There should be 2.5 Medical Staff per 1000 people in an ideal population according to World Health Organization’s criteria. Well Pakistan lacks significantly in this number & unfortunately we are unable to meet the criteria set by WHO so far.
What could be the reasons for this disastrous situation ?
I am Dr. Muhammad Ali, graduated from Khyber Medical University Peshawar & currently working as lecturer of internal medicine in International school of medicine, IUK-ISM.
Well ! No doubt Pakistan has been producing extraordinary doctors in their respective fields but we have got limited resources and healthcare budget. There are limited Medical Seats available for the students in public sector Medical College & there are not even enough private Medical Colleges in Pakistan & those available has got tremendously high fee structure.
I am graduated from public sector medical school, Khyber medical university Peshawar and like every other government medical graduate I had the same perception about foreign medical graduates that they aren’t good enough to serve our country.
Well ! I had an opportunity to visit international school of medicine IUK-ISM & what I came to know was totally opposite. This medical school was well equipped with all international facilities including simulation centers, international standard library, well equipped class rooms, teaching hospitals & above all the teaching faculty. I wasn’t much impressed with this thing since I was a government graduate but when I visited the class of final year MBBS, the eager of students to learn & quench their thirst of knowledge was unexplainable. Their eager to know medical knowledge, their gratitude, the respect they had in their eyes for human life was unexplainable. That one single class with them totally changed my idea about FMGs.
There are thousands of foreign medical graduates currently residing in Pakistan. All we need to do is to tap into this untapped talent and utilize it for the betterment of humanity, serving in the right way. We must provide our worthy students the right guidance and help them ace their exams so we can have a valuable addition in our healthcare system.
I haven’t visited any other foreign medical college yet but I have observed IUK-ISM very closely, & this is a game changer medical university for the medical field. The students over here have developed strong communication skills, a great international exposure & above all, being away from your home country makes you a responsible person & helps you in making tough decisions very easily.
To all those who are aspiring to become doctor & to serve our nation, I would recommend you all to think big since my father says, “In the race of quality, there is no finish line”.
In my eyes, this special talent must not be ignored & Foreign medical graduates must be given the equal opportunity to serve our country & this can only be done by having a welcoming attitude for them in the field of medicine.