RESUMO
Objective: To assess the level of quality assurance in medical education in Pakistan
Study Design: Observational / Descriptive study
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Frontier Medical College, Abbottabad, from January 2016 to March, 2016
Materials and Methods: No significant research was carried out on this subject earlier in Pakistan. Therefore, an internet search was carried out. Published research [in Pakistan and sub-continent] and documents pertaining to policy were analyzed
Results: Total no of medical schools had risen to 132 in Pakistan, while the no of medical institutes was 314 in India. There are 52 medical and dental colleges in public sector throughout Pakistan while 82 medical and dental colleges in private sector. This shows that the no of medical institutes is considerably high in private sector than in public sector. In public sector, Punjab had the largest no of medical institutes with 22 [18 medical colleges and 4 dental colleges], Sindh has 13 [9+4], Khyber Pakhtunkha [K.P.K] has 10 [8+2], Baluchistan has 2 [1+1] and Azad Jammu and Kashmir [AJK] has 3 [3+0]. In private sector, Punjab had the largest no of medical institutes with 40 [28 medical colleges and 12 dental colleges], Sindh has 26 [14+12], Khyber Pakhtunkha [K.P.K] has 14 [9+5], Baluchistan has 1 [1+0] and Azad Jammu and Kashmir [AJK] has 1 [1+0]. The no of students admitted to medical programs in Pakistan and India in 2014 was 11250 and 35783 respectively
The maximum no of students, about 6250, were in Punjab, followed by 2850 students in Sindh, 1550 in K.P.K, 400 in AJK and 200 in Baluchistan
Conclusion: Quality assurance plays a pivotal role in medical health education. There is a need to establish stringent policy guidelines for accreditation standards
This will help improve level of medical education in Pakistan. It will also ensure that medical graduates will receive good education and public will get highest standards of healthcare services from well-educated doctors