RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) has implemented a new policy that a PhD is mandatory for professors and vice chancellors in clinical sciences, instead of a Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) and Doctor of Medicine (MD).

RMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer told Dawn that under the new policy, professors would apply for the PhD in clinical sciences, and in this regard, five professors, including him [vice chancellor], applied for the PhD degree.

He stated that the HigherEducation Commission (HEC) made a decision on the RMU proposal to improve the research ecosystem in the country.

He added that two years ago, RMU proposed to the HEC that the policy of launching PhD in medical disciplines requiring three PhD faculty should be relaxed.

He said that the proposal RMU presented was as follows: One faculty in the specific subject and two other faculty at the campus, or one can be from a sister university.

The second proposal was to start a PhD in clinical sciences, which was long-awaited and has the potential to be a gamechanger.

`The chairman of the HEC constituted for the first time a broad-based health sector committee comprising vice chancellors of public & private medical universities of all four provinces and the federal chapter, President CPSP and the President PMDC,` hesaid.

`After almost two years of deliberation, a historical policy was approved by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) allowing the start of PhD in clinical sciences.

This decision has changed the whole landscape of postgraduate higher education in Pakistan after a long time since 1962.

Now FCPS & MD will not be the highest degree in clinical sciences in the country, but PhD in clinical sciences,` said RMU vice chancellor.

He said that from 1947 till 1962, postgraduate qualifications in medicine & surgery were Master in Surgery (MS) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) awarded by a small medical section in the University of Punjab.

The training was unstructured, low quality, with poor assessment and minimal monitoring.

Then, Lt General Wajid Ali Khan Burki, as health minister,established the College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakist an (CPSP), which st arte d fellowship programs in medical fields in Pakistan at that time.

However, the real leap of modern structured training programs in medicine by CPSP occurred in the early 2000s.

`The most important lacuna in this program was not being training-oriented and a lack of proper research methodological training.

This is evidenced by the limited contribution of Pakistan in the field of medical research as compared to neighbouring countries in the region and globally,` Umer said.

He said that now with this new policy, medical universities could start PhD & Post-Doc programs in basic sciences, which would promote the research ecosystem of the country, resulting in overcoming the deficiency of PhD teachers in medical colleges and universities.