PMDC issues policy for students seeking admission to foreign institutes

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has issued a policy for students seeking admission to undergraduate medical/dental foreign institutes.

As per a PMDC Department of Examinations notification, this policy is for Pakistani students seeking admission to foreign medical/dental institutions for undergraduate education. This policy shall be effective from Session 2024-2025. According to policy, some mandatory conditions are to be fulfilled prior to admissions in foreign medical/ dental undergraduate institutions.

The student must have passed FSC (Pre-Medical) with a minimum 60% marks who completed their intermediate education within Pakistan or the students must have qualified SAT-II with a minimum score of 550 in each subject or a foreign MCAT/UCAT examination with 50% marks in mandatory subjects of Biology, Chemistry and either of Mathematics or Physics in a Higher Secondary School Certificate or equivalent. The policy further states that that the students must have obtained 50% marks in MDCAT conducted in Pakistan. The subject result shall be valid for three (3) years (applicable for students who complete their intermediate education within Pakistan). The student must verify that the institution is present in the list of such institutions available in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Islamabad.

The qualification must be in allopathic medicine that has been awarded by an institution recognized by a regulatory body of the country concerned for full registration which in turn is accredited by the WFME or World Directory of Medical Schools. According to policy, the students must obtain a PMDC Student Registration Certificate before accepting studies at such institution. The medical qualification must comprise at least 6,200 hours (with a minimum of 80% attendance) over 5 years. Moreover, for those countries where the medium of education is not English, a minimum of 6 months must be spent to learn the local language. The student must pass the National Registration Examination of the PMDC to obtain full registration by the PMDC post qualification.

The students must provide the details of residence as well as contact numbers in the country of studies before proceeding abroad. The students must provide a multiple entry visa for the duration of study before proceeding.