign medical students who have already completed their graduation in difficulty, while the future of hundreds of Pakistani students studying in these countries has become uncertain.
The announcement further said that the old list of foreign medical universities has been removed from the website and is no longer valid. Graduates of such institutions will not even get temporary registration and pending applications will be rejected. New institutions will have to re-apply and submit fees and approval will be granted only if they meet the criteria set by the council.
