President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan Prof. Khalid Masood Gondal delivered a focused lecture at the Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute Rawalpindi on challenges and reforms in Postgraduate Medical Education. Invited by Commandant AFPGMI Maj. Gen. Muhammad Rafique, the session gathered postgraduate doctors, senior specialists and administrative medical leadership and was also streamed live to ten peripheral tertiary care hospitals. Prof. Muhammad Shoaib Shafi accompanied the president and joined the introductions and discussions.
The speakers paid tribute to the founders and past leaders who shaped the institution, including Lt. Gen. Wajid Ali Burki and former presidents Prof. Muhammad Sultan Farooqi and Prof. Zafar Ullah Chaudhary, acknowledging their lasting contributions to medical education in Pakistan.
Prof. Gondal examined global and regional challenges in Postgraduate Medical Education from induction and training phases to accreditation, curriculum design, supervision and evaluation. He explained CPSP approaches to address these challenges, including the phased induction process, criteria for accreditation, re accreditation and de accreditation, and the role of the Department of National Residency Program in maintaining training quality and standards. He highlighted the Directorate of Medical Education as the body responsible for supervising training courses and curriculum updates while emphasising the adoption of Competency Based Medical Education aligned with international benchmarks.
The collegeโs quality assurance measures were described in detail, including policies on trainer to trainee ratios and critical appraisal methods for examinations. Prof. Gondal noted that fellowship examinations are structured and transparent with participation from foreign examiners to ensure impartial evaluation and continuous improvement of assessment standards.
Training in advanced clinical skills is supported through the Advanced Skills Department which runs courses such as BLS, ACLS, ATLS, PALS, BBV and ALSO. These programmes are part of a broader effort to standardise practical competencies and strengthen hands on training across teaching hospitals.
Faculty roles were discussed with emphasis on short and long term goals, including implementation of Workplace Based Assessment, systematic monitoring of supervisors, strengthening the MCQ bank, Master Trainer Workshops for supervisors and examiners and comprehensive curriculum revamping. Prof. Gondal presented statistics showing the collegeโs expanding footprint, noting that CPSP currently runs ninety fellowship programmes, comprised of forty six first fellowship and forty four second fellowship streams, while steadily increasing the number of trainees, supervisors and accredited centres.
Regional centres across Pakistan and international centres contribute to the collegeโs reach and are part of CPSPโs role as a unifying national institution. Prof. Gondal outlined international collaborations with accrediting and regulatory bodies such as the World Federation for Medical Education, ACGME, ACCME and IAMRA, and partnerships with institutions in Ireland, the UK, the Middle East and SAARC countries. He also highlighted regular participation of international leaders in the International Conferences on Medical Education held in recent years and the positive feedback received from presidents of royal colleges and global education leaders.
โCPSPโs GREATEST STRENGTH IS NOT THE EXAMPLE OF POWER BUT THE POWER OF OUR OWN EXAMPLEโ was cited as a guiding principle as the lecture closed. The session featured active interaction from attendees both in the auditorium and online and concluded with a vote of thanks. Commandant AFPGMI presented souvenirs to Prof. Khalid Masood Gondal and Senior Vice President Prof. Muhammad Shoaib Shafi. Council members including Maj. Gen. Prof. Sohail Sabir and Maj. Gen. Prof. Waseem Khan, general officers of AMC, supervisors, fellows and faculty members attended the event.
