ISLAMABAD: Due to the mushroom growth of medical and dental colleges across the country, a sizeable number of students – after completing MBBS and BDS – have found themselves down on their luck, failing to secure a stable job in their field except for some half-decent part-time opportunities.

Doctor Ahtishamul Hassan, who completed MBBS from a medical college in Islamabad a few years ago, is still looking for a job. He told Dawn after many failed attempts, he secured a job with a health-related project using connections but after the project was winded up, he was left without a job.

Dr Hassan spent Rs10 million to finance his degree but his career choices are limited due to a sluggish job market. “Now I may go abroad…for specialisation in some field. Otherwise, I might not stand a chance to survive…in the medical profession,” he said.

Another doctor has a similar story to tell. Dr Shah works as a ‘ghost general practitioner’ at a private clinic in Rawalpindi and brings home a measly paycheck of Rs30,000.

Doctor claims forced to work as ‘ghost general practitioner’ due to employment

“One of my friends offered that he could place me in a clinic in Rawalpindi and gave me the contact number of the owner… The owner called me for the interview and after reaching there I was delighted to see that it was a small hospital having an emergency room, an operation theatre, radiology room…and rooms to keep patients under observation,” he said.

“…to my surprise, a majority of persons working there did not have degrees…they were quacks. The owner of the hospital told me that he will pay me Rs30,000 but I will not be allowed to check or treat any patient,” he said.

Dr Shah said the hospital only required his professional licence to show it to the health authority officials who inspect the hospital at regular intervals. Initially, he refused to work there but after he did not find work, he approached the hospital again and got the job.

“A copy of my licence has been pasted on the wall and now I just sit in the clinic eight hours a day and see how those quacks administer unnecessary drips and suggest ultrasound and X-rays without any requirement. It is painful for me…but I have no option as Rs 30,000 means a lot. The owner of the hospital has given me hope that he will place me in another clinic where I will have to sit for another eight hours and then I will be earning Rs 60,000 per month,” he said.

Another doctor, wishing not to be quoted, said, “I did unpaid house jobs and now am employed at a small hospital on daily wages, due to which I earn less than a clerk.” He said his medical college did not offer him a paid house job because their “hospital did not get many patients”.

Health Services Academy Vice Chancellor Dr Shahzad Ali Khan, while talking to Dawn, said the state of the medical sector had significantly deteriorated due to the situation prevalent in medical colleges and hospitals.

“Most private colleges have ‘Safari Faculty’ which is called in the colleges during the months of inspections by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). I have personally observed professors who were present at private medical colleges at the time of these inspections. After that I banned my faculty members from working in any other medical college or university,” he said.

Speaking about ‘ghost’ doctors, Dr Shahzad said the practice was common across the country but it could be addressed through rigorous regulatory mechanisms.

“The district health officers, health regulatory authorities, and drug inspectors can address the issue but they need to have a will. They should check if the prescriptions are written by the registered GP and if their handwriting matches the prescription. They should check the medicines being administered to patients and ask the patients about the doctor,” he suggested.

Former Punjab health minister Dr Javed Akram termed it a “huge issue” which needed to be effectively addressed. “Fact is that the quality of education is not up to the mark in Pakistan, especially at most private institutions, as well as those countries which do not have English as the medium of instruction,” he said.

“The PMDC should have the same yardstick for local and foreign graduates and it should clearly announce about foreign universities whose degrees will be recognised in Pakistan. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of students have studied abroad with the number rising every year [in the absence of relevant frameworks],” he said, stressing the need to announce a “clear policy”.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2024