List of medical schools in Pakistan


In Pakistan, a medical school is more often referred to as a medical college. A medical college is affiliated with a university as a department which usually has a separate campus. As of January 2019, there are a total of 114 medical colleges in Pakistan, 44 of which are public and 70 private. All but two colleges are listed in International Medical Education Directory.
All medical colleges and universities are regulated by the respective provincial department of health. They however have to be recognized after meeting a set criteria by a central regulatory authority called Pakistan Medical & Dental Council and by Higher Education Commission. Entrance into the medical colleges is based on merit under the guidelines of PMDC. Both the academic performance at the Higher Secondary School Certificate and an entrance test like MDCAT are taken into consideration for the eligibility to enter most of the medical colleges.

Admission Process

To get admission into any government or private medical college in Pakistan, the following weightage is considered according to PMDC:

Curriculum

After successfully completing five years of theoretical and practical training in the medical college and affiliated teaching hospitals the graduates are awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. The graduates are then eligible to apply for a medical license from the PMDC. The curriculum for all colleges, irrespective of their regional location and university affiliation, is designed by PMDC. The curriculum spans a term of five years or seasons.
Main courses of the curriculum, respective of the academic year they are examined in, are as follows:
also called Social or Public Health Medicine
* includes Nutrition, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Research Methods, Health education, Family Planning, Occupational, Environmental, Preventive and Tropical Medicine.

Assessment methods

Theoretical, practical and clinical knowledge is assessed by one or more of the following methods; multiple choice questions, short essay questions, short answer questions, laboratory skills, viva voce, and objective structured clinical examination. Required laboratory training is provided in biochemistry, histology, physiology, pharmacology, toxicology, pathology including hematology, immunology and microbiology. Teaching in gross anatomy is assisted by exploratory dissection of cadavers. A mandatory group research project is also to be submitted by the students before the fourth professional examination in the community medicine department. Students are also taught diagnostic imaging and technical report writing in the radiology department.
Clinical training and evaluation sessions at the affiliated teaching hospitals is also compulsory for all medical students, especially in their second, third and fourth professional years. These include observation, assisting and practice in various emergency, outpatient, inpatient and operative settings in the following rotating disciplines: anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, general surgery, gynaecology, internal medicine, obstetrics, ophthalmology, orthoptics, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, acoustics, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology and urology.
Visits to various locations for the purposes of training and understanding of social, legal, communal and preventive aspects of health are also conducted if possible, such as:
Once the student has graduated after passing his or her final examination, he or she is eligible to apply for a seat as a house officer in either the attached hospital of the college or in any other tertiary health care hospital. The graduate has to first register with and acquire a certificate from PMDC. The house officer has to serve for 12 months at one or more hospitals in four modules; 3 months in internal medicine, 3 months in general surgery, 3 months in medicine allied and 3 months in surgery allied in any order. The graduate can then apply for a medical practice license from PMDC which will allow the medical graduate to work as a registered medical professional anywhere in the country and study for higher specialties/qualifications.

Punjab and Islamabad

Public


Private

Sindh

Public

Private

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Public

Private

Balochistan

Public

Private

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Public

Private

Public Health Education

All medical students are taught various aspects of public health such as: