ISLAMABAD, May 17: Experts at a workshop here on Saturday stressed the development of medical curriculum at par with that being followed in the developed countries so that doctors could be equipped with modern knowledge.

They were speaking at the workshop “Medical curriculum development” with themes “How a better curriculum can help to produce a better doctor” and “What does the society expect of a 21st century doctor”. The workshop was organised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Distinguished academicians representing medical institutions from all over the country were unanimous for an urgent focus on the development of modern medical curriculum, that equips the doctors with new skills along with ethics to cater to the needs of patients.

They said any medical curriculum should focus on the identification and general need assessment, its goals and objectives. Educational strategies, implementation, evaluation and feedback were the much needed amendments in the curriculum, they added.

Talking about the role of teachers the experts said they should have modern knowledge in biomedical and health sciences and clinical care.

A comparative analysis of traditional and modern teaching methodologies was also presented on the occasion. Traditional methods are subject-based that focus on teacher-centred approach and information gathering, while modern teaching technique is student-centred, problem-oriented, interrelated, community based and systematic.

Representative of the Rawalpindi Medical College (RMC) told participants about a pilot project initiated in the college founded on integrated system based-curriculum, starting from first year MBBS for the year 2007-8 along with traditional teaching method. Prior to this, staff was selected and trained for this specific purpose, the representative said. Dr Masood Hameed Khan, vice president PMDC, said the focus of the council was on enhancing the quality of the existing training programmes and creating new need-based opportunities through close collaboration between various medical related organisations.

A committee was also constituted comprising of representatives of the PMDC and HEC to consolidate the recommendations of the workshop for development of medical curriculum and to put up draft curriculum for MBBS and BDS to be placed before the council and HEC for approval.