THIS is with reference to the letter ‘Misery once again’ (Oct 17). The Medical and Dental College Admissions Test (MDCAT) was held nationwide after a long, anxious wait, and one has heard numerous stories of the ordeal faced by parents and students owing to poor management at examination venues. After going through such misery and struggle, do the students actually know what lies ahead? Is becoming a doctor truly their own ambition, or are they pursuing someone else’s dream?

A 2025 study done at Nishtar Medical University, Multan, surveyed 174 first-year medical students and reported that nearly 70 per cent cited parental pressure as the primary reason for choosing Medicine. This is not an isolated finding. Similar patterns have emerged in studies done in Karachi and Islamabad.

Five years of intense medical studies are followed by one year as a house officer, and then many long and uncertain years through the FCPS-I and FCPS-II rigmarole. The examination is demanding, and its pass rates have long been a point of contention within the profession, with candidates repeatedly petitioning the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) over unfairly low and inconsistent pass rates in the clinical examination.

Considering all these factors, we need to ask why students who do not genuinely want to study Medicine are entering a profession that demands so many years of sacrifice, hard work and mental stress. What will they become, and how will they practise after graduation? More importantly, what kind of doctors will they be if Medicine was never their own choice to begin with? And, what happens to them if they fail to secure a specialty? If Medicine was chosen under pressure rather than passion, what future awaits them after years of investing their time, energy and resources in a profession they may never have wanted in the first place?

Umar Bhayo
Kashmore

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026