Make the Right Move, Decide Now!

Review by
Haleema Munir,AIMC,
Faisal Inayat,AIMC,
Sadaf Hafeez,K.E.M.U
Atika Jabeen,AIMC ( Project Director)

It is not uncommon to find medical students who are in the final year of their MBBS but still are completely unaware of the course they are to adopt for the post-graduation studies. A huge majority of these youngsters are negligent of most of the postgraduate programs being offered locally as well as abroad.

'Failing to plan is planning to fail'

As an antidote to this lack of awareness with respect to the career opportunities for medical students, International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, Local Council (AIMC), organized a “Career Guidance Seminar for Medical Students” in collaboration with AIMCON. The event was a huge success with maximum participation from medical students from medical colleges from all over the city.

Click here to download the collection of presentation slides by all speakers.
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The house was opened by  Professor Dr Muhammad Tariq Bhatti who gave a detailed presentation about the importance of career guidance and what basic steps should be taken by medical students to choose their field of specialization, paying special focus to how each field suited people of different personalities and natures.It proved to be a real eye opener for all the participants.

The seminar followed a conceptual pattern for career guidance, beginning with The Career Opportunities Provided by the Basic Sciences. This section was covered by the illustrious Prof. Dr. Zameer Ahmed, HOD of Biochemistry (AIMC). He guided the students with respect to M.Phil, Ph.D. and FCPS in the various fields of Basic Sciences, also mentioning the universities which offer

the

said

 programs

 

The topic of General Practice in Pakistan was addressed by the well-known Dr. Shahryar Bhatti. He emphasized on the need of more and more general practitioners in Pakistan owing to the ever-growing population and the wide scope of this field. He also stressed upon the importance of clinical rotations and mastering of the skills of leadership, administration and communication for general practitioners.

Double Fellowships, a smart trend adopted by many successful professionals nowadays, was explained by Dr. Junaid Rasheed. He gave countless examples of different combinations available for double FCPS, such as pediatric cardiology, medicine neurology and so on. He also made it very clear that even though double FCPS further narrows the field, yet it ensures quick and sure success.

This was followed by one of the most awaited parts of the seminar: presentation of the world-renowned surgeon, and holder of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Prof. Dr. Khalid Masood Gondal. He presented his views regarding the career opportunities in Pakistan. He gave a clear overview as to how Pakistan provides two systems of Medical Post-graduation: one being CPSP (FCPS, MCPS, DCPS) and the other being the University System (MS, MD, MPhil). He gave a comprehensive overview of the working mechanics of both of these systems, and also listed the Pakistani qualifications that are accepted internationally as such.

Dr. Faisal Khosa, another eminent speaker, who has also been awarded Tamgha—e-Imtiaz recently, also addressed the audience and focused more on how Pakistani medical students can make best use of the opportunities throughout the world and then give their best back to their nation. He specifically talked about training in USA and Canada.

"During lectures in Medical School try
and stay awake (not always easy I know)"

Prof. Dr. Azeem Jahangir Khan, Head of Department of Dermatology gave an in-depth review of the training opportunities provided by USA. He also addressed the practical aspects like visa applications, preparation of the USMLE and criteria for clearing STEPs etc. He himself has innumerable American titles and degrees to his name, hence he could relate to the concerns of the students very well.

   "DO NOT get into a residency that is easier to get into but you do NOT like it– rather try to be competitive and get into the residency of your choice – no matter how difficult it is …… you will always cherish it later."

Similarly, the celebrated Prof. Dr. Arif Siddiqui provided insight regarding medical training in United Kingdom. He focused on the similarities between the Pakistani and British systems of health services and on the factors which make British systems superior to ours. For the convenience of the students, he also listed all the exams Pakistani students are required to pass such as IELTS, PLAB1 and PLAB2 etc.

On a similar course, Dr. Muhammad Shahid and Dr. Asim Vine presented the post-graduation and medical training opportunities available for Pakistanis in the Middle East and Australia respectively. Both of them related their personal experiences in the medical systems of the respective regions for the benefit of the eager audience.

The seminar ended with an interactive question-and-answer session in which the medical students attending the seminar cleared any ambiguities that they still had after being aptly guided by the distinguished speakers.

Goals are like magnets,
the bigger & stronger they are
the stronger is their pull on us.

This Career Guidance Seminar was the first of its kind to be organized for the sole purpose of counseling the medical students with respect to the future of their careers and professional life. It truly fulfilled the demands of its motto that went as

“Make the Right Move, Decide Now!”.