PMA lashes out at PMDC for harassing doctors

Karachi: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has made it mandatory for all doctors to provide CME/CDE certificates for renewal of licences to practice.

The Central Council of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) took a serious notice of Pakistan Medical & Dental Council’s (PMDC) harassment and humiliating policy against the doctors regarding the registration and Continuous Medical Education (CME).

The meeting of Central Council of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) held at PMA House, Karachi and presided over by PMA Centre President Dr Aziz Lehri and attended by Dr Ashraf Nizami, Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, Dr Qaisar Sajjad, Dr Bashir Channa, Prof  Tipu Sultan, Prof Idrees Adhi, Dr Qazi Wasiq,  Dr Mehar Iqbal, Dr Izhar , Dr Pir Manzoor Ali and large number of central councillors across the country.

The participants said as a matter of principle, PMA is not against the CME, as PMA and all other sister organizations carry out their CME program throughout the year to update their knowledge and skills in a scientific way. But the present attitude of PMDC as a forced implementation of CME program without doing any ground work in the country is an insult to all doctors.

According to PMDC, licence to practice will be given to only those medical and dental practitioners and specialists who have completed at least five credit hours/year (for GPs) and 10 credit hours/year (for specialists) of training of CME.

However doctors and dentists who did graduation or post-graduation during the last five years, were not interested to practice, were above seventy years of age, and had completed house job within last five years would be exempted from CME/CDE certification.

The Central Council has decided to reject the PMDC’s proposed CME program. The Central Council also deplored the role of PMDC in registration process which is causing undue harassment to medical fraternity. If this policy is not changed, PMA will approach highest judiciary on the issue of CME and registration process.

The Central Council meeting demanded refund of Rs 50,000 charged by the PMDC from the organizations in connection with seeking the accreditation for conducting CME and feels that all CME process should be free of charge.

The Central Council also demanded the restructuring of PMDC in accordance with law and get rid of this illegal body. Then this new PMDC should formulate the proper CME policy and guideline to be adopted all over the country.

The Central Council meeting further demanded that a patient-friendly health policy be presented by the federal and provincial government at earliest. The deteriorating medical education should be checked and time scale promotion to the doctors and security to the doctors be provided.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has expressed concerns over the policies of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), including the registration process for fresh graduates.

“The PMDC is not working properly,” alleged PMA Central secretary-general Dr Mirza Ali Azhar during a press conference, adding that many senior doctors are being asked to verify old fellowships for the renewal of registration. “The institute is involved in the harassment of doctors.”

Dr Azhar urged PMDC officials to enhance its capacity first and then impose strict rules, adding that the medical fraternity was uneasy over the recently imposed rules about Continuous Medical Education (CME).

PMA Karachi president Prof Muhammad Idrees Adhi said that the association supported the CME. “Instead of organising a system regarding the CME programme and capacity building, the PMDC has suddenly started demanding CME certificates without any planning or facilitation,” he explained. “This is another method through which the PMDC is harassing doctors all over the country.”

The PMA office-bearers said that doctors across Pakistan were facing problems with the PMDC registration process, adding that there were doctors who had been waiting for months and years to be registered after sending their documents. They alleged that the PMDC, despite the number of staff members it had, was delaying the registration of fresh graduates and new fellows from the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan as well as practicing doctors without any valid reasons.