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.^[1] All but two colleges are listed in International Medical Education Directory. As per Pakistan Medical Commission 2021 database, there are 176 medical colleges in Pakistan (Medical and Dental Colleges). About 45 medical colleges are public sector medical colleges, and 72 are private sector medical colleges. In addition, there are 17 Public Dental Colleges and 42 Private Dental Colleges. ^[2]

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 Commission and by Higher Education Commission (Pakistan). Entrance into the medical colleges is based on merit under the guidelines of PMC. Both the academic performance at the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) (grades 11–12) and an entrance test like NMDCAT determine eligibility to enter most of the medical colleges.

Admission process

To get admission into any government medical college, the weightage is determined by the provincial or federal government. A minimum weightage of 50% should be given to the NMDCAT. ^[3] In order to get admission into any private medical college, the following weightage is used:^[3][4][5]

• 50% to the score obtained in National Medical and Dental College Admission Test (NMDCAT) weighted as follows:
  • Biology: 32%
  • Chemistry: 26.5%
  • Physics: 26.5%
  • English: 10%
  • Logical Reasoning: 5%
• 40% to marks of Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Pre-Medical.
• 10% to marks of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Science.

The minimum requirements are:^[4]

• 65% or above in F-SC /HSSC or A-Levels equivalent IBCC certificate.
• 55% or above in NMDCAT for admission in Medical Colleges and 45% or above for Dental Colleges.

The Pakistani government exerts tight control over the available number of open medical school seats in both private and public colleges. The regulation forbids all colleges from admitting any student over the allocated maximum seats for the college under any circumstances. ^[3]

Medical seats

Curriculum

After successfully completing five years of theoretical and practical (clinical) training in the medical college and affiliated teaching hospitals the graduates are awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. The graduates are then eligible to apply for a medical license from the PMC. The curriculum for all colleges, irrespective of their regional location and university affiliation, is designed by PMC. The curriculum spans a term of five years or seasons (four professional years).^{[citation needed]}

• First year (first professional year – part 1)
• Second year (first professional year – part 2)
• Third year (second professional year)
• Fourth year (third professional year)
• Fifth/final year (fourth professional year)

Main courses of the curriculum, respective of the academic year they are examined in, are as follows:

* 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 (MCQs), short essay questions (SEQs), short answer questions (SAQs), laboratory skills, viva voce, and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). 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 (or clerkship) at the affiliated teaching hospitals is also compulsory for all medical students, especially in their second, third and fourth (final) 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:

Foundation year

Once the student has graduated after passing his or her final (fourth professional) examination, he or she is eligible to apply for a seat as a house officer in either the attached hospital of the college (usually as a paid employee) or in any other tertiary health care hospital (usually as an unpaid employee or "honorary"). The graduate has to first register (provisional) with and acquire a certificate from PMDC. The house officer has to serve for 12 months (foundation year) 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.^[8] 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.

List of medical college

Punjab

Public

^[6]

Private

^[7]

Sindh

Public

^[6]

Private

^[7]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)

Public

^[6]

Private

^[7]

Balochistan

Public

^[6]

Private

^[7]

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)

Public

^[6]

Private

^[7]

Public health education

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

• Auxology
• Biological Weaponry and Hazards
• Biostatistics
• Case Reporting
• Child and Maternal Healthcare
• Community Dentistry
• Community Genetics and Genomics
• Community Ophthalmology
• Community Psychiatry
• Data Collection and Archiving
• Disaster Management
• Environmental Medicine (including Sanitation and Hospital Waste Management)
• Epidemiology and Epidemic Control
• Euthenics
• Family Planning and Birth Control
• Food, Nutrition and Hygiene
• Global Health and Organizations
• Health Economics
• Health Education
• Health Surveillance
• Healthcare Systems
• Healthcare Infrastructure and Ergonomics
• Labor Health
• Occupational Safety and Medicine
• Outreach Methods
• Population Demographics
• Preventive Medicine (including vaccines)
• Rehabilitative Care
• Research Methods
• Resource Allocation
• Pharmaceutical Policy and Drug Trials
• Public Health Law and Reforms
• Social Health Determinants
• Tropical Medicine and Vector Control
• Telemedicine
• Venereal Disease Control and HIV/AIDS