Family Medicine in Pakistan 2015

Dear colleagues

I am writing to update you about some very interesting developments in Family Medicine in Pakistan. Some of which my colleagues and I initiated and some were initiated by our senior colleagues way back and are now finally bearing fruit.

1. Pakistan Medical and Dental Council PMDC, recognized family medicine as an important part of the medical curriculum and instructed all medical colleges in Pakistan to include a compulsory paper of family medicine in Pakistan.

2. The PMDC has made it mandatory for all family physicians/ GPs and doctors to maintain a CME record, in order to retain their name on the CME register of the PMDC.

3. Our College of Family Medicine got accreditation for conducting CMEs by the PMDC. In fact the college is one of only five institutions in Karachi that the PMDC had recognized for CME.

4. The College of Family Medicine has completes its decade of CME activities and we are planning to hold a conference to commemorate the occasion sometime in late 2015.

5. The College of Family Medicine has initiated its distance learning CME program for the doctors practicing in the rural and far flung areas of Pakistan.

My colleagues and I at the College of Family Medicine Pakistan are extremely happy and excited and we wanted to share our excitement with you.

I would also take this opportunity to thank all colleagues, which also includes the WONCA colleagues, who have helped shape up the environment. We understand that this great change in the scenario will not only mean new opportunities, but immense responsibilities. We are laying down the initial ground work and I shall keep you updated about our next steps. We are also looking forward to the constant support and guidance from our senior faculty like Prof Riaz Qureshi and Prof Waris Qidwai.

Best regards

Dr Shehla Naseem
Secretary General
College of Family Medicine Pakistan