PMDC Mandates Family Medicine Departments in Medical Colleges

In a landmark move to strengthen Pakistan’s primary healthcare landscape, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council PMDC has officially mandated all medical and dental colleges to establish dedicated departments of Family Medicine. This strategic reform is designed to align undergraduate medical education with the countrys most pressing public health needs, ensuring that future physicians are equipped to provide comprehensive, frontline, and cost-effective patient care.

 

 

The inclusion of Family Medicine as a core institutional requirement marks a significant evolution in the national PMDC MBBS degree course . By integrating this specialty into the academic framework, the PMDC aims to bridge the gap between hospital-based training and the practical reality of community healthcare. This initiative ensures that students gain early exposure to holistic patient management, moving beyond specialized hospital settings to understand the essential role of primary health carei n disease prevention and long-term health maintenance. This systematic integration is expected to produce "seven-star doctors" who are not only knowledgeable and skillful but also deeply committed to acting as community health promoters.

 

 

The establishment of these departments will serve as a hub for both clinical training and community engagement. By fostering an environment where students receive hands-on experience in managing common health issues, the PMDC is prioritizing the sustainability of the national health system. The mandate also emphasizes the need for medical colleges to collaborate with existing Basic Health Units BHUand Rural Health Centers RHC, creating a robust network that extends medical expertise to underserved populations.

 

This directive is part of the PMDC’s ongoing commitment to medical education reform and institutional excellence. By embedding family practice into the final year of the MBBS program—including a formal Exams paper—the Council is ensuring that graduating doctors possess the competencies required to thrive in a real-world, patient-centered environment. This reform is a vital step toward creating a more resilient, accessible, and inclusive healthcare infrastructure across Pakistan.