Islamabad: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has issued a new policy for foreign medical graduates and has ended the National Registration Exam. It has also been announced that the candidates will be refunded the examination fee collected.
According to the council, in future, only degrees from institutions recognized by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) or PMDC will be accepted for registration. After this decision, all hospitals and medical institutions have been instructed not to allow foreign graduates to do house jobs or internships without registration.
The PMDC decision has declared medical degrees from Central Asia, China, Eastern Europe and Russia ineffective. The future of graduates and hundreds of Pakistani students studying in these regions is in doubt.
The announcement clarified that the old list of foreign universities has been removed from the website and is no longer valid. Graduates of such institutions will not be granted provisional registration nor will their pending applications be considered. New institutions, if they want to be approved, will have to re-apply and submit a fee, and approval will be given only as per the criteria of the council.
