Federal Health Secretary Syed Anwar Mehmood has stressed the need for amendments to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Act. The private colleges and universities, providing quality medical education, should be given representation in the PMDC, he added. He was speaking at a dinner, hosted in his honour by President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Investment and Marketing Professor S.B. Hassan during his recent visit to Karachi.
He said the issue of medical colleges and universities, having representation in the PMDC, was quite just and also essential to improve co-ordination between the colleges and the council.
He said the PMDC itself had suggested some amendments to its act and it had shown its willingness to give representation to the private medical colleges.
On the other hand, it was also planning to reduce its members from 52-26, he added.
He also said that a Central Testing Board was about to be established by the Federal government. This board would be conducting mandatory examination for every graduating medical student before he or she was to be given registration of the PMDC, he said.
He said this step would help ensure a uniform and standardised minimum qualification requirement for medical students passing out each year from different medical colleges and universities across the country.
He said that the medical graduates would be required to qualify the test governed by the Central Testing Board prior to be entitled to receive licences to practice medicine.
The Federal Health Secretary mixed freely and exchanged views with doctors and quite a few heads of medical colleges and universities and top executives of pharmaceutical industry both national and multi-national during and after the dinner.
Prominent, among those who met the Federal Secretary, included the Aga Khan University President Shams Kassim Lakha, PPMA Chairman and Managing Director of ATCO Laboratories Saeed Allahwala.
In addition, Merck Marker Managing Director Jurgen Konig, Bayer Pakistan Managing Director Fritz Kohler and Glaxo Smith Kline Managing Director Salman Burney represented the multinational in the pharmaceutical industry.
Professor Hassan welcomed the chief guest and Dr F. U. Baqai presented the vote of thanks.-PR
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