RMU stands second on Punjab’s MBBS merit list

Islamabad:The Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) has emerged as an educational institution of distinction by standing second on the latest Punjab MBBS admission merit list behind Lahore's King Edward Medical University by a narrow margin.

According to RMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Muhammad Umar, the list displayed by the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, for the 2022-23 enrolments in Punjab’s medical colleges and universities shows that the last admission merit of the King Edward Medical University is 93.56 followed by RMU’s 93.26 with a difference of 0.3 points only. He told ‘The News’ that the RMU climbed four places to stand second in the admission merit list within five years of its establishment proving its teaching excellence. Prof Umar also said in 2021 and 2022, the RMU was ranked first among the country’s medical universities by the Impact Times Higher Education, a leading international ranking agency.

“Ours is the only public sector university in Punjab with the Clinically Oriented Integrated Modular System of teaching, training, and assessment in place. We adopted this system, which conforms to the World Federation of Medical Education’s standards and is followed by the first world, in 2018,” he said. The VC said his university’s curriculum was research-oriented, well-structured, and aligned with the US Medical Licensing Examination and the US Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.

He said research and medical ethics were taught to the MBBS students from the first year of the course through the final year, while they were part of exam papers as well. Prof Umar, who is the first Rawalian assistant professor, first Rawalian professor and the first Rawalian vice-chancellor, said the university also taught students clinical integration from the first year of the MBBS course.

He said the students published their research in their own journal, the Students’ Journal of Rawalpindi Medical University. The VC said the RMU held special workshops to train its faculty members in modern teaching techniques, including large group discussions, small group discussions, problem-based learning, self-directed learning, and a learning management system, while students were provided with access to e-learning resources and online assessments were done.

He said 30 percent of the marks of the continuous internal assessment were an integral part of their final examination mark sheet. “Along with high teaching standards, we [RMU] have renovated our hostels and playground improving the quality of extracurricular activities on campus. Also, we’ve connected ourselves with the Pakistan Education Research Network to benefit both students and faculty. Students and faculty use digital libraries and research journals,” he said.

Prof Umar said the RMU was the only public sector medical university in Punjab that had a master’s programme in professional health education to train faculty members in modern teaching strategies. “I’m very confident that the RMU will have the highest MBBS admission merit in Punjab next year,” he said.