Medics complain about exam registration system

Islamabad : The young doctors wanting to sit the upcoming National Licensing Examination Step I have complained that the Pakistan Medical Commission's online system for exam registration is faulty to their suffering.

According to them, there exists no mechanism to address their issues regarding the exam.

"The PMC's website has flaws but no one is there to help us [doctors] out on our issues for the December NLE, so our careers are at stake," a young medic told 'The News' requesting anonymity.

Another doctor insisted that some applicants were formally informed about roll numbers for the NLE but not the exam centres due to the faulty PMC IT system. He urged the top PMC management to look into the matter to ensure the participation of willing doctors in the NLE Step I.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the PMC said that applicants were eligible for the NLE only if they had a provisional licence to practice.

"The provisional licence allows medical graduates to complete their house job after the completion of degree and is mandatory to sit the NLE. The NLE Step 1 (Medical) registration for the December 2021 session closed in early November but every applicant was given a ten-day period to submit their provisional license number. The applicants who did not have a provisional license stood ineligible for the exam." The spokesperson also said the PMC verified the provisional license post-registration of each applicant and that it was only upon verification doctors were considered to be eligible for the NLE Step 1.

"Certain applicants had entered the provisional license numbers of other doctors upon verification which is unacceptable. Some applications did not give a valid number or the format was changed. To facilitate the applicants, reminder emails were sent at multiple intervals asking them the input the correct provisional licence."