Rejecting Pakistan’s MS/MD degree, the Saudi ministry of health claimed it lacked a structured training programme, a mandatory requirement to hire medics against important positions. After the Saudi move, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also took the similar step.
Most of the affected doctors were hired by a team of the Saudi health ministry in 2016 through online applications.
The MS/MD programme was started in 1914 and the first MS degree was awarded to G.B. Kapoor from Punjab University,” he said.
The MS/MD degrees have been declared a five-year level-III research and clinical qualification by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.
Though in a self-proclamation Pakistan health establishment maintains that the MS and MD degrees are enriched with dynamic, congruent and structured curriculum comprising clinical and research component at par excellence of international standards designed by the World Federation of Medical Education despite severe criticism.
Secretary of the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department, Punjab, Momin Agha, said they had taken up the issue with provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid.
Dr Ali Usman, an affected medic, said, “I had done five-year postgraduate qualification from the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, with training from Lahore General Hospital… But all of a sudden the Saudi health ministry terminated my job contract, landing me and my family in immense shock”.
Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) while issuing dismissal letters to the doctor said –
“Your application for professional qualification has been rejected. The reason is that your master degree from Pakistan is not acceptable according to the SCFHS regulations.”
August 7th, 2019
